Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers SSDI and SSI Lawyers for a Two-Field-Office Hearing Area
Social Security's hearing office data gives the Fort Myers hearing office on Executive Circle a service list of two field offices, Ft. Myers and Naples. Downard & Associates represents adults in Fort Myers, Naples and the communities around them with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims through every stage before Social Security, from the application to Appeals Council review. There is no fee unless you win.
How we help
Representing Fort Myers and Naples Claimants From Lebanon, Tennessee
What is local is the paper trail: one hearing office for two field offices, and two hospital systems with different records routes.
SSDI and SSI are federal programs, so the rules for a Fort Myers claim are the ones in Social Security's regulations. What is local is the paper trail: one hearing office for two field offices, and two hospital systems with different records routes. Lee Health sends hospital requests to the records department of the hospital where you were a patient, and NCH takes records requests through its Health Information Management office at the NCH Business Center in Naples.
We handle applications, reconsideration, hearings and Appeals Council review, for SSDI claims and for SSI claims, and we respond within 3 business hours.
We have no Fort Myers office. Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video. We represent adults age 18 and older. We handle SSDI cases for people who receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or cases about back pay alone, and we refer federal court appeals to affiliated counsel.
Hearing office
The Executive Circle Hearing Office and the Offices Around It
Social Security's hearing office locator data lists the Fort Myers hearing office at Suite 25, 4220 Executive Circle, Ft. Myers, FL 33916, telephone (888) 462-1109. Its service list names two Florida field offices, Ft. Myers and Naples. Neither one appears on any other hearing office's list in the same data.
Field offices elsewhere in the region sit on other lists. Sarasota and Venice appear under the St. Petersburg hearing office at Suite 200, 830 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, and Sebring appears under the Tampa hearing office at Fountain Square II, Suite 200, 4925 Independence Parkway, Tampa.
Those lists are a guide, not the rule. Social Security's operations manual, POMS GN 03103.040, says hearing office jurisdiction is determined by the claimant's residence address, and the hearings manual, HALLEX I-2-0-70, describes each office's designated geographic area as its service area. A claimant who lives in the area served by Executive Circle normally has the hearing there, and Social Security can transfer cases, so the Notice of Hearing is the document that names the office handling yours. The same POMS section says the servicing office keeps jurisdiction even when the claimant's representative has an office in another hearing office's service area, so hiring a Tennessee firm does not move a Fort Myers case to Tennessee.
Our hearing office directory lists offices nationwide, and our Florida disability lawyer page covers the other offices that decide Florida claims.
Hearing formats
How a Fort Myers Hearing Can Take Place
Deadline
30days
20 CFR 404.936
Social Security offers hearings by phone, online video, agency video or in person. Its hearing options page describes a phone hearing in a private location you choose, agency video using Social Security's video equipment at one of its offices, and online video on a personal electronic device, such as a smartphone, tablet or computer with an internet connection, in a private location you choose.
Social Security sets the format, and the claimant has a written window to respond. Under 20 CFR 404.936 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1436 for SSI, it notifies you before scheduling that it may schedule you to appear by audio or by agency video. To object to either, you must notify Social Security in writing within 30 days after the date you receive that notice. Online video is used only if you agree, and the agreement must also be in writing within those 30 days. You may withdraw it any time before the start of your hearing. Our page on disability hearings covers the hearing itself.
Local treatment records
Requesting Records From Lee Health and NCH
Lee Health: its medical records page says a completed authorization to release information form signed by you or by your legal guardian is required. It lists the Authorization for Release of Medical Record Information (#1062) and the Patient Access Request For Medical Records (#2487), each in English and Spanish. The page also offers an online records request tool that verifies your identity with a photo of your driver's license.
Paper requests go by mail or fax to the Medical Records Department of the Lee Health hospital where you were a patient. The page lists four records locations, all reached at 239-424-1340: 636 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral, FL 33990, and in Fort Myers, 13681 Doctor's Way (33912), 9981 S. HealthPark Dr. (33908) and 2776 Cleveland Ave. (33901). Non-STAT hospital requests are faxed to 239-343-4189, and requests the page labels Clinic/LPG go to a different fax, 239-343-4188, so list every hospital and clinic where you were seen.
NCH: the NCH Healthcare System medical records page describes MyChart as a free online portal offering personalized and secure online access to medical records, and it offers online requests through a secure website hosted by its release of information partner, Datavant. On paper, the Consent for Release of Medical Information form comes in English, Spanish and Creole. Return it with a copy of your photo ID by fax to 239-624-6561, by email to ReleaseofInformation@nchmd.org, or by mail to NCH Business Center, Health Information Management, 1100 Immokalee Road, Suite 100, Naples, FL 34110. The records line is 239-624-6567. The page says a fee for medical record copies may apply, and that copies sent to another provider for ongoing care carry no fee.
Older records
Older Naples Records and NCH's Ten-Year Retention Line
NCH's records page states that health records are retained for a period of ten years after your last date of service or final treatment. That clock runs from the last visit, so the records most exposed are the ones from an NCH provider you stopped seeing years ago.
How far back Social Security looks at medical evidence is set by its rules. Under 20 CFR 404.1512 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.912 for SSI, before finding you not disabled, Social Security develops your complete medical history for at least the 12 months preceding the month you file, and for an earlier period when there is a reason to believe that is necessary. If your condition began well before that window and your NCH treatment for it ended long ago, request those records while NCH still holds them.
After a denial
Fort Myers Appeal Deadlines, Counted From the Day You Receive the Notice
Deadline
5days
20 CFR 404.901
Each appeal deadline runs from the date you receive the notice, not the date printed on it. Under 20 CFR 404.901 and 20 CFR 416.1401, the date you receive notice means 5 days after the date on the notice, unless you show Social Security that you did not receive it within the 5-day period.
Reconsideration: within 60 days after you receive notice of the initial determination, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI.
Hearing: within 60 days after you receive notice of the reconsideration determination, under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433.
A late request needs good cause. 20 CFR 404.911 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1411 for SSI give examples, among them important records destroyed or damaged by fire or other accidental cause, a notice you did not receive, and unusual or unavoidable circumstances that prevented you from filing on time. Ask for the extension in writing and explain why the request is late. Our appeals page walks through each level in order.
Common questions
Fort Myers and Naples Disability Claim Questions
Does Naples have its own hearing office, or does it share one?
Social Security's hearing office data lists no separate hearing office in Naples. The Naples field office appears on the service list of the Fort Myers hearing office at 4220 Executive Circle. Your Notice of Hearing names the office handling your case.
My field office is Venice. Is that on the Fort Myers list?
No. The data lists the Venice and Sarasota field offices under the St. Petersburg hearing office. Jurisdiction follows your residence address, so check the office named on your letters.
Which Lee Health fax number takes clinic record requests?
Lee Health's records page sends Clinic/LPG requests to 239-343-4188 and non-STAT hospital requests to 239-343-4189. STAT requests are faxed to one of the hospitals in its office locations list.
Can I email an NCH records request?
Yes. NCH's records page says the completed Consent for Release of Medical Information form can be returned by fax, mail or email, with a copy of your photo ID. The email address is ReleaseofInformation@nchmd.org.
What if I miss the 30 days to object to a phone hearing?
Under 20 CFR 404.936 and 416.1436, Social Security extends that time if you show good cause under 404.911 or 416.1411. Send the objection in writing as soon as you can, with the reason it is late.
Discuss your claim
Talk Through Your Fort Myers or Naples Claim by Phone or Video
Have your residence address ready, along with the date on your latest Social Security notice and a list of the Lee Health, NCH or other places where you were treated. We respond within 3 business hours.