The Hyatt Court Case

The Hyatt court case (Hyatt v. Barnhart) is a lawsuit filed against the Social Security Administration (SSA) in 1983. The lawsuit was filed because Social Security was denying claims and cutting off benefits to disabled North Carolinians whose cases involved pain. This court case was settled in 1994. According to the court’s order, Social Security has to review many individual claims where disability benefits were denied or cut off between 1981 and 1991.

Class Counsel
The Justice Center co-counsels this case with attorney John R. Wester of Robinson, Bradshaw, and Hinson, and attorneys Douglas Sea and Charles McB. Sasser of Cox, Gage, and Sasser. We are monitoring SSA's compliance with the Settlement Order. In the monitoring process we have found that Social Security has continued to disregard the law in some instances. The Justice Center is committed to working hard to make sure Social Security obeys the law and respects the rights of disabled people.

When will SSA review my claim?
One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is: "When will SSA review my claim?" SSA must review over 80,000 claims. Because so many people requested review, this process has been taking a long time. We do not know how much longer this process will take, but we do know that SSA continues to work on Hyatt cases and has many left to review. Due to a recent court order in the case (October 1999), SSA will be reviewing even more cases.

Know Your Rights
If you are a member of the Hyatt class and get a decision from SSA, it is important to know your rights. Perhaps one of the most important things people can do to help with their Hyatt review is to hire a lawyer to help them. Even if you get a notice saying you have been denied Hyatt benefits, you can appeal. We suggest that you talk to an attorney about your Hyatt claim as soon as possible. Attorneys will not charge you a fee to talk to you the first time. Many of them will not charge you any fee up-front, and will not charge you any fee unless they win your case. You have a much better chance of winning your Hyatt case if you have an attorney helping you. An attorney can also tell you whether or not you should file a new application for disability benefits and answer other questions about your case. The Justice Center does not handle individual Hyatt reviews. If you are a member of the Hyatt class and need a list of lawyers, you can call, 1-800-299-8619, and press 4 to request a list of lawyers who have agreed to represent individuals in the Hyatt case. We will send you information about ring an attorney.