Seattle, Washington
Seattle Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in Seattle, Washington, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. We help with applications, reconsideration after a denial, and hearings before a Social Security judge. We work with you by phone and video from Tennessee. Start with a list of your treating providers, the work your condition has affected, and any decision you have received from Social Security.
How we help
How we help Seattle adults build a disability claim
New treatment records or corrected financial information can matter, depending on why the Social Security Administration (SSA) denied the claim.
For an SSDI application, we help complete and submit the application, gather medical evidence, and coordinate with treating providers for records. For SSI, we also help with the financial disclosures.
After an initial denial, we review the reasons given, file the reconsideration request, and work on the evidence relevant to those reasons. New treatment records or corrected financial information can matter, depending on why the Social Security Administration (SSA) denied the claim.
If reconsideration is denied, we request a hearing before an administrative law judge, develop the medical record, prepare you to testify, and present your case at the hearing. Preparation includes explaining your limitations in concrete terms, rather than relying only on the name of a diagnosis.
Our Washington disability representation page explains our statewide services.
We handle SSDI cases for people who currently receive benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 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 Seattle applicants
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough recent work covered by Social Security. The work-credit requirements depend on your age when disability began. For SSDI based on statutory blindness, fully insured status is required, but the usual recent-work test does not apply. SSI does not require an insured work record. It has separate income, resource, residency, citizenship or qualifying immigration status, and other rules, and may be available to people who are 65 or older, blind, or have a qualifying disability.
For SSDI claims not based on statutory blindness and adult SSI claims based on disability, SSA considers whether your condition prevents substantial gainful activity, meaning significant physical or mental work usually done for pay or profit. When its evaluation requires it, SSA also considers whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. A claim can be decided before reaching every step.
The condition and resulting inability to perform substantial gainful activity 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. SSDI based on statutory blindness also has a duration requirement and separate work rules. SSI based on statutory blindness is different: SSA does not use substantial gainful activity to determine initial eligibility. SSI statutory blindness has no duration requirement. See SSA’s disability eligibility explanation and SSI eligibility requirements.
Your medical evidence
UW Medicine records in Seattle and Washington’s medical review
UW Medicine says that not all medical records are available through MyChart.
Washington Disability Determination Services, or DDS, reviews medical eligibility at the initial application and reconsideration stages. SSA field offices handle the separate nonmedical requirements. A request for treatment information from DDS concerns the medical review of your claim.
If you receive care through UW Medicine, including Harborview Medical Center or UW Medical Center, your MyChart account can be a starting point for organizing records. UW Medicine says that not all medical records are available through MyChart. Its medical-records guide explains how to request copies through MyChart or a signed authorization.
List each location where you received care and the dates of treatment. Flag reports or visits you cannot find in the portal, and include providers outside UW Medicine. Share that list with us so we can identify where records need to be requested. A portal download should not be assumed to contain the whole treatment history.
Get organized
A treatment and work checklist for your Seattle claim
Use one working list to organize the information below. SSA’s disability application guidance provides a fuller list of application information.
Treating providers: Record each provider’s name, location, phone number, and treatment dates. Include separate clinics and specialists.
Tests and medications: List test names and dates, who ordered them, medications, and who prescribed them. Mark records you already have and those still missing.
Work history: Begin with jobs from the five years before your medical conditions made you unable to work. Follow the reporting-period and job-selection instructions on SSA’s form and any accompanying letter. Record dates, hours, pay, and actual duties, and describe what changed as your condition affected the work.
SSI financial information: Organize income sources, accounts, and other resources if you are applying for SSI. Keep this information separate from the medical-record list.
A denial or hearing notice: Keep the complete notice and record when you received it. Its instructions concern your particular review stage.
After a denial
Acting on an SSDI or SSI denial in Seattle
Deadline
60days
After an initial SSDI or SSI denial, the deadline to request reconsideration is generally 60 days after you receive the notice. If reconsideration is denied, the deadline to request a hearing before an administrative law judge is also generally 60 days after receipt of that notice. Both requests must be made in writing. SSA ordinarily presumes receipt five days after the notice date unless you show that it arrived later.
If either appeal request is late, request an extension in writing and explain the delay. SSA must find good cause; an extension is not automatic. The SSDI reconsideration rule, SSI reconsideration rule, SSDI hearing-request rule, and SSI hearing-request rule explain the request and extension requirements. Contact us promptly after a denial rather than waiting for every medical record to arrive.
Common questions
Questions Seattle disability applicants ask
Should I wait until I have all my medical records before applying?
No. SSA says not to delay applying for disability benefits because you do not have all the documents. Provide the information and records you have, identify missing items, and follow requests for additional information.
Can I apply for SSDI and SSI at the same time?
Yes. Some people qualify for both programs. SSA determines eligibility for each separately, including SSDI’s insured-work requirements and SSI’s income and resource rules. Having an SSDI application does not by itself establish SSI eligibility.
Does my disability hearing have to be in person?
SSA has 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’s rules and exceptions. Read the Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing and follow its response instructions and deadlines. Use your scheduling notice for your case’s attendance details. SSA’s hearing-options page explains the methods. Our hearing-office guide provides office information. Phone or video meetings with us do not determine your SSA hearing method.
Does UW Medicine MyChart contain my complete medical record?
Not necessarily. UW Medicine says that not all medical records are available through MyChart. Use its records-request process for additional documents, and identify every location where you received care. The records available in one portal should not be treated as a complete list of all your treatment.
Discuss your claim
Talk with Downard about your Seattle disability claim
Tell us how your condition affects work, where you have received treatment, and whether you are applying or appealing a decision. We can discuss the claim and explain how we would help with the next step.