Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in Phoenix, Arizona, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. We work with clients by phone and video from Tennessee, including people preparing an application or appealing a denial. Start with a list of your treatment providers, the work your condition has affected, and any Social Security decision you have received. We can discuss your situation and the representation you need.
How we help
Working With Downard on a Phoenix Disability Claim
That brings your treatment history and work information into the claim from the start.
You may be applying for the first time, responding to a denial, or preparing for a hearing. Our work depends on where your claim stands:
At the application stage, we help prepare and submit the application and gather medical evidence. That brings your treatment history and work information into the claim from the start.
At reconsideration, we review the reasons for denial, file the appeal, and obtain updated medical evidence. The purpose is to address the issues in the decision with relevant information.
Before an administrative law judge hearing, we prepare you for testimony and develop the medical record. At the hearing, we present the case and explain how the evidence relates to Social Security's rules.
Our service limits also address matters involving Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
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.
For statewide information, visit our Arizona disability representation page.
Benefit eligibility
SSDI and SSI Eligibility for Phoenix Adults
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work in jobs covered by Social Security. The work-credit requirements depend on your age when your disability began. A long work history does not always mean you still meet the insured-work requirements after years away from covered work.
SSI does not require an insured work record. It has separate income and resource limits, along with citizenship or qualifying noncitizen status, residency, and other requirements. For adults, eligibility may be based on qualifying disability, statutory blindness, or age 65 or older. The Social Security Administration (SSA) explains these distinctions in its SSI eligibility guidance.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, SSA evaluates whether a medically determinable condition prevents substantial gainful activity, meaning work at a substantial and gainful level. Its step-by-step evaluation may also consider whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. A claim can be decided at an earlier step; every claim does not have to reach the past-work and other-work questions.
The disabling condition must have lasted, or be expected to last, at least 12 consecutive months or result in death. You do not have to wait 12 months before applying. SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement, and SSA does not use substantial gainful activity to determine initial SSI eligibility based on statutory blindness. SSI based on age 65 or older also does not require proof of disability.
Treatment records
Collecting Valleywise and Banner Records for a Phoenix Claim
The same page explains the authorization needed for attorney or disability-agency requests.
Arizona's Disability Determination Services Administration is the state agency authorized to make disability determinations for SSA. Social Security checks the nonmedical requirements, while the state disability agency develops medical evidence and makes the initial medical determination. A request for treatment details is part of building that evidence.
If you received care at Valleywise Health, check what your download contains. Valleywise's MyChart terms say the displayed information may not be your complete medical record. Its records instructions direct patients to complete and sign an Authorization to Use or Disclose Protected Health Information form for copies. The same page explains the authorization needed for attorney or disability-agency requests.
If you received care at Banner Health, its patient medical records page offers requests through MRO Patient Central for hospital, provider-office, and urgent-care records. Have your government-issued photo ID available. The page lists separate contacts for Banner Surgery Center, Banner Physical Therapy, and Banner Imaging Services. Check the instructions for the location where you were treated.
Write each treatment location separately, with the dates and the type of care you received. If you had a hospital visit, physical therapy, and imaging, check which records you already have and which still need attention. This helps you describe your treatment sources accurately instead of assuming one download covers every visit.
Get organized
A Treatment and Work Checklist for Phoenix Applicants
Use one list to keep the details together. You can prepare these items for an application or a conversation about an appeal:
Treatment providers: Record each doctor's or facility's name, address, phone number, and treatment dates. Include the location and date of tests.
Records on hand: Note what you have downloaded or received, the dates covered, and any missing visits. Keep copies of requests so you can follow up with the right provider.
Medications: List prescription and nonprescription medicines, with the prescriber's name where applicable. Include side effects you actually experience.
Work information: Record when you stopped working or changed your hours, the duties you performed, and how your condition affected them. Describe tasks such as standing, lifting, concentrating, or completing a shift in your own words.
SSA correspondence: Keep the decision, envelope, and the date you received it together. Save a copy of anything you submit.
Gather what is available, but do not postpone an application just because some documents are missing. SSA's disability application guidance says not to delay applying because you do not have all the documents.
After a denial
Responding to an SSDI or SSI Denial in Phoenix
Deadline
60days
After an initial denial, reconsideration is generally the next review step. After an unfavorable reconsideration determination, you may request a hearing before an administrative law judge. For these steps, requests generally must be filed within 60 days after you receive the relevant notice. The rules for SSDI reconsideration and SSI reconsideration explain the receipt-based deadline.
SSA generally presumes you received the notice five days after its date unless you show you did not receive it within that period. Keep evidence of delayed delivery. This is not an unconditional 65-day deadline measured from the letter date.
If a reconsideration or hearing request is late, request an extension in writing and explain why the deadline was missed. SSA must find good cause; an extension is not automatic. Have the denial and its appeal instructions reviewed promptly.
Our hearing-office guide provides hearing-office information. Follow SSA's notices for the instructions that apply to your own hearing.
Common questions
Phoenix Disability Claim Questions
Can Downard help me while I live in Phoenix?
Yes. We represent adults in Phoenix with SSDI and SSI matters within our service scope, and we communicate with clients by phone and video from Tennessee. You can discuss an application, a reconsideration appeal, or an administrative law judge hearing with us.
Does an incomplete medical-record download mean I cannot apply?
No. SSA says not to delay applying because you lack some documents. Provide the treatment-source information and records you have, and respond to requests for more information. For Valleywise treatment, its MyChart terms specifically warn that displayed information may not be the complete medical record.
What should I do if I cannot afford treatment or have a gap in care?
Explain the reason for the gap, including cost, lack of insurance, or difficulty getting care. SSA considers relevant explanations when evaluating whether symptoms are consistent with the treatment record; it should not automatically treat limited treatment as proof that symptoms are minor. Keep any information that helps explain what prevented you from getting care.
Will my Social Security hearing be by phone or video?
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's deadlines, rules, and exceptions. Read SSA's hearing attendance guidance and follow your appearance and scheduling notices. Our phone and video communications with you do not determine your SSA hearing format.
Discuss your claim
Talk With Downard About Your Phoenix Disability Claim
Tell us where your claim stands and how your condition has affected your work. Bring your treatment list and any SSA decision you have received. We can discuss the next step and how we can help.