Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI Claims, Including Service Members on Active Duty
Social Security's Colorado Springs hearing office, in the Plaza of the Rockies North Tower at 111 South Tejon Street, is assigned claims from seven field offices across southern Colorado: Alamosa, Canon City, Colorado Springs, Durango, La Junta, Pueblo and Trinidad. Downard & Associates represents Colorado Springs-area claimants in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims, from the application through reconsideration, a hearing before an administrative law judge and Appeals Council review. We work by phone or video from our office in Lebanon, Tennessee, and there is no fee unless you win.
How we help
What We Handle for Colorado Springs Claimants
Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video.
Three Colorado Springs details can change how a claim is handled: which of Colorado's two hearing offices handles your claim, based on where you live; the rules Social Security applies when a service member at Fort Carson or another installation in the area applies while still on active duty; and Colorado's Aid to the Needy Disabled-State Only program, which can pay a small cash benefit to eligible adults who are pursuing SSI; if SSI is approved, the state recovers the AND-SO paid for the same months through Interim Assistance Reimbursement.
We handle applications, reconsideration, hearings and Appeals Council review. Our Colorado disability lawyer page covers how claims across the state are routed and how a VA rating relates to a Social Security claim.
We have no Colorado Springs office. Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video. We represent adults age 18 and older. We handle SSDI cases for people who receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or cases about back pay alone, and we refer federal court appeals to affiliated counsel.
Hearing office
The Colorado Springs Hearing Office and the Field Offices It Hears
Social Security's hearing office locator, which groups offices by hearings hub, shows one hearing office in the city:
- Colorado Springs, Plaza of the Rockies, North Tower, 111 S. Tejon Street, Suite 401, Colorado Springs, CO 80903: the Alamosa, Canon City, Colorado Springs, Durango, La Junta, Pueblo and Trinidad field offices.
Colorado's other hearing office is in Denver, and the locator assigns it the Aurora, Denver, Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Greeley, Lakewood, Littleton, Louisville and Montrose field offices, which our Denver disability lawyer page covers. That puts Durango, in the southwest corner of the state, with Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction, Montrose and Glenwood Springs with Denver.
Social Security's operations manual says hearing office jurisdiction is determined by the claimant's residence address, though you can ask, in a signed statement giving your reasons, to have a case transferred, and Social Security decides whether to do it. Social Security's hearings manual also lets it reassign some cases to another hearing office to relieve a temporary workload imbalance or increase productivity, only when the other office can hear and decide them more quickly. Social Security generally does not reassign a case this way when you have properly objected in writing to both a phone hearing and an agency video hearing, have not agreed to online video, and have not changed your residence. After a move, it generally still honors that objection when deciding whether to reassign the case for workload reasons, if doing so causes no added delay and nothing else calls for scheduling you another way. That practice is separate from the hearing-format rule, under which Social Security decides how you appear after a move. When Social Security moves a case to another hearing office for workload or productivity reasons, the office that receives it notifies you and your representative. Our hearing office directory lists every office with its field offices. For an in-person or agency video hearing, the Notice of Hearing names the place, so go by that notice for your own case.
Active duty and SSDI
Applying for SSDI While Still on Active Duty
Social Security's publication Disability Benefits for Wounded Warriors says active-duty status and military pay do not necessarily prevent payment of SSDI, and that receiving military payments should never stop you from applying. What counts is the work itself: the publication says Social Security looks at the actual work activity, not the amount of pay or your military duty status. Its disability manual explains why. A service member being treated for a severe impairment usually keeps receiving full pay, so for someone treated at a military hospital, working in a designated therapy program or on limited duty, the adjudicator generally compares the work with similar work in the civilian workforce and decides what it is reasonably worth.
The manual gives limited duty in a hospital, office, mailroom or laboratory as examples, and says the controlling factor is an objective look at the work itself, not duty status or whether a formal therapy program is involved. You are the primary source for describing those duties. If your description is unclear, or does not match civilian jobs, Social Security may contact military personnel who supervise the work, such as a commanding officer or a senior noncommissioned officer.
Social Security's page for military and veterans says service members who develop a disability while on active duty on or after October 1, 2001, and veterans with a 100 percent permanent and total VA rating, may be eligible for expedited processing; Social Security usually identifies veterans automatically, though in rare cases a veteran may need to provide the VA notification letter. Qualifying service members and veterans can receive expedited processing, but Social Security still applies its own definition of disability, which differs from the VA's: that page says each agency follows its own definition and requirements. The publication asks you to file as soon as possible with the documents you have, and lists your DD Form 214 if you have been discharged, proof of military pay or workers' compensation, and medical records you have or can easily get from military and civilian sources.
Local treatment records
Medical Records From Evans Army Community Hospital, Penrose-St. Francis, UCHealth and the VA
Evans Army Community Hospital: its patient administration page asks patients for a signed DD Form 2870 with a copy of the patient's government identification, taken at the Medical Records service desk or by mail, email or fax. The office is in Building 7503, SFCC Wing, first floor, Room 1500, 1650 Cochrane Circle, Fort Carson, CO 80913, open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. except federal and some training holidays and from noon on the fourth Thursday of each month, 719-526-0890; the fax for requests from anyone other than a medical facility is 719-503-7030.
