Social Security Lawyers
Benefit of Attorney
Representation
Marasco & Nesselbush, Rhode Island’s premier Social
Security disability (SSI SSDI) law firm, is extremely
helpful and successful in obtaining Social Security
benefits for claimants with disabilities. National statistics
show that claimants with legal representation have a
substantially greater likelihood of receiving an award
of disability benefits than claimants who proceed without
an attorney.
Click Here for a Free Case Evaluation
Applying for Social Security disability benefits without
an attorney can be a difficult, daunting and overwhelming
process. A missed deadline may mean that you have to
start the process over again. A missed deadline or unfavorable
decision after your “date last insured” has expired
may mean that you are forever precluded from applying
again. Do not let this happen to you. Don’t become a
victim of the system.
The skilled lawyers at Marasco & Nesselbush can
and will ease your way during the application and appeal
processes. Whether you live in RI or MA, we at Marasco
& Nesselbush have developed effective strategies
to obtain important medical opinion evidence to support
your disability claim. When we represent you, we will
communicate with your physician(s) to obtain helpful
medical and legal evidence of your disability. Over
the years, we have developed valuable physician questionnaires
to enable your doctor(s) to meaningfully and easily
support your claim for SSI or SSDI benefits. We will
advise you regarding the application process, we will
appeal a denial, if any, we will review your case to
determine if you qualify for an expedited decision,
we will prepare you and accompany you to your hearing
before the Administrative Law Judge and, once approved,
our lawyers will continue to advocate for you until
you receive your retroactive and monthly benefits. Without
Marasco & Nesselbush, you may be unnecessarily denied,
your case may take longer than it needs to, or you may
not receive all the benefits to which you are legally
entitled. Do not let any of these things happen to you.
Call us today for a free consultation. We make the difference.
Attorney’s Fees
We charge no fee unless and until we win your case
and obtain Social Security disability benefits for you.
When we win, our fee is twenty-five percent (25%) of
retroactive benefits. The Social Security Administration
will automatically withhold our twenty-five percent
(25%) fee, and will send you the remaining seventy-five
percent (75%) of your retroactive benefits. You, the
claimant, will then begin receiving your full, monthly
Social Security disability check(s) each month, into
the future, with absolutely no additional fees to Marasco
& Nesselbush.
Our fee is a one-time payment, made automatically by
the Social Security Administration, of 25% of your retroactive
benefits. There may also be a cost to obtain medical
evidence supporting your claim. Costs for obtaining
your medical records are generally low and are different
from legal fees for doing the legal work on your case.
Marasco & Nesselbush always tries to obtain medical
evidence for either no cost or for as low a cost to
you as possible.
The Process
Introduction
Life for someone living with a disability
can be difficult enough. When a person feels unable
to work due to a physical or mental impairment and chooses
to apply for Social Security disability benefits, a
myriad of medical, psychiatric, psychological, legal,
social, cultural and financial forces conspire. Below
is information about the process.
To render a disability determination, the Social Security
Administration employs a well known five step sequential
analysis. Step 1 of the sequential analysis is the question:
are you working? If a claimant is working and earning
at a level of “substantial gainful activity,” s/he is,
by definition, not disabled. At Step 2 of the sequential
analysis, if the claimant is not working, a decision
is then made as to whether the claimant has a “severe
impairment.” This is essentially a de minimus standard
to weed out frivolous claims. At Step 3, a determination
is made as to whether the claimant meets or equals in
severity a listed impairment. If s/he does, the claimant
will be found disabled. After Step 3, but prior to Step
4, a determination as to the claimant’s “residual functional
capacity” is made. Once “residual functional capacity”
is established, at Step 4 a determination is made as
to whether the claimant can return to her/his “past
relevant work.” If the claimant can return to her/his
“past relevant work,” unless a GRID rule applies, s/he
will be found not disabled. If it is determined at Step
4 that the claimant cannot return to her/his “past relevant
work,” at Step 5 a determination is made as to whether
the claimant retains the “residual functional capacity”
to perform any other type of work which exists in significant
numbers in the regional or national economies.(See 20
CFR 404.1520).
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Initial
After Social Security personnel complete the application
process, the “initial” application is sent to Disability
Determination Services (DDS), a state agency under contract
with the federal government to make disability determinations.
The DDS claims examiner assembles the claimant’s medical
records and any other medical evidence of disability,
and the case is sent to a DDS reviewing physician for
a disability determination. The claim is then sent back
to the local Social Security District Office for the
issuance of a Notice of Initial Determination.
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Reconsideration
If denied, the claimant has the right to file a “Request
for Reconsideration,” at which time the file will be
returned to DDS to a new claims examiner for additional
development of the medical record, if necessary, and
for a second disability determination by the DDS reviewing
physicians. The file is then again sent back to the
Social Security local District Office for issuance of
a “Notice of Reconsideration.”
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Hearing
If denied again at the reconsideration level, the claimant
has the right to Request a Hearing before an Administrative
Law Judge at the Office of Hearings and Appeals. The
average delay from the filing of a Request for Hearing
to the scheduling of the hearing varies but currently
is approximately sixteen (16) to eighteen (18) months
at the Providence Office of Hearings and Appeals. At
the hearing, the ALJ often employs the services of medical
and vocational experts to provide expert opinion evidence
as to the claimant’s medical condition, residual functional
capacity, and ability to work, including statistical
data regarding the existence and incidence of jobs the
claimant could perform, despite his/her impairment.
After the hearing is held, the average processing time
for the issuance of a decision is anywhere from one
to six months.
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Appeals Council
If the ALJ issues an Unfavorable Decision, the claimant
can file a Request for Review with the Appeals Council.
The Appeals Council is located in Falls Church, Virginia
and handles Requests for Review of Unfavorable Decisions
(at the hearing level) for the entire country. With
rare exception, the Request for Review entails a written
Memorandum of Law, alleging factual and/or legal errors.
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District Court
If the Appeals Council affirms the ALJ’s Unfavorable
Decision, the claimant has the right to file a complaint
for relief in the United States District Court (USDC)
for the district in which s/he resides.
Helpful
Numbers
Local Social Security Offices
Providence SSA |
380 Westminster Street, Providence, RI |
401-528-4112 |
Warwick SSA |
30 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI |
401-822-1463 |
Pawtucket SSA |
55 Broad Street, Pawtucket, RI |
401-725-8297 |
Woonsocket SSA |
2168 Diamond Hill Road, RI |
401-769-6941 |
New London SSA |
2 Shaw’s Cove, New London, CT |
860-443-8456 |
Department of Human Services
| Providence |
206 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI |
401-222-7000 |
| Cranston |
600 New London Avenue, Bldg 57, Cranston, RI |
401-462-6500 |
| Warwick |
195 Buttonwoods Avenue, Warwick, RI |
401-736-6511 |
| Johnston |
1514 Atwood Avenue, Johnston, RI |
401-222-5666 |
| Pawtucket |
24 Commerce Street, Pawtucket, RI |
401-729-5400 |
Click Here for Frequently
Asked Questions
Please fill out a contact
form or call us at (401) 274-7400 for
more information or a free legal consultation about
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