Your Disability Lawyer in Athens, TN

If your initial claim is denied, you have 60 days to request reconsideration, which is a review of your claim by a different DDS examiner. You can submit additional medical evidence at this stage.

The reconsideration process typically takes three to five months in Tennessee, and only about 17% of reconsideration appeals are approved. For most applicants, reconsideration is a necessary step on the way to a hearing rather than a likely resolution in itself.

If reconsideration is denied, you can request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). This is where most successful claims are ultimately won.

ALJ hearings in Tennessee are conducted through the SSA’s Office of Hearings Operations, with locations in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Kingsport. Athens-area cases are generally assigned to the Chattanooga hearing office, which approved 64% of cases decided in 2022 (significantly higher than the national average of 54%).

At the hearing, you testify about how your condition affects your ability to work, and the ALJ may hear testimony from medical and vocational experts. Having legal representation at this stage makes a measurable difference in outcomes.

If an ALJ denies your claim, you can request review by the SSA’s Appeals Council within 60 days. 

The Appeals Council reviews cases for legal or procedural errors rather than re-examining the medical evidence. If the Appeals Council denies review or issues an unfavorable decision, the final option is filing a lawsuit in federal district court.

The strength of an SSDI claim lies in the medical records. Our attorneys know exactly what the SSA is looking for and can work with your treating physicians to ensure your records accurately reflect the full extent of your limitations. Not just the diagnosis, but how your condition prevents you from working.

We can also request records from all relevant providers, identify gaps in documentation, and gather additional supporting evidence like functional capacity evaluations or physician statements.

The SSA process involves a significant amount of paperwork, correspondence, and deadlines. Our attorneys manage all of that on your behalf: submitting documentation, responding to SSA requests, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. This alone eliminates one of the most common reasons claims are delayed or denied.

If your case reaches the ALJ hearing stage, preparation is everything. Our attorneys will walk you through what to expect, help you understand how to describe your limitations accurately and completely, prepare you for the types of questions the ALJ is likely to ask, and anticipate the testimony of any vocational or medical experts who may appear at your hearing.

At the hearing itself, our attorneys can present your case to the ALJ: questioning witnesses, challenging unfavorable expert testimony, and making legal arguments on your behalf. This is not a process that favors those who represent themselves. Having an experienced advocate in that room matters.

If an ALJ issues an unfavorable decision, our attorneys can evaluate whether grounds exist for an Appeals Council review or federal court action, and continue representing you through those stages if warranted.

Insufficient medical evidence is the leading cause of SSDI denials in Tennessee and nationally.

The SSA requires objective, documented proof that your condition is severe enough to prevent you from working—not just a diagnosis, but detailed clinical records showing how your impairment affects your functional capacity. Incomplete records, gaps in treatment, or documentation that doesn’t clearly connect your condition to your inability to work are all common problems that lead to denial. An attorney can help identify and address these gaps before they cost you your claim.

No. SSDI eligibility is tied to your work history and the Social Security taxes you’ve paid over your career. If you haven’t accumulated enough work credits (generally earned through years of employment), you won’t qualify for SSDI regardless of the severity of your disability.

If you have limited work history but a qualifying disability and limited income and assets, you may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) instead.

The McMahan Law Firm handles SSDI claims. If you’re unsure which program applies to your situation, we can help you sort that out during your free consultation.

You’re not legally required to have an attorney, but the data makes a strong case for getting one. SSDI applicants who are represented by an attorney at their ALJ hearing are significantly more likely to be approved than those who represent themselves.

An attorney helps ensure your medical evidence is complete, manages deadlines and correspondence with the SSA, prepares you for your hearing, and advocates on your behalf before the judge. Given that disability lawyers only get paid if you win and the fee is capped by federal law, there’s no financial reason to go through the process alone.

Nothing upfront, and nothing at all unless you win.

SSDI attorney fees are governed by federal law and capped at 25% of your back pay, up to a maximum of $7,200, whichever is less. The fee comes out of your back pay, not your pocket, and your ongoing monthly benefits are never affected. If your case is unsuccessful, you owe nothing.

At The McMahan Law Firm, we offer free consultations, so there’s no cost or obligation to find out where you stand.

Missing the 60-day appeals deadline is serious. In most cases, it means your denied claim is closed, and you’ll need to start the entire application process over from scratch.

There are limited circumstances in which the SSA will grant an extension, but these require demonstrating good cause for the delay and are not guaranteed.

If you’ve recently received a denial notice, contacting an attorney as soon as possible is the single most important thing you can do to protect your claim.

If your claim is approved, your benefits are typically backdated to your established onset date (the date the SSA determines your disability began) minus a five-month waiting period that applies to all SSDI claims.

However, back pay is generally limited to a maximum of 12 months before your application date, regardless of when your disability actually began. The longer your case takes to resolve, the more back pay may accumulate, which is another reason why protecting your claim at every stage of the process matters.