Penrose Hospital and St. Francis Hospital: CommonSpirit's medical records page lets portal users request a full record through the Sharing Hub. Without an account, patients use the Patient Request to Access Medical Records Form, and release to someone else, such as an attorney, takes the Patient Authorization to Disclose Protected Health Information Form; the page says charges apply to both. Signed forms go by email to medicalrecordrequest.mtregion@commonspirit.org, or in person or by fax to the hospital's medical records department: Penrose, phone 719-776-5296, fax 719-776-5125; St. Francis, phone 719-571-1050, fax 719-571-1054.
UCHealth Memorial: UCHealth's medical records page points patients to My Health Connection, under Share my record, to request a formal copy, and also offers an online request form. A written authorization form, which also covers release to an attorney, goes to ROI@uchealth.org or, for Southern Colorado, by fax to 719.365.6974.
VA: VA Eastern Colorado health care's medical records office has a Release of Information office at 3141 Centennial Boulevard in Colorado Springs, open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; bring a signed written request, such as VA Form 10-5345a, and your Veteran Health Identification Card. You can also view and download VA records online, or mail or fax the form; mailed requests go to VA Eastern Colorado Medical Center, Attention: Release of Information (136D), 1700 N Wheeling St., Aurora, CO 80045, and VA says mailed or faxed requests may take up to 20 business days to process. Our veterans page explains how a VA rating and an SSDI claim relate.
Hearings and deadlines
Hearing Format and Appeal Deadlines for a Colorado Springs Disability Claim
To object to a phone or agency video hearing, after you receive the notice
30days
20 CFR 404.936(d), 416.1436(d)
After a hearing request, Social Security sends a Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing, and its ways to attend page lists four: in person or by agency video at one of its offices, and by phone or online video from a private location you choose. Under 20 CFR 404.936 and, for SSI, 20 CFR 416.1436, an objection to a phone hearing, an agency video hearing, or both must be made in writing within 30 days after you receive that notice. If you do not object, Social Security can schedule a phone or agency video hearing, though it can also schedule you in person or, if you agree, by online video; if you object to only one of those two formats, it can schedule you in person, by the other format, or by online video if you agree, and if you object to both, it generally schedules you in person or, if you agree, by online video. Online video is used only if you agree to it in writing, and a late objection or agreement needs good cause. If you move while the hearing request is pending, Social Security decides how you appear and can schedule a phone or agency video hearing despite an objection, though it considers the move only if you send evidence of your new residence; it can also use a phone hearing in a few other situations the rule lists. Our guide to hearing formats explains each choice and when Social Security moves a case to another office, and our disability hearings page describes the hearing itself.
A reconsideration request is due in writing within 60 days after you receive the initial denial, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI, and a hearing request after a reconsideration denial has its own 60 days under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433. Social Security treats a notice as received 5 days after the date on the notice unless you show it came later, under 20 CFR 404.901 and 20 CFR 416.1401. A late request needs a written request for more time and good cause, so call us the week a denial arrives.
Common questions
Colorado Springs Disability Claim Questions
Is a Pueblo or Durango claim assigned to the Colorado Springs hearing office?
Generally yes. Social Security's hearing office locator assigns the Pueblo and Durango field offices, along with Alamosa, Canon City, La Junta and Trinidad, to the Colorado Springs hearing office at 111 South Tejon Street. A transfer or reassignment is possible, and your Notice of Hearing names the place and format for your own case.
Does full military pay during treatment rule out SSDI?
Not necessarily. Social Security says active-duty status and military pay do not necessarily prevent payment of SSDI, and that military payments should never stop you from applying. It looks at the work you actually do, not your pay or duty status.
Does limited duty count as work for Social Security?
It depends on the duties. Social Security generally compares limited-duty or therapy-program work with similar civilian work and judges what it is reasonably worth, rather than going by your military pay, which usually continues at the full rate during treatment.
How do I get my records from Evans Army Community Hospital?
Send a signed DD Form 2870 with a copy of your government identification to the Medical Records office at Evans, at the service desk or by mail, email or fax. The office is in Building 7503 on Fort Carson and answers at 719-526-0890.
Can I request VA medical records in person in Colorado Springs instead of Aurora?
Yes. VA Eastern Colorado health care has a Release of Information office at 3141 Centennial Boulevard in Colorado Springs, open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Bring a signed written request, such as VA Form 10-5345a, and your Veteran Health Identification Card. VA says mailed or faxed requests may take up to 20 business days to process.
Discuss your claim
Talk Through Your Colorado Springs Claim With Us
Have your latest Social Security notice, the field office named on your letters and a list of where you have been treated, military and civilian, in front of you. We will explain where the claim stands and the next deadline by phone or video.