Long Island, new York
Long Island Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults on Long Island, New York, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims and appeals. We serve Nassau and Suffolk County residents by phone and video from Tennessee; we do not have a New York office. We help prepare applications, develop medical evidence and present cases at administrative hearings. Tell us whether you are applying or appealing, and how your condition has changed your ability to work.
How we help
Working With Downard From Nassau or Suffolk County
For an administrative law judge hearing, we develop the medical record, prepare you for questions and present the legal argument.
For a new SSDI application, we help prepare the forms, gather medical evidence and document your work history. For SSI, we also help complete the financial disclosures. The goal is to give SSA the medical, work and financial information relevant to the program you are seeking.
At reconsideration, we address the reasons for the denial and add missing evidence. For an administrative law judge hearing, we develop the medical record, prepare you for questions and present the legal argument. Your claim stage determines the work that needs to be done.
Our New York disability representation page explains the statewide context. We represent adults age 18 and older within these service limits.
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
SSDI and SSI Eligibility for Long Island Adults
Duration rule
12months
SSDI depends on an insured work record. It generally requires enough recent work covered by Social Security. The work-credit requirements depend on your age when disability began. For statutory blindness, the insured-status rule requires you to be fully insured, but the usual recent-work test does not apply. See SSA's SSDI eligibility guidance.
SSI has separate financial and other eligibility rules. It does not require work credits. You must have limited countable income and resources and meet applicable citizenship or immigration, residency and other requirements. SSI can be based on disability, statutory blindness or age 65 or older. Age-based SSI does not require a disability finding. Read SSA's SSI eligibility requirements.
For ordinary adult disability claims, a medically established physical or mental condition must prevent substantial gainful activity (SGA), meaning work that is both substantial and gainful. SSA uses a sequential evaluation. If the review reaches the work-capacity steps, it considers whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. A decision can occur earlier; not every claim reaches those steps.
Both the condition and the resulting inability to perform SGA must have lasted, or be expected to last, at least 12 consecutive months, unless the condition is expected to result in death. You do not have to wait 12 months before applying when the expected duration meets the rule. SSA says to apply as soon as you become disabled.
SSI statutory blindness follows different rules: SSA does not use SGA to determine initial SSI eligibility on that basis, and SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement. Income, resource and other SSI requirements still apply. SSDI blindness has its own rules; do not apply these SSI exceptions to an SSDI claim.
Know the program
Separate New York Wage-Replacement Benefits From a Long Island SSDI or SSI Claim
Keep employer or insurance-carrier letters separate from SSA notices so you can identify which program issued a decision and which instructions apply.
A disability benefit through your employer may be a different program from Social Security. Under New York's Disability Benefits Law, covered workers can receive temporary cash benefits replacing part of wages lost because of a qualifying off-the-job injury or illness. The New York Workers' Compensation Board explains this coverage and its eligibility rules.
An approval for that state benefit does not itself establish SSDI or SSI eligibility. Social Security applies its own program requirements. Keep employer or insurance-carrier letters separate from SSA notices so you can identify which program issued a decision and which instructions apply. Our representation described here concerns federal SSDI and SSI matters.
For the medical review of a federal disability application, New York's Division of Disability Determinations applies federal disability guidelines. SSA handles the nonmedical eligibility requirements. New York's federal disability application guide identifies the state division and asks for your doctors, hospitals, clinics and other record sources. Include each source of care, whether it is in Nassau County, Suffolk County or elsewhere.
If the existing medical evidence is insufficient, the state disability agency may arrange a consultative examination to obtain additional information. This examination is part of evidence development; it is separate from a hearing before a judge. Read the appointment instructions and contact the requesting agency if you cannot attend. SSA explains this step in its disability determination process.
Get organized
A Claim and Appointment Checklist for Long Island Residents
Use a single list to organize your information, then keep letters grouped by the agency or insurer that sent them.
Program and stage: Note whether the letter concerns SSDI, SSI or employer disability coverage. For an SSA decision, record the decision stage and when you received it.
Treatment sources: List each doctor, clinic and hospital, contact information, treatment dates, tests and medicines. Mark details you still need to confirm.
Work and limitations: Record your jobs in the five years before you became unable to work, the dates and actual duties. Describe changes in standing, lifting, concentration or other tasks in your own experience.
Appointment access: If you will use the Long Island Rail Road for an examination or hearing, check station accessibility and elevator status. MTA's accessible commuter-rail guide also explains LIRR Care boarding assistance. Confirm the appointment location before planning the route.
Do not delay applying solely because some documents are missing. SSA's disability application guidance says it will help obtain missing documents. Identify what you have and what still needs to be collected.
After a denial
After a Long Island Disability Denial: Timing and Hearing Attendance
Deadline
60days
For an initial SSDI or SSI denial, a written reconsideration request generally is due 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 period. SSA normally presumes receipt five days after the notice date unless you show that you did not receive it within that period.
If a request is late, ask for an extension in writing and explain the reasons. SSA must find good cause; an extension is not automatic. The SSDI reconsideration rule and SSI reconsideration rule explain the deadline and extension process. Other decisions can have different instructions, so check the specific notice.
SSA lists four ways to attend a judge hearing: in person, audio by telephone, agency video using SSA equipment, and online video using your own device. Online video requires your agreement. Objections to audio or agency video are subject to SSA rules and exceptions. Follow the response instructions in the appearance notices; phone and video communication with our team does not determine your hearing format.
Review SSA's hearing attendance options and our hearing-office guide as you prepare. Your actual hearing notice provides the scheduled attendance instructions. Confirm those details before traveling or setting up a device.
Common questions
Questions Long Island Applicants Ask Before Starting
Can I work with Downard without traveling to Tennessee?
Yes. We work with Long Island clients by phone and video. We do not have a New York office. Those communications are separate from SSA's instructions for attending a hearing.
Does receiving New York employer disability benefits mean I qualify for SSDI?
No. Employer disability coverage and SSDI have separate requirements. Receiving the state benefit does not by itself satisfy Social Security's insured-work and disability rules. Tell SSA about other disability benefits when completing the application.
Should I wait until I have every medical record?
No. Do not delay applying solely because records are missing. Identify your treatment sources and the documents you already have. SSA says it will help obtain missing documents.
What if I cannot travel to an examination?
Contact the agency that requested the examination and explain the problem promptly. An evidence-development examination is different from a judge hearing. Do not assume that working with our team by video changes the appointment instructions.
Can part-time work still count as substantial gainful activity?
Yes. Work can be substantial and gainful even when performed part time. SSA evaluates the work under its rules, rather than using hours alone. Initial SSI eligibility based on statutory blindness does not use SGA as its eligibility test; financial requirements still apply.
Discuss your claim
Discuss Your Long Island Disability Claim With Downard
Tell us how your condition affects work and whether you are applying or appealing. We can discuss representation for your SSDI or SSI matter and the information relevant to the next step.