Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in Little Rock, Arkansas, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications and appeals. We work with clients by phone and video, help gather medical evidence, and prepare cases for the administrative stages that apply. Start with your treatment sources, work history, and any Social Security Administration (SSA) decision. If your care includes UAMS Health, identify the clinics and treatment dates so the records needed for your claim can be located.
How we help
How Downard Helps With a Little Rock Disability Claim
That connects the forms with the treatment and work information behind them.
We help build the information your claim needs, from an application through reconsideration and a hearing before an administrative law judge. Our work depends on where your case stands.
Applications: We help prepare and submit the application, gather medical evidence, and document your work history. That connects the forms with the treatment and work information behind them.
After an initial denial: We review the stated reasons, add missing evidence, and address the gaps identified in the decision when preparing reconsideration.
At the hearing stage: We develop the medical record, prepare you for questions about your condition and daily activities, and present the case to the judge. Preparing your answers means explaining what you actually experience.
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 Arkansas disability representation page provides the statewide service overview.
Benefit eligibility
SSDI and SSI Eligibility for Little Rock Adults
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work covered by Social Security and a condition that meets SSA's disability standard. The work-credit requirements depend on your age when the disability began. SSA explains these rules in its disability eligibility guide.
SSI does not require an SSDI work record. It requires limited income and resources, along with other eligibility conditions. For adults, SSI eligibility can be based on disability, statutory blindness, or age 65 or older. Citizenship or qualifying noncitizen status and residence rules also apply.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, your condition must prevent substantial gainful activity, meaning work activity evaluated under SSA's earnings and activity rules. When the evaluation reaches those steps, SSA also considers whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. A decision can be made at an earlier step; not every claim goes through all five steps.
A qualifying disability 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 solely because of this duration rule.
For initial SSI eligibility based on statutory blindness, SSA does not use substantial gainful activity, and there is no duration requirement for blindness. SSI based on age 65 or older does not require a disability finding. The separate financial and other conditions still apply. See SSA's SSI eligibility requirements.
Local claim process
Arkansas Medical Review and Little Rock Hearing Notices
The state agency develops medical evidence and makes the initial disability determination.
Arkansas's state disability-determination agency is based in Little Rock. It reviews the medical part of Social Security claims, separately from the field office's nonmedical eligibility review.
The field office checks nonmedical eligibility and sends the case to the state agency for disability evaluation. The state agency develops medical evidence and makes the initial disability determination. It usually requests evidence from your treatment providers first and may arrange an examination if that evidence is unavailable or insufficient. SSA describes these responsibilities in its disability determination process.
Read each request for its sender, requested information, and return instructions. A request for medical information during state review is different from a notice scheduling a judge hearing. Keep new treatment dates and provider details available so you can respond to the request you received.
SSA's hearing-office directory lists the Little Rock hearing office as serving the Little Rock and Sherwood field offices, among other Arkansas field-office areas. This is a directory relationship, not a guarantee of the office or hearing site assigned to every resident. Check your own SSA notices for the instructions that apply to your case.
Our hearing-office guide explains the office listings. A hearing-office listing does not determine how you will attend: an in-person hearing may be held at a hearing office or a permanent remote site. Your scheduling notice supplies the actual method and location instructions.
Get organized
A Little Rock Treatment and Claim Records Worksheet
If you receive care at UAMS Health, its patient medical-records page provides request instructions, a release form link, and an online request option. Record which clinics and providers treated you and the dates involved. List treatment elsewhere separately so one provider name does not replace your full treatment history.
Use this worksheet to organize information for an application or appeal. It is a starting point, not a requirement to collect every record yourself before contacting us.
| Information to organize | What to write down |
|---|---|
| Treatment sources | List each hospital, clinic, and provider, including UAMS locations if applicable. Add treatment dates and contact details. |
| Tests and medications | Record test dates, where the tests were performed, medications, and the providers who prescribed them. |
| Work and activity | List jobs, dates, and duties. Note specific tasks affected by your condition, such as standing, lifting, concentrating, or attending regularly. |
| Decisions and requests | Save the full SSA decision or information request, its date, when you received it, and what it asks you to do. |
SSA says not to delay an application because documents are missing. Share information and records already available, and identify sources that still need to be contacted.
After a denial
Responding to a Little Rock SSDI or SSI Denial
Deadline
60days
After an initial SSDI or SSI denial, the next administrative step is generally reconsideration. After an unfavorable reconsideration determination, the next step is generally a hearing request. Identify the decision stage before choosing the appeal forms.
For those reconsideration and hearing requests, the ordinary filing period is 60 days after you receive the relevant notice. SSA generally presumes receipt five days after the notice date unless you show that you did not receive it within that period. This is not an unconditional deadline of 65 days from the letter date.
If the request is late, ask for more time in writing and explain the reasons for the delay. SSA must find good cause; an extension is not automatic. The SSDI reconsideration rule and SSI reconsideration rule explain the filing and extension requirements.
Common questions
Little Rock Questions About Evidence and Disability Claims
Do I apply for benefits directly with Arkansas's medical-review agency?
Apply through Social Security. The state agency evaluates the medical disability question after the SSA field office sends the claim for review. It does not replace SSA's application process or its checks of nonmedical eligibility.
Does treatment at UAMS Health mean I meet SSA's disability standard?
No. A provider's name or a diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility. SSA evaluates the medical evidence under its rules and, when required, considers work activity and the ability to do past or other work. SSDI insured-work requirements and SSI financial and other conditions remain separate questions.
Should I wait for UAMS records before contacting Downard?
No. You can contact us with your treatment history and any records already available. We help gather medical evidence as part of our SSDI and SSI representation. SSA also advises against delaying an application because you lack documents; tell us which sources or requests are still outstanding.
Can I work with Downard while living in Little Rock?
Yes. We represent adults in Little Rock with SSDI and SSI matters and work with clients by phone and video. Our firm is based in Tennessee and does not have an Arkansas office.
How will I attend an SSA disability hearing?
SSA offers four hearing methods: in person, by audio using a telephone, by agency video using SSA equipment, or by online video using your own device. Online video requires your agreement. Objections to audio or agency video follow SSA rules and exceptions, so attendance is not an unrestricted choice. Read SSA's hearing-options guidance and the accompanying forms. Your scheduling notice supplies the method, site, and connection instructions for your own hearing.
Discuss your claim
Talk With Downard About Your Little Rock Claim
Tell us whether you are applying, responding to a denial, or preparing for a hearing. Share where you have received treatment and what your condition prevents you from doing. We can discuss the next administrative step and how we can help.