Detroit, Michigan
Detroit Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in Detroit, Michigan, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications and appeals. We work with clients by phone and video, help develop medical evidence, and prepare cases for the stages that apply. Start with your treatment locations, work history, and any Social Security Administration (SSA) decision. If your care spans Henry Ford facilities or former Ascension locations, identify the dates and records from each source so older treatment stays part of the history.
How we help
How Downard Builds a Disability Claim With Detroit Clients
At an administrative law judge hearing, we prepare you for testimony and present the case.
For an SSDI application, we help prepare the filing, gather medical evidence, and document work history. For SSI, we also help complete the financial disclosures. Those details give SSA a record of your treatment, work, and the program requirements that apply.
At reconsideration, we address the reasons for the denial and develop missing evidence. At an administrative law judge hearing, we prepare you for testimony and present the case. The work changes with the claim stage, but the purpose stays the same: connect the evidence to the issues SSA must decide.
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.
Our Michigan disability representation page provides the statewide context for working with us.
Benefit eligibility
SSDI and SSI Eligibility for Adults in Detroit
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work covered by Social Security and a condition that meets SSA's disability standard. The work credits required depend on your age when disability began. SSA explains these requirements in its disability eligibility guidance.
SSI does not require an insured work record. It requires limited income and resources, plus eligibility based on age 65 or older, blindness, or disability. Citizenship or qualifying noncitizen status, residency, and other rules also apply. See SSA's SSI eligibility explanation.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, SSA considers whether you are performing substantial gainful activity. Substantial gainful activity generally means work involving significant physical or mental activities that is usually done for pay or profit. If the evaluation reaches the work-capacity steps, SSA considers whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. A claim can be decided at an earlier step.
The disability-based standard requires a condition that has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 consecutive months or is expected to result in death. You do not need to wait a year to apply. SSI based on age 65 or older does not require a disability finding.
SSI statutory blindness follows different rules: SSA does not use substantial gainful activity to determine initial SSI eligibility on that basis. SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement. Income, resource, and other SSI rules still apply.
Treatment records
Keeping St. John and Henry Ford Records Together for a Detroit Claim
If your treatment began under the former name, include both names in your treatment list and identify the dates involved.
Henry Ford St. John Hospital is in Detroit and was formerly Ascension St. John. If your treatment began under the former name, include both names in your treatment list and identify the dates involved. Henry Ford's paper-release instructions call for the location, provider name, report type, and dates of service. Use those details to distinguish hospital care, physician visits, and records from another facility.
For former Ascension locations now in Henry Ford's system, Henry Ford's medical-records guidance lists MyChart availability beginning November 8, 2025, for physician-office records and June 6, 2026, for hospital records. For older records, its guidance directs patients to submit an online records request or a paper release form. If your care crosses those dates, compare your treatment timeline with the records you can see in the portal and identify any older period that needs a separate request.
SSA needs evidence of the condition and its effects, including limits on work activities. A portal download can be useful, but it is not a substitute for identifying all relevant treatment sources. Include care outside Henry Ford as well. SSA's medical-evidence guidance explains the information used to evaluate a claim.
Get organized
A Preparation Checklist for Your Detroit Disability Claim
Use this checklist to make the first conversation and any later evidence requests more useful. Record what you know, and mark uncertain dates as estimates.
Treatment sources: List each hospital, practice, therapist, or clinic; the provider name; contact information; and the first and most recent visit dates. Include former facility names when you know them.
Record gaps: Note which visit notes, test reports, and hospital records you already have, which periods are missing, and any records request you have started.
Work duties: Describe your jobs and the actual tasks, including lifting, standing, sitting, concentration, and changes made because of symptoms. Include when hours changed or work stopped.
Daily limits: Write down specific examples of what you cannot sustain, how often symptoms interrupt tasks, and medication side effects. Explain changes over time rather than relying only on a diagnosis.
Claim paperwork: Keep copies of decisions, evidence requests, and appeal submissions. Record when a decision arrived and how it was delivered.
You do not need a finished records folder before applying. SSA says not to delay an application because documents are missing. Identify the sources you know and respond to later requests for information.
Local claim process
Michigan Medical Review and the Hearing Stage for Detroit Claims
Michigan's Disability Determination Service (DDS) is part of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and evaluates Social Security disability claims. In the usual initial process, SSA handles nonmedical eligibility and DDS develops medical evidence and makes the disability determination. A later hearing before an administrative law judge is an SSA proceeding.
Keep a DDS evidence request separate from an SSA hearing notice so you can respond to the right instructions. SSA explains the roles in its disability determination process. Our hearing-office guide provides office information for the hearing stage; follow the instructions in your actual hearing notice.
After a denial
Protecting the Next Appeal Step After a Detroit Denial
Deadline
60days
For SSDI and SSI, a request for reconsideration of an initial denial or a hearing request after a reconsideration denial generally must be made in writing within 60 days after you receive the notice. SSA ordinarily presumes receipt five days after the notice date unless you show it arrived later. Read the decision and its appeal instructions; do not treat the letter date as the receipt date.
If a request may be late, ask for an extension in writing and explain why the deadline was missed. SSA must find good cause to extend the period; acceptance is not automatic. The SSDI reconsideration rule and SSI reconsideration rule describe the request and extension requirements.
Common questions
Questions About Disability Representation in Detroit
Can Downard represent me while I live in Detroit?
Yes. We represent adults with SSDI and SSI matters and work with Detroit clients by phone and video. Our firm is based in Tennessee and has no Michigan office. The claim can involve an application, reconsideration, or administrative hearing within our accepted services.
Does a Detroit disability hearing have to be in person?
SSA has four hearing methods: in person, audio by telephone, agency video using SSA equipment, and online video using a personal device. Online video requires your agreement. Objections to audio or agency video are subject to SSA rules and exceptions. Review the notice and forms about hearing attendance, then follow your scheduling notice for the actual method, location, and connection instructions.
Can I apply if I have not worked enough for SSDI?
SSI may be an option without an insured work record if you meet its income and resource limits and qualify based on age 65 or older, blindness, or disability, along with the other eligibility rules. Lack of SSDI work credits alone does not establish SSI eligibility. Some people qualify for both programs.
Should I wait for older hospital records before appealing?
Do not let a records request replace the appeal step. Reconsideration after an initial SSDI or SSI denial generally requires a written request within 60 days after receipt. SSA ordinarily presumes receipt five days after the notice date unless you show it arrived later. If the request may be late, ask for an extension in writing and explain why the deadline was missed. SSA must find good cause, and acceptance is not automatic. Identify the missing treatment sources and discuss the evidence with your representative while addressing the appeal instructions.
Discuss your claim
Talk With Downard About Your Detroit SSDI or SSI Claim
Tell us where the claim stands and what has made working difficult. Have the treatment checklist available if you have started it. We can discuss the application or appeal and the next step for your case.