Nancy L. Cavey

If you are thinking about applying for SSDI benefits on your own, let me offer some advice. My point of view is specifically for Florida as the process varies by state. When I had to leave my job because of medical conditions, I decided to apply for SSDI benefits. This is something you can do on... your own, but applicant should beware. After speaking to friends who went through this process in other states, they unanimously told me to hire a disability lawyer to represent me. I followed their advice and have never regretted it. The benefit ended up being invaluable. So looking on the internet, there are plenty of SSDI lawyers out there who can't wait to help you. I did initial consults with a 3-4 firms, but the Law Offices of Nancy Cavey stood out. When reading Nancy's profile, she tells the story of how she had to navigate the SSDI process with her family, and as a lawyer took on the charter to help others through what is a complicated, unorganized, extremely slow and some would argue arbitrary and unfair process. This commitment was enough for me to consider them for the running. During my initial consult I spoke with Assistant Attorney Krysti Monaco. It was clear from the conversation how verse she was with ERISA (LTD) and SSDI processes. She spent a lot of time with me and answered all of my questions (and I do ask a lot of questions). What I liked most about this firm was I was speaking with an actual lawyer who gave the personal feeling that I was just not another number. The other firms did not have this hands-on attention. Nancy Cavey Law was the real deal. So I am in my 60's and according to Google, getting SSDI benefits is supposed to be easier. HA! It took me almost 3 years to get my benefits, and that's with extensive medical records and multiple doctor recommendations. It was an awful and stressful period. The most difficult thing was waiting and being denied at multiple steps. I was constantly bugging Cavey Law for updates (I give them kudos for putting up with me) but they were in a rock and a hard place. The efficiency of SSA/DDS is out of their control. There was nothing they could do but wait, keep me assured and be prepared for each step. That is their real value here. I kept being denied benefits with what seemed to be a lack any real due diligence on SSA/DDS part. Cavey Law was right there to respond to each hurdle. Without delay! The 3 years that it took me, was due directly a result of the understaffed and inefficient SSA system. If it were not for Cavey Law it could have gone even longer or possibly never happen at all. What you should also know. I had 3 years of back benefits on the table. Had I tried this on my own and failed, I would have had to re-apply for benefits and that back pay could have gone away. In other words, benefits would be calculated from the new application date. This is another reason why you need a lawyer for this. There are so many prat-falls in this process it can be a costly mistake without one. The fees involved far weigh out the risks (IMO). So good luck to anyone applying for SSDI benefits. If you want to maximize your ability to be approved, Nancy Cavey Law is the right business to have on your side. Especially in Florida

When I had to retire on disability, I figured "how hard could it be to fill out the forms for my insurer and for Social Security?". I found out. When my insurer denied my initial claim, just by chance I'd had two people close to me say THAT DAY that I might have a Ph.D., but I was NOT equipped to ...go nose-to nose with agencies and companies which basically exist to find reasons to tell you "no". Searching for someone relatively local to me who seemed like the "pitbull" I realized I needed, I found Nancy's info. From the first call, I felt like Nancy and her staff had lifted this incredible weight off of my shoulders. Now, understand that you DO have to listen to Nancy (or Krysti, or Megan) and if they have a form that only you have the ability to fill out...you have to do the form. They're not magic. But they explain exactly what you have to do, what you can do, and what you shouldn't do. OK, the elephant in many people's rooms: Can you afford a lawyer? When you're dealing with disability insurance and Social Security, and you're also dealing with your disability, doctor visits, and the unknown future of having to retire, sometimes far earlier than you imagined you would have to, I can promise you that 1) you really need someone who knows this aspect of the law, and 2) if you're like me, you have a million things to get done, and done right the first time, and the critical importance of your insurance and Social Security will overload your stress system. The paperwork itself is a weeks-long full-time job IF you want any chance of winning. How much is your time worth? And honestly, you'll probably lose if you go it alone. Some of you may have heard about a friend's cousin's bestie who single-handedly took on their employer's pension disability department, their own ERISA policy, and SSDI. All at once! And won all of them! And they gave her a flying unicorn too! And a puppy! Kidding aside, It comes down to this: you work for HOURS, over MONTHS and possibly YEARS, and one tiny omission or mistake, and you see "denied" again. Again, how much is YOUR time worth, for an outcome far less certain than if you hire, for example, Nancy Cavey? There was no up-front fee, and the contingency fees were in line with everyone else (they're written into the law in the case of Social Security). What you're getting is freedom from a huge amount of paperwork that Nancy and her paralegals know how to do far better than you do. You get freedom from remembering deadlines that can kill your case entirely. And at the end of the day, it's comforting to be able to think "yeah, my insurance/Social Security is a really important thing, but my lawyer's taking care of it". And Nancy and her staff did so, obtaining my disability insurance approval. I continue to work with Nancy Cavey, as I'm but halfway along my journey -- I'll update at some later era of the earth when SSDI gets back to us. Reminds me of the Fellowship of the Rings, and the Ents. Where did the Ent-wives go? Well, if they move and make decisions as slowly as their Ent-husbands, perhaps they found a home at Social Security (You have to be a REAL LOTR nerd to get that reference [it wasn't in the movies...]). Even though I still wait to I hear from Social Security, I do hear from Megan every little while, if just to let me know where in the bureaucracy my file has been moved. I'm far, far more hopeful that this too will go OK with Nancy Cavey's firm representing me. Nice, professional, competent. Great to find all three in one place. HIRE THIS ATTORNEY. You won't regret it. (PS: good luck on the bar, L3...:)

