If you need a Fayetteville Social Security Disability Lawyer, The Bishop Law Firm can help.
We have represented disability clients in Fayetteville and the surrounding areas since 2009. Attorney Kimberly Bishop is also a North Carolina Board Certified Social Security Disability Law specialist.
Who can apply for Social Security Disability?
To be able to apply for benefits, you have to be making less than SSA's substantial gainful activity level (SGA in 2025 is $1,620.00 a month) from working.
You must also be eligible for one or both of the benefits that the SSA offers: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Social Security Disability Insurance is based on the credits (payroll taxes) from the work you have done in your life, while Supplemental Security Income is a need-based program.
In general, you must have worked 5 of the last 10 years to be eligible for SSDI benefits.
In 2025, SSI benefits are $967 a month for an individual and $1,450.00 for an eligible couple.
SSA will reduce your monthly SSI payment if you are receiving financial support from others.
You must be found disabled by the Social Security Administration under the Five Step Sequential Evaluation before you are entitled to either benefit.
Also, watch Who can apply for Social Security Disability?
How to apply for disability in Fayetteville, NC
If you are unable to work because of your health, you should apply for disability benefits as soon as possible.
You should call the Fayetteville SSA office at 866-964-6485 and schedule an appointment to file your Social Security Disability claim. You can also start a claim online.
What happens after I apply with SSA?
A disabled person may have to go through several levels and appeals to attain disability benefits.
The disability benefits process may include the Initial level, Reconsideration, Request for Hearing, and the Appeals Council.
Initial Level
After you initially apply for Social Security Disability benefits, your case is sent to DDS (Disability Determination Services) in Raleigh, NC.
An examiner at DDS will send you forms to complete, order your medical records, and send you a consultative examination if necessary.
After the examiner gathers the medical evidence, an in-house DDS doctor will decide if you are disabled.
Unfortunately, DDS denies most of the cases that they see.
An applicant must appeal the denial within 60 days to keep their disability claim alive. The appeal is called a reconsideration (See our post on Form 3441).
Also read A Look Inside Disability Determination Services.
Reconsideration Level
At the reconsideration level, the initial level is essentially repeated, except that the case will be assigned to a different examiner.
The reconsideration denial must be appealed to keep your claim alive.
Request for Hearing
If you are denied at the Reconsideration level, you will have 60 days to request a hearing before an SSA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
Fayetteville has its own Office of Hearing Operations (hearing office), where disability hearings are held, but it can take substantial time to get a hearing scheduled there.
Please note that if you miss either of the above 60-day deadlines, you will have to start the process from the beginning, which is what you want to avoid.
Statistically speaking, you have a better chance of being approved in front of an ALJ than you do by DDS, so please don’t delay in getting your case before the ALJ as soon as possible.
At the hearing level, your attorney will gather all your medical evidence and submit it to SSA, prepare you for the questions that the SSA Administrative Law Judge will ask, and advocate on your behalf.
Appeal Council
If the SSA ALJ denies you, you will need to appeal to the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council is in Falls Church, Virginia. You will need SSA Form HA-520 to appeal.
For more information on the appeals process, read NC Social Security Disability Lawyer.
What can I do to improve my chances of winning my case?
Seeking medication treatment and responding to SSA or DDS requests promptly can improve your chances of winning.
Seek Medical Treatment
To be approved for SSDI or SSI, you need evidence of your disability (medical records).
The problem that my clients most frequently encounter is the ability to afford health care and their medications.
I advise clients to apply for Medicaid at Cumberland County Social Services, contact MedAssist for help with their medications, and seek free or low-cost medical treatment.
Many of my clients go to The Care Clinic.
Be responsive to SSA's requests.
Complete the forms that SSA or DDS sends you as soon as possible.
The longer you delay your case at the initial or reconsideration levels, the longer it will take you to make it to a hearing before an SSA Administrative Law Judge (where you have your best chance of being approved).
If DDS schedules you for an appointment with one of their doctors (consultative examination), you should definitely attend.
Failing to attend these appointments can spell a denial, and ALJs seem to take issue with people who miss DDS’s doctor appointments without good cause.
What is the maximum amount that a disability lawyer can charge?
The Social Security Administration controls how much an attorney can charge a disability client. Currently (2025), SSA allows a lawyer to charge a client 25% of their back pay up to a maximum of $9,200.00.
For example, if a client receives $10,000 in backpay, the attorney would be paid $2,500.00. If a client gets $50,000 in back pay, the attorney receives $9,200.00.
What does a Fayetteville Social Security Disability Lawyer do?
A disability lawyer can help your case move through the initial and reconsideration levels without gathering dust on a DDS examiner’s desk, as well as keep up with the appeals you need to file and when.
The most important job of a disability lawyer is to represent a client at Social Security Disability hearings.
Representing a client at a disability hearing starts long before the day of the hearing.
Gathering medical evidence, obtaining opinions from the client‘s doctor, preparing your client for the questions that may be asked at the hearing, and presenting their case to the ALJ in the way that Social Security needs to see it to make the right decision are all essential steps in preparing for your Social Security Disability case hearing.
The Bishop Law Firm offers free case reviews by phone, and we do not get paid unless you win your case and you receive back pay. Call us today for a free case review, (919) 615-3095.
Also read Ten Myths about Social Security Disability.
