A new study by the NBER (The National Bureau of Economic Research) was completed, analyzing the effectiveness of legal representation fo Social Seucrity disability claims in the initial allowance stage of the application process. “The authors find that legal representation increases the probability of initial allowance by 23 percentage points. Given the mean of 32 percent, this represents a very large effect.”

Legal guidance through the application process and initial allowance stage is critical. A lawyer will tell you the things that need to be presented to the Administration in the initial application stage. A lawyer can provide guidance on the questions that are asked and the information you need to have ready to present your claim.

If you have filed for benefits or plan to file for benefits, call my office. We can guide you through the system and go to court with you to make sure you get the benefits you deserve. We help people in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, from our offices in Shreveport and Baton Rouge. Call us at 225-281-7715 to talk about your claim or email us at jeff@nicholsonlawfirmllc.com.

SSI is the needs based benefit millions of disabled Americans receive. It is meant to provide money for the basic necessities of life like food and shelter. A claimant qualifies for the benefit at the time it is awarded, but when circumstances change it can raise or lower the benefit, depending on what changes happen in your life. An article on THUMBTACK lists some of the common changes that must be reported to Social Security if you are on SSI:

• Changes in income, wages, or self-employment income;
• Starting, stopping, or changing jobs;
• Changing your address or persons moving in or out of the household;
• Changes in marital status (including any same-sex relationships);
• Having more than $2,000 if you are single or $3,000 if you are married in resources that you can cash in, sell, or use to pay for food and shelter; and
• Changes in resources, including money in financial accounts and buying or selling extra vehicles, stocks, investments, or property.

The Social Security Administration’s brochure What You Need To Know When You Get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) contains more detailed information about the benefit. SSI recipients can sign up for monthly SSI wage reporting emails or text reminders, so you do not forget to report any changes.

WHY IT MATTERS

SSI recipients are required to report a change within 10 days after the month it happens. If you do not report the change in a timely manner, you should report a change even if you’re late. Failure to report timely may cause you to:

· Receive less than you should and take longer to receive the correct amount;

· Receive more than you should and have to pay it back;

· Have a penalty deducted from your SSI payment; or

· Lose SSI for not reporting information that we use to determine whether you are still eligible for SSI.

If you applied for SSI or SSDI Social Security benefits and were denied, we can help. Please call us at our Baton Rouge office 225-281-7715 or our Shreveport office 318-618-0303. You can also contact us via email at jeff@nicholsonlawfirmllc.com. We provide representation throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Southern Arkansas and East Texas. Call us today.

Have you been cut off of your Social Security Disability benefits? Common reasons for being cut of of benefits include a change in medical condition, change in functional capcity, or chidlren turning the age of 18. Whatever the reason, you will need help in determing if it is posssible to retain your benefits. Give us a call.

If you are terminated because of lack of medical evidence, go to the doctor to treat for your disabling condition. If the medical evidence used against you indicates you can function at a level that makes you employable, ask your doctor to write a note that outlines the symptoms that prevnt you from working.

We offer free consultations for Social Security Benefits. Our offices are in Shreveport and Baton Rouge and we service all of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas. Call 225-281-7715 or 318-618-0303 for more information.

At the Nicholson Law Firm we help disabled individuals navigate the Social Security Disability system. Whether you have a physical or mental disability, it can take years and a lot of fighting to get the benefits you deserve. We are here to help.

There are several steps to the process. First – file your claim. It can be done in person, over the phone, or on the computer. The computer is the quickest way to apply. Start your application at ssa.gov/apply. After you are denied, you have 60 days to appeal a denial. Contact my office as soon as you are denied for a free consulation. Once you appeal, it is a two step process to get the case in front of the Judge. We guide you through the appeals process and attend the hearing with you to plead your case.

