Hi, I'm Patrick Hartwig, and I'm a Social Security Disability Attorney in Massachusetts.
Gloria was in her 40s when she was forced to stop working because of deep vein thrombosis and repeated hernias. She had applied in the past but was denied disability benefits. We tried doing it on her own, but she was disapproved and told that everyone gets disapproved the first time. She's come up against a number of obstacles, doctors who just wouldn't step up to the plate with enough information. They wouldn't commit themselves to making any sort of definitive diagnosis.
When she came to me, we helped her file a new claim and guided her through the whole process. Patrick was able to cut through a lot of red tape. He put in the extra mileage getting the proof that we needed, medical, psychological, everything that was needed that was missing the first several times.
Unfortunately, Gloria's claim was denied by a Social Security judge, but she didn't give up. The firm again does not quit. They really go the extra mile, and Patrick's name just came up time and time again for perseverance and dedication to a client. He will make a client feel like they are the only one that he is helping. It's personalized service to the extreme.
We encouraged her to file one more appeal to Social Security's Appeals Council, which we did, and again her claim was denied. But she didn't give up. We were given the runaround several times, saying, "Well, we might be able to get more this way, we might be able to get more this way." Patrick and his office are the only people that actually defined what disability is and that most people do get disapproved the first time because they're trying to weed out people who may or may not actually be disabled.
We urged her to file a brand new claim because from a medical standpoint, the objective evidence was clear. There was simply no way that Gloria could keep working on a full-time basis. His office, his staff, and himself again really went above and beyond, calling the doctors, calling other agencies, any information that he needed, he got, where in the past it was supposedly unobtainable.
Thankfully, after filing the brand new application, Gloria's claim was finally approved at the initial stage of review, and Gloria and her family are now receiving some very much needed and well-deserved help from Social Security. Everyone hung in there, and he went to bat for us. After six years, he finally got her a favorable decision. He just did not quit.
Now, I imagine you may have questions that are specific to you, and I urge you to give me a call. I may be able to help you as well. I'm Patrick Hartwig. Thanks for watching. Have a great day.