Orange County, California
SSDI and SSI Representation for Orange County, California, Claims Heard in Orange
The Social Security hearing office in the city of Orange, at Centrum North on West La Veta Avenue, carries nine field offices on its list in Social Security's locator data, from Anaheim and Santa Ana to Mission Viejo, along with Ontario and Pomona Valley. Downard & Associates represents adults across Orange County, California, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims at every stage before Social Security, from the application to Appeals Council review. There is no fee unless you win.
How we help
An Orange County Claim, Represented From Tennessee
Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video.
Federal rules decide an Orange County claim, as they do any other. Three things are local: the hearing office named on your letters, the hospital systems that hold your treatment history, and, for veterans, the county office that handles the VA side of the paperwork.
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 Orange County 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 Orange Hearing Office and the Nine Field Offices on Its List
Social Security's hearing office locator data gives this entry:
Orange hearing office: Centrum North, Suite 600, 1120 West La Veta Avenue, Orange, CA 92868.
Field offices on its list: Anaheim, Brea, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Ontario, Pomona Valley and Santa Ana.
None of those nine California field offices appears on any other hearing office's list in the same data. An Ontario office does show up under the Billings, MT, and Boise entries, but the data labels that one as an Oregon office. The locator names field offices, not counties or ZIP codes.
Your residence address, not the field office where you filed, sets which hearing office has your case. The operations manual, POMS GN 03103.040, says hearing office jurisdiction is determined by the claimant's residence address, and that the servicing office keeps jurisdiction even if the claimant has a representative whose office is in another hearing office's service area. The hearings manual, HALLEX I-2-0-70, calls that geographic area the office's service area. If a hearing office does not have jurisdiction, it sends the request to the office that does, so the Orange office generally handles claims from addresses in its service area, and the office named on your own hearing notice is the one to go by. Our hearing office directory covers offices nationwide, and our California disability lawyer page lists every hearing office in the state.
Hearing formats
How Social Security Sets the Format for an Orange 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 agency video as using Social Security's equipment at one of its offices, and phone and online video as taking place from a private location you choose.
The claimant does not simply pick one. Under 20 CFR 404.936 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1436 for SSI, Social Security sets the time and manner of appearance, and before scheduling it sends a notice that it may schedule you by audio or agency video. To object to a phone or agency video appearance, you must tell Social Security in writing within 30 days after you receive that notice. Online video takes your written agreement within the same 30 days, and you may withdraw that agreement any time before the hearing starts. Our page on disability hearings covers the hearing itself.
Local treatment records
Requesting Records From UCI Health, Providence, MemorialCare and Hoag
UCI Health: its UCI Medical Center records page points patients to UCI Health MyChart first, noting that some records are available only through the Medical Records department. For copies outside MyChart, the Authorization for Release of Health Information form goes with a legible copy of a valid photo ID by fax to 888-522-3679, by email to roi@hs.uci.edu, by mail to Medical Correspondence, UCI Medical Center, Building 25, 101 The City Drive South, Route 118, Orange, CA 92868, or in person. The records line is 714-456-5670. The page lists no charge for the first 20 pages released to a patient and $0.25 per page after that, and asks you to allow seven to 10 business days from receipt of a completed authorization.
Providence St. Joseph Hospital, Orange: the hospital's contact page lists medical records at 1-855-234-2491 and links to Providence's health information management page. That page offers MyChart, or the Patient Request to Access/Disclose a Designated Record Set Form sent to Providence St. Joseph Health, Central ROI, PO Box 4950, Portland, OR 97208, or by fax to 1-470-437-3807. It says radiology and other department records are requested from the department at the facility where you were treated, with a separate authorization. Providence's California records page puts Mission Hospitals in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach under the same regional link as St. Joseph.
MemorialCare Orange Coast and Saddleback Medical Centers: MemorialCare's records page lists one Medical Records Department for all its hospitals, at (657) 241-7001 and fax (657) 276-4774. Its Authorization to Use and Disclose Protected Health Information form asks you to name the imaging type in Section 6, takes a separate signature in Section 7 for sensitive information such as psychiatric therapy notes, and is valid for ninety days unless you enter another date. Paper copies for personal use are $0.25 per page, and a CD or USB is $6.50.
Hoag: its patient health records page lists Hoag Connect MyChart, with imaging among the records available there, and a signed Authorization for Release of Health Information sent by fax to 949-764-8237, by email to HoagMedicalRecords@hoag.org or by mail to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Attn: Medical Records/Release of Information, One Hoag Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92658. The records line is 949-764-8326. Requests of 25 pages or less carry no charge.
Local resources
Veterans and County Clinic Records in Orange County
Veterans: Social Security's page for veterans says the programs, processes and criteria for SSDI and VA benefits are very different, that SSDI and VA disability compensation are not affected by each other, and that you must apply for them separately. It adds that a VA disability compensation rating of 100% Permanent & Total may qualify you for expedited claim processing. Our veterans page covers SSDI for veterans. For the VA claim itself, the County of Orange runs the OC Veterans Service Office at 1300 S. Grand Ave., Bldg. B, Second Floor, Santa Ana, CA 92705, phone (714) 480-6555, which offers free benefits claims counseling and information and referral assistance. Its FAQ page lists service-connected disability compensation and non-service-connected disability pension among the benefits it helps with.
County clinic records: if any treatment came through the Orange County Health Care Agency, its records page says the Custodian of Records Office handles all requests for medical records the agency maintains. The Custodian of Records Office accepts requests by mail to HCA / Custodian of Records, PO Box 355, Santa Ana, CA 92702, by email to COR@ochca.com, or by hand to 200 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Suite #180, Santa Ana, CA 92701. The office's number is (714) 834-3536.
After a denial
Appeal Deadlines After an Orange County Denial
Deadline
60days
20 CFR 404.909
Two 60-day clocks matter before a hearing. A request for reconsideration is due within 60 days after you receive the initial determination, 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 notice, under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433.
Receipt has its own rule. 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 you did not receive it within that 5-day period. Note the day each envelope arrives.
A late request can still go forward with good cause. 20 CFR 404.911 and 20 CFR 416.1411 list examples, including a serious illness that kept you from contacting Social Security, important records destroyed or damaged by fire or other accidental cause, and a notice you never received. Good cause is not automatic, so file promptly with a written explanation. Our appeals page walks through each level.
Common questions
Orange County, California Disability Claim Questions
Does the field office where I filed decide which hearing office gets my case?
No. POMS GN 03103.040 ties hearing office jurisdiction to your residence address. A case can be transferred to another office, for example at the claimant's request, so go by the hearing office named on your own notices.
Who in Orange County helps with the VA claim itself?
The County of Orange runs the OC Veterans Service Office in Santa Ana, which offers free benefits claims counseling. We handle the SSDI claim only, not VA claims or appeals.
Does Hoag charge for a short medical records request?
Hoag's records page says it charges a reasonable fee for copies of medical records, that requests of 25 pages or less are free, and that a fee schedule is available on request.
How long does a MemorialCare records authorization stay valid?
Ninety days, unless you write in another date. Check the date on the form before resending an old one.
Can I email my UCI Health records request?
Yes, if you are the patient. UCI Health accepts email requests at roi@hs.uci.edu only from patients and providers; include the signed authorization and a legible copy of your photo ID. Requests from attorneys, copy services and subpoenas go to UCI's Health Information Management Department instead.
Discuss your claim
Talk Through Your Orange County Claim by Phone or Video
Have your current address, the date printed on your latest Social Security notice and the names of the hospitals that treated you. We respond within 3 business hours.