90% of my career was in insurance (underwriting, claims and regulation ( including Surplus Lines and Reinsurance) so it was no surprise that my claim was denied because of a preexisting condition. What was a surprise was after I contacted, consulted with and hired her that he did not "aggressively" d...efend the part of the claim that was applicable and the reason I applied for LTD to begin with: a fractured and repaired my right humerus due to my being robbed ( I am right handed). Nancy's office sent me an email saying that my case and file is closed. SSA approved me months later, so I asked Nancy's office. The affirmed the file was closed and that's it. This was in 2019. It was an extremely difficult time for me because I could not normally do as I did because my right hand, arm and equilibrium was impaired due to the "severe humerus fracture". A month ago, out of the blue, Nancy' office says that the carrier reached out to her about a settlement for me. So a meetng was scheduled with her - for the first time, since I contacted and retained her. ( I suppose I wasn't good enought to talk to her). She had an old number and when the call didn't take place, I called her office within 5 minutes. I was told by her paralegal that she tried. A settlement offer that is about .2% of the original demand was presented to me. And with a straight face, she requested (through her paralegal) 1/3 of that. I've signed all of the necessary papers and still, no cash. I asked (in email) about the direct deposit option = no answer. I asked (in email) why her office is charging me 1/3 when my policy was an ERISA and she would be within her rights to ask the carrier for attorney's fees = no answer. There is more, but these are the major things that made me raise an eyebrow. I'm sure she is a fabulous and aggressive attorney for others, but my experience with her office has been an epic fail. Dismissive and crafty are words that best describe her offices' interaction with me.

DO NOT USE THIS LAWYER!!! I have never in my life been treated as poorly as I was with this lawyer. I was in a car accident 3 years ago that ruptured 9 of the disks in my spine. Cavey sold the caring lawyer bit well, but after our first meeting when she took on my case and I signed the paperwork, s...he never once returned my calls. Her assistants or paralegals (I'm not sure what they are) were two of the rudest, least competent women on the planet. I would call in with new medical/Doctor/hospitalization information, questions, or to check on my case and they were often short and NEVER let me speak to the actual attorney. My case should have been easily approved by round two. I had more than enough medical documentation. I lost my insurance and access to medical care about halfway through all of this. I begged her assitant to have her call me back, begged them to file for an expedited hearing, and nothing. Absolutely nothing. I get a letter from Social Security letting me know that my hearing was scheduled. I call again and no calls back, her assistants never offering anything more than like "okay, well I'll take that information and have her call you back." WHICH SHE NEVER DID!!! 10 days before my hearing, still nothing. I called again and I'm begging. I refused to get off the phone until I spoke with her. Her assitant starts screaming at me like some crazy person that I was being uncooperative and that Cavey would no longer represent me. Let me reiterate the the only time I raised my voice was to tell her that there was no reason to yell at me (at which point she hung up). I tried calling back and she kept hanging up on me. I tried to get another lawyer but no one would take my case until she waived her right to collect a fee on my case. It took me over a week to get that waiver of paper from her office. I had to make the 4 hour drive to Tampa (I have since moved) for my hearing, with no lawyer. I was granted a continuance and given a copy of my medical records that had been sent it. It was threadbare! Nothing was sent in past the first 3 months after the accident. NONE of dozen or more doctors that I had seen were even contacted. I gathered what I could from every doctor and specialist that I could remember (I get terrible migraines and a large part of my case was how hard it is for me to concentrate and remember things). I tried to gather what I hadn't lost in the mail but it was only about 60% of what should have been in there. My case is now pending while they look over at the stack of documents that I had to scramble to get together. Whatever you do, do not trust her.

I had Nancy Cavey represent me in a workers comp case. Attorney Cavey overcharged several thousand dollars and was caught by me the client, she was taken before the judge where she had to explain herself, when it was over several thousand dollars were recovered. Had I not requested a fee's and costs... breakdown she would have gotten away with it. One can only wonder how many she has done this to.