Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults age 18 and older in Roanoke, Virginia, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications and appeals. We work with clients by phone and video. We help document medical and work evidence, address denial reasons at reconsideration, and prepare and present claims at hearings. Start with a list of your treatment providers, the job duties your condition limits, and any requests or decisions Social Security has sent you.
How we help
How We Build and Present a Roanoke Disability Claim
Before a hearing, we prepare you for questions about your medical history, past work, and daily limitations.
For an SSDI application, we help file the claim, gather medical evidence, and document your work history. For an adult SSI application, we also help complete the financial disclosures. These records give the reviewer information about your condition and the program requirements.
At reconsideration, we address the reasons given for the denial and work on missing or updated evidence. Before a hearing, we prepare you for questions about your medical history, past work, and daily limitations. At the hearing, we present the case to the administrative law judge.
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.
Benefit eligibility
SSDI and SSI Requirements for Roanoke Adults
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work covered by Social Security. The work-credit requirements depend on your age when the disability began. SSI does not require an SSDI insured-work record. It has separate income, resource, and other eligibility requirements and may be available based on a qualifying disability, statutory blindness, or age 65 or older.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, a medically determinable condition must prevent substantial gainful activity (SGA). SGA concerns work activity and earnings that are both substantial and gainful. If the evaluation reaches the later work-related steps, the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers your past work and ability to adjust to other work. 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 a year before applying. SSA does not use SGA to determine initial SSI eligibility based on statutory blindness, and SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement. Age-based SSI eligibility does not require a disability. Read SSA’s disability eligibility explanation and SSI eligibility rules.
Local claim process
How Roanoke Medical Review Differs From a Hearing
Virginia DDS asks you to report new treatment, tests, medications, conditions, and other medical information.
Virginia’s Disability Determination Services (DDS) lists a Southwest District Office in Roanoke. DDS gathers medical evidence and makes the medical disability determination for Social Security claims. Social Security handles nonmedical eligibility and further processing. A DDS request for information or an examination concerns medical review; it is separate from a hearing before a judge.
For a claim being reviewed by DDS, use the assigned analyst’s contact information on your DDS letter. Virginia DDS asks you to report new treatment, tests, medications, conditions, and other medical information. Follow the instructions in the request and identify what changed after you applied. Its claimant instructions explain how to communicate with the analyst.
SSA’s hearing-office locator lists the Roanoke Social Security field office among those served by the Roanoke hearing office. That published field-office relationship does not establish every Roanoke-area resident’s assignment. Check the office named in your own hearing correspondence. Our Virginia disability guide explains statewide context, and our hearing-office guide provides office details.
SSA offers four hearing methods: 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. The Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing explains the agreement and objection forms and response deadlines. Read SSA’s hearing attendance options.
The later scheduling notice gives the date, attendance method, and location instructions for your hearing. An in-person hearing may take place at an SSA hearing office or a permanent remote site. A directory entry alone does not tell you where to appear.
Get organized
A Request Checklist for Your Roanoke Claim
Use one checklist to track the information you provide and the requests still needing a response.
Medical information: List each doctor, hospital, and clinic, along with contact information, treatment dates, medications, and tests. Mark new care received since the application or denial.
Work information: Record job dates, duties, and the physical and mental tasks involved. Describe actual changes in your hours or duties and the activities your condition limits.
Requests and appointments: Record the sender, date received, requested information, response deadline shown, and any appointment instructions. Keep a copy of what you send and note when you sent it.
SSA’s application guidance lists the medical and work information it requests. Do not delay applying solely because documents are missing. Identify the sources and provide medical records already in your possession.
After a denial
Protecting the Appeal Period After a Roanoke Denial
Deadline
60days
After an initial SSDI or SSI denial, a written reconsideration request is generally due within 60 days after receipt. After a reconsideration denial, a written hearing request is generally due within 60 days after receipt. SSA presumes you received the notice five days after its date unless you show that it arrived later. These rules concern those review stages, not every Social Security letter. See SSA’s SSDI reconsideration rule and SSI reconsideration rule.
If the filing period has passed, request an extension in writing and explain why the request is late. SSA must find good cause; an extension is not automatic. Save information showing when the decision arrived, and address the filing deadline while medical-record requests are still pending.
Common questions
Questions About Roanoke Applications and Medical Review
Does Downard have a Roanoke office?
No. We have no offices outside Tennessee. We work with Roanoke clients by phone and video. Those conversations are separate from the hearing attendance arrangements SSA schedules.
Does a DDS medical examination mean I have a hearing?
No. A DDS examination or test is used to obtain medical evidence when the agency needs more information. A hearing is a separate proceeding before an administrative law judge. Follow the examination appointment instructions, and contact DDS promptly if you cannot attend.
Can DDS give me more time to return a questionnaire?
Contact your assigned DDS analyst by phone if you need more time to return an Activities of Daily Living or Work History questionnaire. Virginia DDS says the analyst decides whether an extension is available. If it is granted, the analyst gives you the new deadline. That questionnaire process is separate from a written request to extend an SSA appeal deadline based on good cause.
Can I apply for SSI with too few work credits for SSDI?
Possibly. SSI does not require an SSDI insured-work record, but you must meet its income, resource, categorical, and other eligibility requirements. For adults, the category may be a qualifying disability, statutory blindness, or age 65 or older. Too few SSDI credits do not by themselves establish SSI eligibility.
Discuss your claim
Talk With Us About Your Roanoke Disability Claim
Tell us whether you are applying, seeking reconsideration, or preparing for a hearing. We can discuss the medical evidence, work information, and decision or request involved in that stage.