Public Entitlements
For specific examples of how we have assisted clients in
these three areas
Representation in these cases helps people maintain a
subsistence level of income for their families.
The goals of this representation include:
- Provide efficient and effective service to clients.
- Increase community awareness and knowledge of issues
affecting public benefit recipients.
Education and employment problems frequently develop for
individuals and families in poverty. Our broad goals in providing representation in these
areas include:
- Create opportunities for individuals to participate in
educational decisions and regional economic planning.
- Educate and empower our clients to make informed decisions
with regard to educational matters that face them.
- Ensure that all students receive the quality education to
which they are legally entitled.
- Become an authoritative community legal institution in the
areas of education and employment.
- Strive for cooperative relations between the business,
educational and client communities.
- Assist in efforts to create new jobs and preserve the
economic base of our service area.
- Ensure greater opportunities for business ownership by
members of our client community through community economic development.
- Attract investment in low income communities.
- Obtain additional funding and resources to increase our
service to clients in these areas of representation.
Representation in this area ensures that individuals and
families have basic health care. Our goals in providing representation include:
- Improve the level of expertise of our program staff
relating to health care issues.
- Improve the quality and efficiency of service provided to
clients.
- Increase community awareness of Northwestern Legal Services
as a resource to clients with health care problems.
- Serve more clients with health care problems.
- Increase the participation of individual clients and client
organizations in statewide health care advisory committees and task forces.
The mother of a 14-year-old boy suffering from severe
attention deficit and bipolar disorders, came to our office with her son seeking
assistance regarding the suspension and attempted recoupment of $12,000 in back payments
by the Social Security Administration. They took this action based upon a wrongful death
action brought by the estate of the boy’s father resulting in an award of $20,000
which was placed in a trust for the client until his 18th birthday.
There has been no improvement in the client’s
condition or disability. The monies held in trust will be needed to help the boy with his
daily living expenses once he reaches maturity. The Social Security Administration
required that the client produce proof that access to the funds in trust are restricted to
him until he is 18 years of age. Our office petitioned the court to release the client
funds based on this premise. We prevailed in this matter and the client is now eligible to
receive SSI benefits and will more than likely prevail on the issue of overpayment.
A client was a 47 year old who came to our office seeking
help with a Social Security claim. She had worked as a cook at a local college for many
years and before that worked as a bartender for several years. All her work involved heavy
lifting. Our client developed severe degenerative arthritis of the spine which caused her
a great deal of pain and hindered mobility. She underwent back surgery but unfortunately
the surgery was not successful and the pain continued.
The client applied for Social Security Disability and SSI
when it became obvious to her that she could no longer carry on with her job. The claim
was denied. We were able to develop the Social Security record for our client with reports
from her orthopedic surgeon. Our client subsequently received a favorable decision from
the Administrative Law Judge after a hearing on the matter.
A client came to our office late in the afternoon because
she had an unemployment compensation hearing scheduled in five days. She had been fired
from her employment as an accounting clerk three months prior. The client was nearly
hysterical. Her hearing had been continued twice, once because she had been unrepresented
and the second time because her attorney had quit her case on the day before the hearing.
The unemployment compensation referee was very angry with her when she asked for the
second continuance, but allowed it. The client had no income and was facing eviction, the
loss of her car, and possibly bankruptcy.
From the materials in her case, it appeared that the
client had been fired for incompetence at her job. She was supposed to learn accounting
principles by on-the-job training, but was unable to sufficiently learn them and made
numerous errors. The employer, at the hearing, admitted that the client always tried her
best but the errors were due to insufficient training. Two days after the hearing our
client was awarded her unemployment compensation benefits.
We represented a 25-year-old woman in her claim for
Supplemental Security Income. This client suffered from severe asthma and other
complicating respiratory ailments. During the course of our representation the client was
hospitalized several times while we awaited a hearing date. At the hearing, the
Administrative Law Judge found her not to be disabled and stated that she exaggerated her
symptoms, even though the hearing had to be interrupted several times because of coughing
and wheezing attacks. On appeal, the Appeals Council upheld the Administrative Law
Judge’s Decision.
An appeal was filed in District Court on the client’s
behalf. We advised the client to file a new claim since she had been hospitalized several
more times since the hearing. Her benefits were awarded on that claim within three months.
Our office notified Social Security about the decision on the new claim. Although the
attorney for the Social Security Administration requested the Appeals Council to
reconsider their decision on the prior claim, the Appeals Council disagreed and briefs
were filed. A hearing on this matter was finally held and the client was awarded a
favorable decision and retroactive benefits.
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