Fresno, California
SSDI and SSI Lawyers for Fresno and the Eight Field Offices Heard on Tulare Street
Eight Social Security field offices share one hearing office address in Fresno: Suite 300, 2440 Tulare Street. Three carry Fresno names, and the other five are Hanford, Madera, Merced, Porterville and Visalia. Downard & Associates represents adults in Fresno and those towns 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
Handling a Fresno Claim From Tennessee
Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video.
A Fresno claim rests on the same federal rules as a claim filed anywhere: the medical evidence, the work history and the appeal deadlines. Three things are local. Which hearing office your field office feeds, the language you want to testify in, and which hospital system holds your records.
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 Fresno 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 Fresno Hearing Office and the Field Offices on Its List
Social Security's hearing office locator data lists one hearing office for this part of California:
Fresno hearing office: Suite 300, 2440 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721.
Field offices on its list: Fresno, Southeast Fresno, West Fresno, Hanford, Madera, Merced, Porterville and Visalia. None of the eight appears under any other hearing office in the same data.
Some Central Valley field offices are on other lists. Modesto is listed under the Stockton hearing office, Suite 100, 3116 W. March Lane, Stockton, with Lodi, Manteca, Sonora and Stockton. Bakersfield, Bakersfield-East Hills and Delano are listed under the San Francisco hearing office on Howard Street.
The field office list is 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 that the office serving that address keeps jurisdiction even if the claimant's representative is in another office's service area. Choosing a Tennessee firm does not move a Fresno case. The hearings manual, HALLEX I-2-0-70, has staff forward a hearing request to the office with jurisdiction, and if you move while the request is pending, the chief judge can transfer the case in limited situations, so the Fresno office generally handles claims from addresses in its service area, and the office named on your notices is the one to follow. Our hearing office directory covers offices nationwide, and our California disability lawyer page covers the state's other hearing offices.
Hearing formats
How You Appear at a Tulare Street Hearing
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 from a private location you choose, agency video on Social Security's equipment at one of its offices, and online video on a smartphone, tablet or computer. After you request a hearing, Social Security sends a document titled Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing.
Social Security sets the format, not the claimant. Under 20 CFR 404.936 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1436 for SSI, it notifies you before scheduling that it may schedule you by phone or agency video. If you object to either, you must say so in writing within 30 days after you receive that notice. Online video requires your written agreement within the same 30 days, and you can withdraw that agreement any time before the hearing starts. Our page on disability hearings walks through the hearing itself.
Local treatment records
Records From Community Regional Medical Center and Saint Agnes
Community Medical Centers: its medical records page covers Community Regional Medical Center, Community Behavioral Health Center, Clovis Community Medical Center and Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital. Requests start with the Authorization for Disclosure Form, offered in English and Spanish, mailed or faxed to the facility where you received care. For Community Regional and Community Behavioral Health Center, that is Attn: Health Information Management Department, P.O. Box 1232, Fresno, CA 93715, fax (559) 459-2412, phone (559) 459-3925. Clovis Community Medical Center has its own department at 2755 Herndon Avenue, Clovis, CA 93611, fax (559) 324-3708, phone (559) 324-4066. The page says copies may carry a reasonable, cost-based fee and asks you to allow up to 15 business days for processing. It also says the MyHealthMate portal does not reflect the complete contents of the medical record, so a portal printout is not the full record.
Saint Agnes Medical Center: its records request page offers an online request application for patients, with status tracking, that requires a driver's license or other government-issued ID. The other route is the Authorization for Release of Information Form, returned with a copy of your ID to Health Information Management by email at frhsmedicalrecords@samc.com, by fax to (559) 450-3771 or by mail to Saint Agnes Medical Center, Attn: Health Information Management MS 510, 1303 E. Herndon Ave., Fresno, CA 93720. The phone line is (559) 450-3327. Saint Agnes Care clinics keep their own records, so clinic visits are requested from the provider office directly, not through the hospital.
Neither page addresses imaging, so ask each department how scans and radiology reports are released.
Language at the hearing
A Hearing Interpreter at No Cost to You
The request goes on the request for hearing, where the claimant notes that a foreign language interpreter is needed.
Community Medical Centers publishes its records form in Spanish as well as English, and Social Security has its own rules for claimants who want to testify in a language other than English. Its hearings manual, HALLEX I-2-1-70, says Social Security will provide an interpreter free of charge when a claimant asks for one, or when one is needed so the claimant is not at a disadvantage. The request goes on the request for hearing, where the claimant notes that a foreign language interpreter is needed. The same section allows an in-person interpreter at any hearing, whatever way the claimant appears.
The interpreter has to meet standards. HALLEX I-2-6-10 has the judge confirm a qualified interpreter is available and administer an oath under penalty of perjury. The interpreter must have no prior relationship to the claimant or any other party testifying, and must certify they are not acting as the claimant's legal representative.
Outside the hearing, Social Security's interpreter page says it provides free interpreter services for Social Security business. Call 1-800-772-1213, and for Spanish press 7 and wait for a Spanish-speaking representative.
After a denial
Sixty Days From Receipt, Plus Five for the Mail
Deadline
60days
20 CFR 404.909
A denial notice starts a 60-day clock for the next written appeal. Reconsideration is due within 60 days after you receive the initial denial, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI. A hearing request is due within 60 days after you receive the reconsideration denial, under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433. Under 20 CFR 404.901 and 20 CFR 416.1401, the date you receive a notice means 5 days after the date on it, unless you show it did not reach you in that time.
A late request can still go forward with good cause. 20 CFR 404.911 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1411 for SSI tell Social Security to consider whether you had any physical, mental, educational or linguistic limitations, including any lack of facility with the English language, that kept you from filing on time or from understanding the need to file. The listed examples of good cause include a death or serious illness in your immediate family and a notice you never received. If a deadline has passed, file as soon as you can and write down what delayed you. Our appeals page covers each level in order.
Common questions
Fresno Disability Claim Questions
Is a Merced or Visalia claim heard in Fresno?
Merced and Visalia are both on the Fresno hearing office's field office list in Social Security's locator data. Jurisdiction follows your residence address, and if you move while your hearing request is pending, Social Security can transfer the case in limited situations, so the office named on your Notice of Hearing is the one that counts.
Which hearing office handles Modesto and Bakersfield claims?
In the same data, the Modesto field office is listed under the Stockton hearing office on W. March Lane, and the Bakersfield, Bakersfield-East Hills and Delano field offices are listed under the San Francisco hearing office on Howard Street.
What does Social Security require of a hearing interpreter?
Under HALLEX I-2-6-10, the interpreter takes an oath under penalty of perjury, must have no prior relationship to the claimant or anyone else testifying, and cannot be acting as the claimant's legal representative. Social Security provides a qualified interpreter free of charge when you note the need on your request for hearing.
Does MyHealthMate give me my complete Community Regional record?
No. Community Medical Centers says the portal does not reflect the complete contents of the medical record. For a full copy, send the Authorization for Disclosure Form to Health Information Management by mail or fax.
How do I get records from a Saint Agnes Care clinic?
Saint Agnes says each Saint Agnes Care clinic keeps its own medical records, so contact that provider office directly instead of the hospital's Health Information Management department.
Does limited English count toward good cause for a late appeal?
It is one of the factors Social Security considers. 20 CFR 404.911 and 416.1411 ask whether a linguistic limitation, including any lack of facility with the English language, kept you from filing on time or from understanding the need to file.
Discuss your claim
Start a Fresno Claim Review by Phone or Video
Tell us your address, the date on your most recent Social Security notice and whether you want an interpreter at your hearing. We respond within 3 business hours.