El paso, Texas
El Paso Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in El Paso, Texas, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. We help prepare applications, respond to denials at reconsideration, and prepare for administrative hearings. You can work with our Tennessee-based team by phone or video. Start with the treatment sources, work changes, and agency decisions that explain your situation so we can discuss where your claim stands and what help you need.
How we help
How we help El Paso adults document a disability claim
The response focuses on the decision and the information needed for another review.
Applications: We help complete the application, gather medical evidence, and document work history. This brings the medical and employment information together for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to evaluate.
Reconsideration: We address the reasons SSA gave for a denial and add missing evidence. The response focuses on the decision and the information needed for another review.
Hearings: We prepare your testimony, develop the medical record, and present the legal argument at the hearing. Preparation includes reviewing likely questions and your medical timeline.
VA refers to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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.
We serve adults throughout Texas. Our Texas disability representation page explains the broader statewide process.
Benefit eligibility
What must El Paso applicants meet for SSDI or SSI?
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work in jobs covered by Social Security. Work-credit requirements depend on your age when disability began. SSA also evaluates your medical condition. Its SSDI eligibility explanation describes the work and medical requirements.
SSI does not require an insured work record. It requires limited income and resources, along with age 65 or older, statutory blindness, or a qualifying disability, and other eligibility requirements. See SSA's SSI eligibility rules for the full requirements.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, SSA evaluates whether you can perform substantial gainful activity (SGA), a significant level of work activity and earnings. When required by its evaluation process, SSA also considers whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. Not every claim reaches every step. A diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility. The condition must have lasted or be expected to last at least 12 consecutive months, or be expected to result in death. You do not have to wait 12 months before applying.
SSI's age and statutory-blindness categories differ from disability-based eligibility. SSA does not use SGA to determine initial SSI eligibility based on statutory blindness, and SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement. Financial and other SSI requirements still apply.
Local treatment records
Requesting Texas Tech Health El Paso records for your claim
Identify the requested records or dates of service, the recipient, the purpose of the release, and the preferred format.
If you received care through Texas Tech Health El Paso, its medical-records instructions require a completed, signed authorization before records can be released. Identify the requested records or dates of service, the recipient, the purpose of the release, and the preferred format. Be prepared to verify your identity and any authority to act for the patient.
The provider lists a separate authorization for psychotherapy notes. If those notes are part of a records request, ask Medical Records which form to use. Contact Medical Records for submission guidance before emailing protected health information.
Use these instructions for records maintained by Texas Tech Health El Paso. For a claim involving other doctors, clinics, or hospitals, list each source and its treatment dates separately. This helps identify which records belong in the claim file without assuming one provider's request covers all treatment.
Get organized
A PreBuild an El Paso treatment and work summary
Use this checklist to organize your information before an application or a conversation about an appeal. Keep a provider list even if you do not yet have copies of the records.
Treatment sources: Record each doctor, clinic, and hospital, contact details, patient ID if known, and dates of treatment. Add medicines, who prescribed them, and tests with their dates and ordering providers.
Jobs and work changes: List recent jobs, employment dates, and actual duties. Describe specific tasks your condition limits, such as standing, lifting, remembering instructions, or completing a workday.
SSA correspondence: Keep complete letters together and record when they arrived. Mark what each letter asks you to provide and the response date stated in it.
SSI information: Gather income and resource details alongside medical information. SSI's financial requirements are separate from its age, blindness, or disability category.
SSA's application guidance says not to delay applying because you do not have all the requested documents. Organize what you have and identify what is missing.
After a denial
After an El Paso denial, identify the review stage and receipt date
Deadline
60days
For an initial SSDI or SSI denial, the next review stage is generally reconsideration. After an unfavorable reconsideration determination, you can request an administrative law judge hearing. Written requests at these stages generally are due within 60 days after receipt of the relevant notice. SSA ordinarily presumes receipt five days after the notice date unless you show that it arrived later.
If your request may be late, ask SSA for an extension in writing and explain the delay. An extension requires good cause; extra time is not automatic. The reconsideration rules for SSDI and SSI explain the filing period and extension request. Review the actual decision before calculating a deadline.
Hearing arrangements
Preparing for an SSA hearing while living in El Paso
SSA describes four ways to attend a hearing: 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's rules and exceptions.
Read the Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing and its agreement and objection forms. Follow your scheduling notice for the actual appearance instructions. Our hearing-office guide provides office information separately from the work of preparing your evidence. Client calls with our team do not determine SSA's hearing arrangements.
Common questions
Questions El Paso adults ask about disability claims
Do I need to wait a year after stopping work to apply?
No. For disability-based claims, the condition must have lasted or be expected to last at least 12 consecutive months, or be expected to result in death. You do not have to wait for a full year to pass before applying. SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement.
Does a signed Texas Tech authorization cover psychotherapy notes?
Texas Tech Health El Paso lists a separate authorization for psychotherapy notes. Ask its Medical Records department which form applies to the records you need rather than assuming the general authorization covers those notes.
Can I apply before I have copies of my treatment records?
Yes. SSA says not to delay applying because requested documents are missing. Supply the medical-source details and other information you have. Names, contact details, and treatment dates are useful even before you have copies of every record.
Can Downard represent me if I live in El Paso?
Yes. We represent adults in El Paso with SSDI and SSI matters and communicate with clients by phone or video. Our firm is based in Tennessee and does not have a Texas office.
Will a diagnosis by itself establish disability?
No. SSA evaluates the medical evidence under its disability rules. For adult disability-based claims, it considers work activity and, when the evaluation reaches those steps, past work and adjustment to other work. Explain what your condition prevents you from doing, along with your treatment history.
Discuss your claim
Discuss your El Paso SSDI or SSI claim with our team
Tell us how your condition affects your work and whether you are applying or responding to a decision. We can discuss your claim by phone or video and explain the representation we offer.