Denver, Colorado
Denver Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in Denver, Colorado, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications and appeals. We work with clients by phone and video, gather medical evidence, and prepare people for administrative hearings. If your health has made working difficult, start by identifying your treating providers and the job duties you can no longer manage. You can discuss your situation with us before you have every document in hand.
How we help
Working With Downard on a Denver Application or Appeal
For SSI, we also help with the required financial disclosures.
We help put the medical evidence, work history, and claim paperwork together. The work changes as your case moves through the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Starting an application: We help complete and file the application, gather medical evidence, and document your work history. For SSI, we also help with the required financial disclosures.
Responding to an initial denial: We file for reconsideration, address the reasons for the decision, and add missing evidence. The denial letter gives us a starting point for that review.
Preparing for an administrative hearing: We develop the medical record, discuss likely questions and your treatment timeline, and present the case to an administrative law judge. Our hearing-office guide provides office details for the hearing stage.
Our service limits also address matters involving Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
We handle SSDI cases for people who currently receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or new cases involving back-pay issues alone. We refer federal court appeals to a trusted affiliate rather than handling them in-house.
Benefit eligibility
Understanding SSDI and SSI Eligibility in Denver
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work covered by Social Security and a condition that meets SSA's disability standard. Work-credit requirements depend on your age when the disability began. SSA explains the insured-work rules in its disability eligibility guidance.
SSI does not require a prior work record. It has separate income, resource, and other eligibility requirements. Adults may qualify based on disability, statutory blindness, or being age 65 or older.
For adult claims based on disability, SSA considers whether your condition prevents substantial gainful activity, meaning work involving significant physical or mental activities of a kind usually done for pay or profit. When its evaluation reaches those steps, SSA also considers your past work and your ability to adjust to other work. A diagnosis alone does not establish disability.
Both the medical condition and the resulting inability to perform substantial gainful activity must generally have lasted or be expected to last at least 12 consecutive months, unless the condition is expected to cause death within 12 months of disability onset. The expected-duration rule does not require waiting a year before applying.
Age-based SSI eligibility does not require a disability finding. SSI based on statutory blindness has no duration requirement, and SSA does not use substantial gainful activity to determine initial eligibility based on statutory blindness. SSI's financial and other requirements still apply.
Our Colorado disability overview explains the statewide process. The program and eligibility category involved matter when deciding what evidence your claim needs.
Your medical records
Gathering Denver Health Records Across Your Treatment History
Third-party legal, insurance, and disability requests are processed by Datavant.
Denver Health's MyChart features include requesting and downloading medical records. Its MyChart FAQ says that a Denver Health account contains information related to Denver Health visits and is separate from an account at another health organization. If you also received care elsewhere, list that provider and its treatment dates separately.
For a records release, follow Denver Health's current request instructions. They provide a patient request option and signed-authorization instructions. The authorization must be complete and legible. Third-party legal, insurance, and disability requests are processed by Datavant.
Denver Health's authorization form lists radiology reports and radiological images as separate choices. Its request page explains that imaging requests are processed onsite and sent through PowerShare. If images are needed, identify them specifically rather than assuming a written report includes the scan itself.
Compare what you have with your provider list and mark missing visits or reports for follow-up. You do not need to collect every record before starting an application.
Get organized
Build a Record and Work Checklist for Your Denver Claim
A useful starting file connects the treatment you received with the work you were doing. Use the following checklist to prepare for an application or a discussion about an appeal.
Treatment sources: List each hospital, clinic, and treating professional, with contact details and approximate dates. Keep providers outside Denver Health as separate entries.
Records already available: Note the visits, test reports, and other medical documents you have. Mark any missing item and the provider that holds it.
Jobs and duties: Record recent jobs, dates, and tasks. Describe specific limits, such as how long you can sit or stand, what you can lift, or how symptoms affect concentration.
Changes over time: Write down when symptoms began affecting work, changes in hours or duties, and treatment dates that help explain the timeline.
SSA decisions: Keep the full decision letter and note when it arrived. Identify whether it concerns an initial application, reconsideration, or a hearing decision.
SSI financial information: Gather income and resource information if SSI is involved. Its financial requirements are separate from medical eligibility.
SSA's application preparation guidance lists the medical and work information to gather. Missing documents should not delay applying; SSA can help obtain them, including medical records with your permission.
After a denial
Acting on an Initial or Reconsideration Denial in Denver
Deadline
60days
After an initial SSDI or SSI denial, reconsideration generally must be requested in writing within 60 days after you receive the notice. After a reconsideration denial, a written request for an administrative law judge hearing generally has the same receipt-based deadline under the SSDI and SSI hearing rules. SSA publishes separate SSDI reconsideration rules and SSI reconsideration rules.
SSA ordinarily presumes receipt five days after the date on the notice unless you show it arrived later. Use the instructions for the decision you received rather than assuming every Social Security letter has the same deadline.
If your reconsideration or hearing request is late, ask SSA for more time in writing and explain the delay. SSA must find good cause. An extension is not automatic.
Common questions
Questions About Denver Disability Applications and Evidence
Does a Denver Health radiology report include the actual images?
The authorization form lists radiology reports and radiological images separately. If the images are needed, specify that request. Denver Health's records page provides separate imaging instructions, including delivery through PowerShare.
Should I wait until I have every medical record before applying?
No. SSA says not to delay an application because documents are missing. Provide the medical evidence already available and identify your treating providers so additional evidence can be obtained.
Can I seek SSI if I do not have enough work credits for SSDI?
Possibly. SSI does not require work credits, but you must meet its income, resource, categorical, and other requirements. For adults, the categories are disability, statutory blindness, or age 65 or older. A missing SSDI work record does not by itself establish SSI eligibility.
Can I work with Downard from Denver?
Yes. We represent Denver adults and communicate with clients by phone and video. Those meetings are separate from any SSA hearing arrangements. Follow SSA's instructions for your proceeding.
Discuss your claim
Discuss Your Denver Disability Claim With Downard
Tell us how your health has affected your work and whether you have already applied. We can discuss an SSDI or SSI application, a reconsideration appeal, or preparation for an administrative hearing.