You only pay a fee if we are successful. The fee comes out of any back benefits due to you. Call us today for a free consultation, we look forward to helping you. In the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area call 225-281-7715. In the Shreveport/Monroe area call 318-618-0303. We represent people from Texas to Louisiana and from Arkansas to Missiissippi navigate the disability system and we want to be your lawyers.

To start you Social Security Disability claim please visit the SSA website and fill out the application as soon as you are disabled.

If you have been denied you have 60 days to file for an appeal. You can visit SSA Appeals website to file for you appeal.

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If you live in Louisiana and are appealing a denied Disability claim, you will likely end up before a judge at one of the Louisiana ODAR offices. ODAR, which is short for the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, is the branch of the Social Security Administration responsible for handling appeals and scheduling Disability hearings.

Your hearing should be scheduled at the ODAR office closest to your home. The ODAR in Shreveport, for example, doesn’t just serve Louisiana residents. It also serves Texas and Arkansas residents who live within 75 miles of its location.

Like every other state in the U.S., there is a backlog of Disability appeals in Louisiana which means your hearing will not be scheduled immediately. Fortunately, the wait time is not as bad in Louisiana as many other states. On average, you will wait anywhere from six to twelve months before an Administrative Law Judge will hear your case in Louisiana.

The Disability appeals process can be complicated and confusing. If you have questions or need legal help, please contact us. The Disability team at Nicholson Law Firm have successfully represented hundreds of people during their Disability hearing and it would be our privilege to represent you, too. We know the system ― and our way around Louisiana ODAR offices. Call us today to get started today.

To Find Your Local Social Security Office Click Here.

ODAR Offices

ALEXANDRIA, LA

3403 Government Street Alexandria, LA 71302

Phone: 877-748-9764

Serves the following field offices: Alexandria, Bastrop, DeRidder, El Dorado, Lake Charles, Leesville, Monroe, Natchitoches and Ruston

METAIRIE, LA

Galleria Building 1 Galleria Boulevard, Suite 2000 Metairie, LA 70001

Phone: 877-870-6383

Serves the following field offices: Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge (North), Bogalusa, Hammond and Kenner

NEW ORLEANS, LA

1515 Poydras Street, Suite 1600 New Orleans, LA 70112

Phone: 888-297-2210

Serves the following field offices: Houma, Lacombe, Lafayette, Morgan City, New Iberia, New Orleans (Downtown), New Orleans (West Bank), Opelousas

SHREVEPORT, LA

Louisiana Tower 401 Edwards Street, Suite 700 Shreveport, LA 71101 Phone: 866-690-1805

Serves the following field offices: LOUISIANA: Minden and Shreveport ARKANSAS: Texarkana TEXAS: Marshall

Contact the Nicholson Law Firm today for a free consultation. The Nicholson Law Firm has offices in Baton Rouge and Shreveport. We cover the entire state of Louisiana, including Bossier City, Alexandria, Lafayette, Monroe Gonzales, Livingston, Amite, Hammond, Covington, Denham Springs, New Orleans, Port Allen, Plaquemine, New Roads, and many other cities.

Contact us today at (225) 281-7715 for our Baton Rouge office or (318) 618-0303 for our Shreveport office

The contents of this website do not constitute legal advice. The information contained on this site is for general information only and should not be applied to any specific situation. Any use of the site does not create or constitute a client-lawyer relationship between Nicholson Law Firm and the user of the site. If you require legal advice, consult with an experienced attorney.

Car accidents can lead to severely disabling injuries. Our firm frequently represents people severely injured in automobile accidents. Sometimes our car accident clients are so severely injured that they need to apply for Social Security disability benefits in addition to pursuing a claim for their automobile accident injury. Here are some of the questions my automobile accident clients frequently ask:

Q: Can I pursue a claim for a car wreck and pursue disability benefits as well?

A: Yes, the two are separate claims and can be pursued at the same time.

Q: Will I have to pay back money from the car accident if I receive SSDI benefits?

