Welcome to the Raleigh Social
Security
website for Hardison & Associates, LLP. Our attorneys have been providing
quality legal services to clients throughout North Carolina for over
twenty years and we specialize in the area of Personal Injury law. We have
effectively represented clients in medical malpractice, catastrophic
injuries, and psychological damage cases including Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and fibromyalgia.
Kenneth L. Hardison and Associates founded the firm with
a commitment to making justice work for their clients. While some attorneys are reluctant
to undertake these often complex cases,
our attorneys have successfully helped victims prove their disability and
receive Social Security and/or Workers’ Compensation benefits.
Are you eligible? Social Security Disability
Benefits (SSDB) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) both require that
the claimant suffer from a condition, disease or impairment that has
lasted or is expected to last for 12 months, or result in death, and that
the claimant is unable to work. Evidence by a treating physician is
crucial in determining whether or not you qualify.
SSDB is available to those who are "insured" -- meaning, that you have
worked the required number of quarters of a year, and that you worked five
of the last 10 years before you became disabled. SSDB pays more, because
in addition to the monthly benefits check, you also get retroactive
benefits for as much as 12 months prior to the application date.
SSI is a program for the aged, blind or disabled, and is based upon
low-income requirements.
The system is a cumbersome one, and the time it takes varies widely from
case to case. If you believe you qualify for disability, you should
immediately contact your local Social Security Office and file a claim. If
you retain a lawyer prior to filing a claim with the Social Security
Administration, you double your chances of winning at the first level.
Most claims are denied in the first stage.
When your claim is denied, you will be given 60 days to appeal and ask for
reconsideration. This is the point at which you need to hire a lawyer. The
lawyer will then file your appeal request and start documenting in more
detail why you are entitled to disability. All documentation is submitted
to a Judge who reviews the record and makes a decision. If the claim is
accepted you will start receiving disability checks each month plus you
will receive all back disability payments from the date you file your
claim.
If your claim is denied, then your lawyer will ask for a hearing. This has
to be done within 60 days from the date your request for reconsideration
was denied.
You will be required to appear at the hearing with your lawyer and a Judge
will hear the evidence. The judge may ask a vocational expert to get
involved. At the conclusion of the process, the Judge will then make a
decision. If it is denied, an appeal can be made to a commission.
An appeal to a commission takes many, many months and nothing can be done
except wait for the review.
The process from start to finish can be as little as six months and as
long as two years. But remember, it all starts with a phone call by you to
SSA to start the process.
Disability
Disability means you are unable to work because of any medically
determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result
in death or last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. This
can mean different things in different cases because the law also says
that you are disabled if the your impairment is so severe that you cannot
do your previous work and cannot, considering your age, education and work
experience, engage in any other work. This means that each case must be
looked at individually.
The "Listings"
The Social Security Regulations include the "listings" which describe how
severe a disease, condition or impairment must be for the Social Security
Administration to consider it disabling. If your condition does not meet
the listings, you may still be considered disabled if you have several
different conditions which together make you disabled. The regulations
also consider age, education, work experience and the ability to speak
English.
The Evidence
Medical reports are the most important evidence. The law requires the
Judge to give great weight to a report by a treating physician. Such a
report, giving your history, symptoms, tests and test results, diagnosis,
and prognosis, can win the case if the report shows that your condition is
as severe as the listings require. Witnesses are rare in Social Security
Hearings because most doctors will charge $1,000 to appear and testify.
Testimony from family or friends is only useful when the Claimant cannot
describe his own problems.
If you have been denied disability or are deciding whether to make a
claim, we urge you to seek the advice of an attorney with a proven track
record in disability law and experience in Social Security cases. The most
important ways to improve your chances of receiving benefits is through
strong medical evidence that supports your claim and to have your case
represented by legal experts who understand the benefits systems’ process
and requirements.
As personal injury lawyers, we have seen many clients’ whose confidence
has been restored by seeing the justice system work. Please call Hardison & Associates, “the people’s law firm”,
at 800-434-7081 or
e-mail today.
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