Denver, Colorado
Denver Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI Claims Assigned to the Stout Street Hearing Office
Social Security's Denver hearing office, in the Byron Rogers Federal Building at 1961 Stout Street, is assigned claims from ten field offices, from Aurora, Lakewood and Littleton to Fort Collins and Greeley north of the city, and Grand Junction, Montrose and Glenwood Springs on the Western Slope. Downard & Associates represents Denver-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 Denver Claimants
Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video.
Two Denver details can change how a claim is handled: which of Colorado's two hearing offices handles your claim, based on where you live, and Colorado's Aid to the Needy Disabled-State Only program, which can pay a small cash benefit while an SSI claim is pending and, if SSI is approved, is repaid from the SSI back payment for the months both were paid.
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 Denver 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 Denver 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:
- Denver, Byron Rogers Federal Building, Suite 4-135, 1961 Stout Street, Denver, CO 80294: the Aurora, Denver, Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Greeley, Lakewood, Littleton, Louisville and Montrose field offices.
Colorado's other hearing office is in Colorado Springs, and the locator assigns it the Alamosa, Canon City, Colorado Springs, Durango, La Junta, Pueblo and Trinidad field offices, which our Colorado Springs disability lawyer page covers. That puts Grand Junction, Montrose and Glenwood Springs with Denver and Durango with Colorado Springs.
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.
Aid to the needy disabled
Colorado's Aid to the Needy Disabled Program and an SSI Claim
The Colorado Department of Human Services' adult financial programs page describes Aid to the Needy Disabled-State Only (AND-SO) as interim cash assistance for low-income Colorado residents with a disability that keeps them from working, paid while they pursue SSI. The page lists the program's total grant standard as $248, effective April 1, 2022. Among the conditions it lists: age 18 to 59, a qualifying disability identified by an approved medical professional and expected to last 6 months or longer, other public financial assistance such as Colorado Works exhausted first, an active SSI claim, and a signed Authorization for Reimbursement of Interim Assistance form. Resources are limited to $2,000 for an unmarried client and $3,000 for a married client, and income such as wages or other benefits can reduce the payment.
The reimbursement form matters to the back pay. Under the state's agreement with Social Security, AND-SO paid for the same months that SSI is later paid is recovered, through Interim Assistance Reimbursement, so if SSI is approved the back pay you receive is smaller by that amount. Social Security's SSI manual describes that reimbursement as coming from the retroactive SSI payment, with the person's written authorization. A separate program, Aid to the Needy Disabled-Colorado Supplement (AND-CS), adds a payment for people up to age 59 who already receive SSI for a disability or blindness but not the full SSI amount; the program's total grant standard is $994, effective January 1, 2026, and the payment is a supplement to SSI, not that full amount.
In Denver, Denver Human Services takes AND applications through Colorado PEAK or on paper at its offices, requires an in-person interview before eligibility is decided, holds interviews weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., and answers questions at 720-944-4347. Our disability appeals page explains the steps if the SSI claim is denied.
Local treatment records
Medical Records From Denver Health, UCHealth and the Eastern Colorado VA
Denver Health: its medical records page requires a signed Authorization to Release Patient Health Information form, which can be signed electronically, and does not take requests by phone or fax. Legal, insurance and disability requests from third parties are processed by its copy service, Datavant, whose customer service line for status questions is 800-367-1500. Denver Health lists printed copies at $18.53 for the first ten pages, 85 cents a page for pages 11 to 40 and 57 cents a page after that, with no charge for copies sent to other medical facilities or physicians. Medical Records is at 301 West 6th Avenue, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 303-602-8000.
UCHealth: its 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 metro Denver, by fax to 720.848.5551.
Eastern Colorado VA: VA Eastern Colorado health care's medical records office is in the Business Center, Building E, first floor, 1700 North Wheeling Street, Aurora, open mornings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday. You can view and download VA records online, or request copies by mail or fax on VA Form 10-5345a, or in person with a signed written request and your Veteran Health Identification Card; mailed requests go to Release of Information (136D) at the Aurora address, 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 Denver 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
Denver Disability Claim Questions
Is a Grand Junction claim heard in Denver?
Generally yes. Social Security's hearing office locator assigns the Grand Junction, Montrose and Glenwood Springs field offices to the Denver hearing office at 1961 Stout Street. A transfer or reassignment is possible, and your Notice of Hearing names the place and format for your own case.
Can I get Aid to the Needy Disabled while my SSI claim is pending?
Possibly. AND-SO is Colorado's interim cash assistance for low-income adults age 18 to 59 with a disability expected to last 6 months or longer who are actively pursuing SSI and meet the program's other conditions, including its resource limits and exhausting other public financial assistance first. Apply through Colorado PEAK or your county human services office.
Does Aid to the Needy Disabled reduce my SSI back pay?
It can. Applicants sign an Authorization for Reimbursement of Interim Assistance, and AND-SO paid for the same months that SSI is later paid is recovered from the retroactive SSI payment through Interim Assistance Reimbursement.
What does Denver Health charge for copies of medical records?
Denver Health lists printed copies at $18.53 for the first ten pages, 85 cents a page for pages 11 to 40 and 57 cents a page after that, and sends copies to other medical facilities or physicians at no charge. Third-party requests, including disability requests, go through Datavant.
Where do Denver-area veterans request VA records in person?
At the Release of Information office in the Business Center, Building E, first floor, 1700 North Wheeling Street in Aurora, with a signed written request and your Veteran Health Identification Card. It is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Discuss your claim
Talk Through Your Denver 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 in front of you. We will explain where the claim stands and the next deadline by phone or video.