A woman is blaming her former lawyer for the dismissal of her social security disability claim.
Marylynn Dixon filed a complaint Aug. 3 in Madison County Circuit Court against Evan J. Beatty.
Dixon claims she hired Beatty on July 28, 2003, to represent her in a social security disability claim.
But the claim was dismissed for want of prosecution, and now Dixon says she has lost her opportunity to redeem any social security disability benefits.
She blames Beatty for failing to take any action after the claim was filed, for failing to take action after the claim was dismissed and for failing to inform her of the claim's dismissal.
Dixon is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs and other relief the court deems just.
Lance R. Mallon of Mallon Law Firm in Wood River will be representing her.
Aug 12, 2009
Attorney Malpractice Alleged In Social Security Case
From the Madison-St. Clair Record:
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4 comments:
Wouldn't it be easier and more effective to appeal the dismissal and get the AC to remand for a hearing (even if she's late filing the request)? We all know what a soft touch the AC is on dismissals.
This raises the issue,at least for me.How competent are ssd attorneys?Excluding you mr hall.
In my area there are a few who are outstanding, they understand the laws, regs, and procedure and will take the time to sort through big medical files and create a memo referencing relevant pages (both good and bad for their client).
They have the bulk of the clients.
Seems there are few dabblers or people who take the odd case out of sympathy. They tend to not do a good job for their client because they don't understand the system. Had one earlier this week that balked on providing information on earnings after onset that appeared to be over the SGA level. His argument was his client ought to meet a listing and SGA wasn't relevant. Mostly good lawyers, just out of their element but doing a bad job for their client.
Then there are the bad ones. They will dump a multi-page pharmacy printout that more often than not abbreviates medication names instead of taking the time to list the meds, dosages and frequency. They don't review the file and will send the same medical record multiple times with at least a few pages faxed in upside down. They will combine three, four or five medical providers into a single exhibit. There will be twenty pages from a doctor who treated only colds, STDs, and prostate or breats exams sent in for a case where the only alleged impairment is repeated unsuccessful back surgery.
Then you get the truly terrible. Case gets flagged to possibly be paid on the record with additional evidence and the attorney will just do nothing because they want to inflate the back payment award. The best want those pay on the record cases. Clear it, get paid, and get good word of mouth from the client. The truly bad refuse to work in their client's best interest to make a few more dollars.
Just a few years ago the county in which this lawsuit was file was known as a "judicial hellhole." It is not hard to get a Madison County attorney to represent you in any kind of lawsuit, with or without merit.
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