My attorney at LS&G went the extra mile
Diane V. had a long and productive career as an administrator before she became unable to work due to a combination of severe arthritis, fibromyalgia and depression. Although she was approved to receive private long-term disability benefits by her insurance company, Social Security was much more difficult for her to obtain. Before she came to Leventhal Sutton & Gornstein, she had two hearings with two different Administrative Law Judges, both of whom turned down her claim and required her to file appeals. When her lawyer at Leventhal Sutton and Gornstein started to work on her second appeal, it was discovered that Social Security had lost Diane’s entire medical file. As a result, she and her attorney were forced to reorder all of her medical records from over fifteen different providers in different cities going back ten years in order to reconstruct her file for Social Security. Once this was accomplished, Diane had a third hearing before a different Administrative Law Judge who found her disabled. Diane wrote a letter about her experience, stating that “Tom Sutton shows a clear devotion to the claimant and a dedication to their needs. Without Mr. Sutton, who truly believed in me, his client, I would never have received the disability benefits to which I was entitled.”
My attorney at LS&G never gave up
Steven T. was a young man with a great career as a skilled tile setter until he was injured in two work incidents and a motor vehicle accident. Imaging studies of his cervical and thoracic spine showed that he had multilevel disc disease with stenosis and radiculopathy, and he was no longer able to work in his profession or in any full-time job due to severe pain and inability to use his hands and arms. The evidence showed that Steve had multiple falls, and was barely able to play with his infant son. Despite the evidence, however, an Administrative Law Judge denied Steve’s claim, and his attorney at Leventhal Sutton & Gornstein had to file a civil action against Social Security in the United States District Court. Based on his attorney’s brief, the Court reversed the decision and sent Steve’s case back to Social Security for another hearing. Unfortunately, the same Administrative Law Judge denied his claim once again. Steve’s attorney wrote another brief to the Appeals Council, which reversed the decision to deny his claim and sent the case back for another hearing before a different Administrative Law Judge. Finally, based on the testimony of a Social Security medical expert that Steve’s condition was disabling, he was granted benefits. Because Steve and his attorney were tenacious and effective in fighting for his benefits, Steve and his children received over five years’ worth of past-due Social Security benefits. Steve sums up his experience: “As difficult as it was to have to appeal over and over, I knew I was disabled all along and my attorney at Leventhal Sutton & Gornstein never wavered and never stopped fighting for me.”