Charles L. Wilkinson, III

Practice Areas:   Social Security Disability and Veterans? Benefits Claims

Admitted to Practice Before: The United States Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the 4th Circuit, and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the U. S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Education:  University of Georgia, J.D., 1974, and Mercer University, B.A., 1967

Member: State Bar of Georgia; National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR)(Sustaining Member); National Organization of Veterans? Advocates (NOVA) (Sustaining Member)
Military Service:  United States Army, 1967 ? 1971 (Infantry and Military Intelligence Branches; Vietnam Veteran

Reported Cases: Armstrong v. Durango Georgia Paper Co., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22366 (S.D. Ga., September 27, 2005); Alewine v. City Council of Augusta, 699 F.2d 1060 (11th Cir. 1983); Soles v. Board of Commissioners of Johnson County, 746 F. Supp. 106 (S.D. Ga. 1990); Cummings v. Walsh Construction Co., 561 F. Supp. 872 (S.D. Ga. 1983); McCroan v. Bailey, 543 F. Supp. 1201 (S.D. Ga. 1982); NcNutt v. J.A. Jones Construction Co., 33 F. Supp.2d 1375 (S.D. Ga. 1998); Cummings v. Prudential Insurance Co., 542 F.Supp. 838 (S.D. Ga. 1982); Mills v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 634 F. 2d 282 (5th Cir. Unit B, 1981); Brooks v. Georgia State Board of Election, 59 F.2d 1114 (11th Cir. 1995); Middleton v. CSX Corporation, 694 F. Supp. 941 (S.D. Ga. 1988); Stevens v. State, 247 Ga. 698 (1981); Wilburn v. State, 201 Ga. App. 61 (1991); In re Hensley, 184 Ga. App. 625 (1987); Beckham v. O'Brien, 176 Ga. App. 518 (1985); Moore v. State, 156 Ga. App. 92 (1980); Dowdy v. State, 154 Ga. App. 700 (1980); Daniels v. State, 137 Ga. App. 371 (1976); Cheeks v. Miller, 262 Ga. 687 (1993); Davidson v. Bryan, 242 Ga. 282 (1978); Anderson v. State, 237 Ga. App. 595 (1999).

Welcome to Wilkinson and Magruder, LLP, an Augusta, Georgia law firm dedicated to helping disabled people obtain their Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.  Charles "Les" Wilkinson and Andrew Magruder have over 40 years of combined experience helping with their Social Security claims.

When you become disabled and can no longer work, you must adapt physically, emotionally and financially to the changes in your life.  The last thing you need in this challenging time is to struggle with a confusing federal bureaucracy like the Social Security Administration.  Let our social security disability lawyers help you with your disability SSI application or SSDI appeal.

Attorney Profiles

Andrew Magruder was raised and lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two children.  He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1990 and his law degree from the University of Georgia 1994.  Mr. Magruder has been helping his clients obtain their SSD/SSI benefits since the year 2000.  Mr. Magruder is licensed to practice law in Georgia and is admitted to the United States District Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals.  He is a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimant's Representatives (NOSSCR) and the Augusta Bar Association.

Les Wilkinson

US Army  1967-1971

Vietnam Veteran

University of Georgia Law 1974

Sustaining member, National Organization of Social Security Claimant's Representatives (NOSSCR)

Sustaining member, National Organization of Veterans Advocates

Five Keys to Winning Your Case

The process of applying for Social Security Disability and/or SSI benefits can be long, confusing and frustrating.  Social Security has established very complicated rules to determine whether someone is disabled or not disabled.  It is very important that you understand some of the basic principles of Social Security law when applying for benefits.

(1) Ensure that Social Security has all of your medical records

When you apply for benefits, Social Security will ask you to list all of your doctors that you have seen and all the hospitals in which you have been admitted.  Social Security will tell you that they will obtain your medical records for your claim. DO NO ASUME that Social Security will obtain all of your medical records.  Social Security will generally request all the medical records from the medical providers that you list.  However, it is common for Social Security not to receive all of those requested records.  There are a number of reasons why Social Security may not have all of your medical records.

First, you may not have listed all of your treating medical sources on Social Security's forms.  If Social Security does not know that you have seen a particular doctor or been in a certain hospital, they will not know to request their medical records.  Second, doctors' offices take months and months and several requests to process and mail out requests for medical records.  If Social Security does not receive the medical records from one of your doctors, they oftentimes will not follow up and do what is necessary to get those medical records.

You have the right to review your file for your claim, and it is your obligation to ensure that Social Security has all of your medical records.