A: No, you can receive money for personal injury and collect SSDI benefits as well.

Q: Do I qualify for SSDI benefits if I sustained a brain injury in a car accident?

A: It depends on the severity of the brain injury. Your treating physician will diagnose the brain injury and tells us how severe the injury is. Then we makes an argument in Social Security Court regarding whether the diagnosis qualifies under the Bluebook Guidelines for mental disorders or neurological disorders (cerebral trauma).

Q: I was hit by an insured car but my vehicle was not insured, will their insurance still cover my medical bills?

A: In Louisiana, we have a law called “no pay, no play.” That law says that the driver of an uninsured vehicle, involved in a car accident, cannot collect the first $15,000.00 in damages owed to them by the at fault driver. The passengers in the uninsured vehicle, as long as they are not the owner of the vehicle, can collect any damages owed to them.

The question of whether your car was insured does not affect the ability to proceed with a Social Security Disability claim, which is not controlled by the no pay, no play statute.

Call us to get your claim started.

Contact the Nicholson Law Firm today for a free consultation. The Nicholson Law Firm has offices in Baton Rouge and Shreveport. We cover the entire state of Louisiana, including Bossier City, Alexandria, Lafayette, Monroe Gonzales, Livingston, Amite, Hammond, Covington, Denham Springs, New Orleans, Port Allen, Plaquemine, New Roads, and many other cities.

Contact us today at (225) 281-7715 for our Baton Rouge office or (318) 618-0303 for our Shreveport office

The contents of this website do not constitute legal advice. The information contained on this site is for general information only and should not be applied to any specific situation. Any use of the site does not create or constitute a client-lawyer relationship between Nicholson Law Firm and the user of the site. If you require legal advice, consult with an experienced attorney.

The best time to hire an attorney is when your disability claim is denied by the Social Security Administration. An attorney can file your appeal and represent you at the hearing in front of the Social Security Judge. After your denial, you have 60 days to file your appeal. But it is good to hire an attorney quickly, and file your appeal quickly, because there is a long wait between when you file an appeal and when the claim is assigned for hearing. I prefer to start the appeal process as soon as possible, so that my client is assigned a hearing date as soon as possible.

In Louisiana the wait for a hearing can be as long as a year or more. The Social Security Administration’s wait time stats for your jurisdiction can be found here.

Once your hearing is completed, the ALJ writes a decision granting or denying your benefits. It takes about two months to receive an opinion from most ALJ’s, but sometimes it takes longer. When a favorable opinion is rendered, the opinion is sent to the benefits facility for processing and it generally takes a couple of months for SSA to issue your first check. As you can see, the whole process, from application to benefits, can take over a year.

Sally Greer’s story, published in the Orange County Register, is similar to the story of most of my clients. And the wait times in her jurisdiction are similar to the wait times experienced in most of Louisiana. Sally’s story is a real world example of what to expect when waiting on your claim to be approved.

Contact the Nicholson Law Firm today for a free consultation. The Nicholson Law Firm has offices in Baton Rouge and Shreveport. We cover the entire state of Louisiana, including Bossier City, Alexandria, Lafayette, Monroe Gonzales, Livingston, Amite, Hammond, Covington, Denham Springs, New Orleans, Port Allen, Plaquemine, New Roads, and many other cities.

Contact us today at (225) 281-7715 for our Baton Rouge office or (318) 618-0303 for our Shreveport office

The contents of this website do not constitute legal advice. The information contained on this site is for general information only and should not be applied to any specific situation. Any use of the site does not create or constitute a client-lawyer relationship between Nicholson Law Firm and the user of the site. If you require legal advice, consult with an experienced attorney.

Traumatic brain injury is common in car accident cases. It is therefore important to know the signs and symptoms of brain injury. The Mayo Clinic published the following guidelines:

Overview

Traumatic brain injury usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body. An object that penetrates brain tissue, such as a bullet or shattered piece of skull, also can cause traumatic brain injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury may affect your brain cells temporarily. More-serious traumatic brain injury can result in bruising, torn tissues, bleeding and other physical damage to the brain. These injuries can result in long-term complications or death.

