Attorney Profile
Jim Abernathy is a native of Tuscaloosa and a graduate of the University of Alabama. In 1996 he graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law. He is a member of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association and the National Organization for Social Security Claimants Representatives. He is admitted to practice before all Alabama state courts, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Alabama. He has served as Chairman of the Alabama Workers Compensation Law Section of the Alabama State Bar and has taught Workers' Compensation at the University of Alabama School of Law. He was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alabama from May 2001 through May 2003, and he served as Prosecutor for the City of Centreville, Alabama from January 2001 through November 2002. He practices exclusively in the areas of:
- Social security disability
- Workers' compensation (however, Mr. Abernathy is not accepting new workers' compensation cases at this time)
Teaching
Mr. Abernathy has been invited to speak at many Continuing Legal Education seminars to help other lawyers maintain their understanding of the law in the areas of Social Security Disability and Workers Compensation law. Below is a list of some of the lectures he has given:
University of Alabama School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Social Security Disability Law Seminar, "Listing 12.00," October 2017.
University of Alabama School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Social Security Law Seminar, "Video Hearings: The Testimony of Medical Experts," October 2014.
University of Alabama School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Social Security Law Seminar, "Use of E-file: A Love/Hate Relationship," November 2013.
University of Alabama School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Social Security Law Seminar, "Key Issues and New Developments: Medical Experts By Telephone," November 2012.
University of Alabama School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Social Security Law Seminar, "Cross Training: The Intersection of Social Security Disability and Workers Compensation," November 2010.
Tuscaloosa County Bar Assoc., What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About…, "Workers Compensation Medical Benefits From the Perspective of the Injured Worker," December 2008
University of Alabama School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Social Security Law Seminar, "How to Submit a Proposed Decision Using the FIT Software," November 2008.
University of Alabama School of Law Continuing Legal Education, Workers Compensation Law Seminar, "Panel Discussion Regarding the Publix and Cagle Decisions," February 2008.
Alabama Assoc. for Justice, 3rd Annual Worker's Compensation Seminar, "AMA Guides: Applying the AMA’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment," July 2007.
National Business Institute, Handling a Social Security Disability Case, November, 2004.
National Business Institute, Handling a Social Security Disability Case, July 2004.
National Business Institute, Advanced Workers’ Compensation in Alabama, June 2004.
Lorman Education Services, HIPAA Privacy Regulations and Workers’ Compensation Seminar, June 2004.
Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s Workers’ Compensation Law Seminar: Tools of the Trade, March 2004.
Cumberland School of Law at Samford University 17th Annual Workers’ Compensation Seminar, November 2003.
Lorman Education Services, HIPAA Privacy Regulations and Workers’ Compensation Seminar, April 2003.
Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s Workers’ Compensation Law Seminar: Tools of the Trade, March 2003.
Cumberland School of Law Continuing Legal Education, 15th Annual Workers' Compensation Seminar, November 2001.
Workmen's Compensation Section, Alabama Trial Lawyers Association 47th Annual Mid-Winter Conference, January 1999.
Publications
Mr. Abernathy has published numerous articles in The Alabama Lawyer and The Alabama Association for Justice Journal, which are professional journals read by lawyers across the State of Alabama. He was also a contributing author of Alabama Workers' Compensation Law and Handbook (2nd ed. 2004), a widely used textbook for law students and a reference book for lawyers and judges. Here is a list of some of the publications he has written:
Contributing Author, Alabama Workers' Compensation Law and Handbook (2nd ed. 2004).
Author, “HIPAA Does Not Apply to Workers’ Compensation, Right?” Alabama Trial Lawyers Journal, Spring 2004.
Co-Author, "Historical Development of Alabama's Workers' Compensation Law" Alabama Lawyer, January 2000.
Author, "Social Security Disability Claims: A Path to Productivity for the Young Lawyer" Alabama Trial Lawyers Journal, Spring 1998.
Reported Decisions
Mr. Abernathy has successfully obtained benefits for his clients even after an Administrative Law Judge has denied the claim. Most of these higher level appeals result in unpublished decisions. However, when a case has relevance to a wider audience, sometimes Social Security Decisions at the federal court level are released for publication. Below is a summary of one of Mr. Abernathy's cases that was released for publication by the federal court.
Fry v. Massanari, 209 F. Supp. 2d 1246 (N.D. Ala. 2001). This case held that the Social Security Administration had to consider new evidence submitted to the Appeals Council, when that evidence contradicted the findings of the Administrative Law Judge and when that evidence did not exist prior to the Administrative Law Judge's decision.