(2) Make sure that any reports from your doctors answer Social Security's questions.

Claimants will often ask their doctor to give a written letter to Social Security showing that they are disabled.  While doctors are trained to provide medical care for their patients, they are not trained about Social Security's rules and regulations.  It is quite common for a doctor to write a letter to Social Security stating something like "I have treated Mr. John Smith for the last 10 years.  He has numerous medical problems and is unable to work.  Sincerely, Dr. Jones."

While these types of general letters will not harm your case, they do not really help it either.  Social Security is looking for very specific information regarding your limitations, such as how long you can sit, how long you can stand, how long can you sit and stand in an eight-hour workday, how much can you lift occasionally (meaning up to 1/3 of a workday), how much can you lift frequently (meaning from 1/3 to 2/3 of a workday), do you have any limitations with stooping, kneeling, or heights, do you have any significant limitations with your hands, how do your medications interfere with your ability to understand simple instructions, etc.  If your doctor can provide this specific information regarding your physical and mental limitations, it can be very, very helpful in winning your case.

(3) Keep a Diary

If you have to go before a Social Security judge for a hearing on your case, you will need to be able to testify in detail about how your medical conditions limit you in your everyday life.  In other words, how does the pain or other medical conditions limit you from cooking, cleaning, shopping, taking care of yourself and doing the other day to day tasks that we all do.  For instance, you may be able to go to the grocery store, but you may have to lean on a buggy for support and can only walk around the store for 20 minutes before having to sit.  You may be able to lift a laundry basket full of clothes when it is dry, but you have to have help from someone to lift it when it is wet.  It may be difficult to remember simple instructions, or you may have to be reminded to take your medications each day.  These are just examples, but it is this type of detail that judges are looking for at a hearing.

Therefore, you may want to start keeping a diary about how you are limited in your daily activities due to your medical or mental conditions.  These details will be important when you get in front of the judge.

(4) Tell the Truth

Social Security will be assessing your credibility at all levels of your claim.  Therefore, it is very important that you tell the truth about your limitations at all times.  When someone first becomes disabled and unable to work, they often have a very difficult time admitting to themselves that they are disabled.  Hardworking people can be embarrassed that they can no longer financially support themselves and their family and cannot enjoy hobbies that they once had.  As a result, people who have medical problems may have a hard time discussing their pain or limitation in the Social Security application process.  It is very important that you be honest about your limitations and that you do not "sugarcoat" your problems.  On the other hand, you do not want to exaggerate your pain or limitations.

(a) Social Security Forms.  At different stages in the application process, Social Security will ask you to complete forms about your daily living activities.  For instance, Social Security will ask if you can clean around your house.  If you suffer from significant pain on a regular basis, you may be able to clean for 10-15 minutes, and then you may have to rest for 30 minutes.  Or, if you cleaned your house for 2 hours straight, you may have to lie down the rest of the day.  The point is that you can't clean for any length of time without paying for it later.  Therefore, when you answer the question about cleaning your  house, be sure to explain in full the limitations you may have in cleaning.  If you simply answered "yes, I can clean my house," you are not fully explaining your limitations.

(b) Your Doctors.  People are often reluctant to admit, even to their doctor, how much pain they may be in or how their lives have changed since they became disabled.  When you go to your doctor, it is very important that you tell him or her the truth about your medical conditions.  This is so for two reasons.  First, you will not get the medical care you need if you are not honest with your doctor.  Second, when your doctor asks you "How are you doing?" and respond by saying "I'm doing OK" (when in fact you have been in a lot of pain since your last visit), your doctor will write down in your medical records "Patient doing OK."  When Social Security reviews your medical records and finds that have been telling your doctor for the last three years that you are not in much pain, they will not believe you when you testify at your hearing that you have had severe pain for the last three years.  On the other hand, do not exaggerate your pain or limitations to your doctor either.  Just tell the truth.

(c) The Hearing.  If you have to go before a Social Security Judge at a hearing, above all, tell the truth.

(5) Be Patient

The process of applying for benefits can take a long, long time.  And it is getting longer.  In Georgia, over 74% of claims are denied at the initial claim level, and nearly 90% are denied at the second "Reconsideration" level.  You then have to request a hearing before an Adminstrative Law Judge.  The Atlanta North hearing office, which handles most cases from the Augusta area, has one of the largest backlogs in the country.  Social Security is hiring new judges and staff to process claims at the hearing level; however, in the foreseeable future, claimants are still going to have to wait a long time for a hearing.  Do not give up.  You will have your day in court.