Law Office of Gordon Gates
  
Saco Island
Suite 1300-G
110 Main Street
Saco, Maine 04072
  
207- 284-9999

Toll Free
1-888-200-4484

Maine Disability Claims

For Maine residents, the disability claim process for Social Security disability and SSI may require several stages. Maine attorney Gordon Gates can help you at each stage of the Social Security disability claim process.

Ask for a free Social Security claim evaluation.

The first stage is the review of your initial application. The Social Security Administration sends your case to Disability Determination Services, a Maine state agency in Augusta, to gather additional information and to make an initial determination on your claim. That determination is usually made within three or four months.

If your case is denied (and most claims in Maine are denied at this stage), then you must request a Reconsideration within 60 days of your initial denial. Your claim is then reevaluated by Disability Determination Services. Any new evidence submitted will be considered, and a new decision will be issued.

If your case is denied again (and most cases are denied again at this stage), you must request a hearing by an Administrative Law Judge within 60 days.

The hearings for Maine residents are conducted at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in Portland, Maine. The hearings are either held in person or by video conference. At the hearing, the judge will review the medical evidence, hear your testimony, and may obtain testimony from a medical or vocational expert witness.

Additionally, the Maine judges ask for a hearing brief from your representative. The hearing brief sets forth the background facts of your claim, the medical evidence, and a "theory of the case" telling the judge why your claim should be granted under the Social Security disability evaluation process.

There are six United States Administrative Law Judges permanently assigned to the Portland, Maine ODAR: Judge John Edwards, Chief Judge Guy E. Fletcher, Judge Kim Griswold, Judge John L. Melanson, Judge Katharine Morgan, and Judge Joseph Shortill.

It is very important to select a Social Security disability lawyer who has experience with the judges who may decide your case. For this reason, an out-of-state attorney or "national" Social Security firm may not be the best choice for your Maine disability claim.

For help with your Maine disability or SSI claim, please contact us today or ask for a free claim evaluation.