Symptoms

Traumatic brain injury can have wide-ranging physical and psychological effects. Some signs or symptoms may appear immediately after the traumatic event, while others may appear days or weeks later.

Mild traumatic brain injury

The signs and symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury may include:

Physical symptoms

• Loss of consciousness for a few seconds to a few minutes
• No loss of consciousness, but a state of being dazed, confused or disoriented
• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fatigue or drowsiness
• Problems with speech
• Difficulty sleeping
• Sleeping more than usual
• Dizziness or loss of balance

Sensory symptoms

• Sensory problems, such as blurred vision, ringing in the ears, a bad taste in the mouth or changes in the ability to smell
• Sensitivity to light or sound

Cognitive or mental symptoms

• Memory or concentration problems
• Mood changes or mood swings
• Feeling depressed or anxious

Moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries

Moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries can include any of the signs and symptoms of mild injury, as well as these symptoms that may appear within the first hours to days after a head injury:

Physical symptoms

• Loss of consciousness from several minutes to hours
• Persistent headache or headache that worsens
• Repeated vomiting or nausea
• Convulsions or seizures
• Dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes
• Clear fluids draining from the nose or ears
• Inability to awaken from sleep
• Weakness or numbness in fingers and toes
• Loss of coordination

Cognitive or mental symptoms

• Profound confusion
• Agitation, combativeness or other unusual behavior
• Slurred speech
• Coma and other disorders of consciousness

Children’s symptoms

Infants and young children with brain injuries might not be able to communicate headaches, sensory problems, confusion and similar symptoms. In a child with traumatic brain injury, you may observe:

• Change in eating or nursing habits
• Unusual or easy irritability
• Persistent crying and inability to be consoled
• Change in ability to pay attention
• Change in sleep habits
• Seizures
• Sad or depressed mood
• Drowsiness
• Loss of interest in favorite toys or activities

If you were injured in an accident, contact the Nicholson Law Firm today for a free consultation. The Nicholson Law Firm has offices in Baton Rouge and Shreveport. We cover the entire state of Louisiana, including Bossier City, Alexandria, Lafayette, Monroe Gonzales, Livingston, Amite, Hammond, Covington, Denham Springs, New Orleans, Port Allen, Plaquemine, New Roads, and many other cities.

Contact us today at (225) 281-7715 for our Baton Rouge office or (318) 618-0303 for our Shreveport office

The contents of this website do not constitute legal advice. The information contained on this site is for general information only and should not be applied to any specific situation. Any use of the site does not create or constitute a client-lawyer relationship between Nicholson Law Firm and the user of the site. If you require legal advice, consult with an experienced attorney.

“Mr. Nicholson did a great job for me, he got me my money real fast.” – Robert J.

Robert had another attorney.  That attorney took Robert’s case to hearing and lost.  The other attorney would not file an appeal to the Appeals Council, so Robert filed his own appeal.  The Appeals Council sent Robert’s case back to Baton Rouge for a new hearing and Robert contacted me.  I got involved in the case a couple of weeks before the hearing.

Robert had a compelling story.  He worked for over twenty years as a diesel mechanic helper, a nursing home orderly and in several other manual labor positions.  At the hearing, the crucial issue in the case, which the Appeals Council asked the ALJ to explore, was whether Robert needed a cane to walk. The medical records were full of references to the cane.

Robert’s case was won because Robert was a hard working man.  A man who would rather work than depend on Social Security for support.  But Robert was too worn out to continue working.  Although he wanted to continue working his body would not cooperate.  That was the story Robert told to the ALJ.

I take pride in representing men like Robert.  Let me know if I can help you.  Contact me at 225-281-7715 for a free consultation.