Tennessee disability lawyers since 2002
SSDI Claims Lawyers
Social Security Disability Insurance is not a handout program, and treating it like one is where a lot of shame and a lot of bad decisions start.
Every paycheck you ever earned took a FICA deduction, and that deduction was a premium. SSDI is the policy those premiums bought. Income has nothing to do with qualifying; even a millionaire could get SSDI if the work credits are there and the medical proof holds.
Our firm has handled Social Security Disability claims since 2002, today they are the only kind we take, and SSDI claims are the core of the practice: proving you are covered, proving you are disabled under SSA's rules, and proving both before the deadlines that quietly decide these cases.
You qualify for SSDI through work credits (in 2026, one credit per $1,890 earned, up to four a year) plus medical proof that you cannot sustain substantial work for at least 12 months. Most adults need 40 credits with 20 earned in the last 10 years, and coverage can lapse if you have been out of work for years. There is a five-month waiting period after your onset date, Medicare follows 24 months after entitlement, and back pay can reach up to 12 months before your application date.
Where this sits in the process
- 1ApplicationA state agency reviews the medical side.
- 2ReconsiderationRequested within 60 days of receiving a denial.
- 3HearingAn administrative law judge decides on the full record.
- 4Appeals CouncilReview of the judge's decision for error.
- 5Federal courtReferred to affiliated counsel.
What Is SSDI and Who Qualifies?
Duration rule
12months
SSDI pays monthly benefits to workers whose medical conditions stop them from sustaining substantial work for at least 12 months, or are expected to end in death. Two tests decide every claim. The first is non-medical: whether you were insured when your disability began. The second is medical: whether the evidence shows you cannot work under SSA's definition. Plenty of strong medical cases die on the first test and plenty of insured claimants lose on the second, which is why we look at both in the first conversation. If your work history is thin, the needs-based SSI program runs on the same medical standard without the work requirement, and some people qualify under both at once.
How Do Work Credits and Insured Status Work?
Work credits
40credits
In 2026 you earn one credit for every $1,890 in covered earnings, up to four credits a year, per SSA's credit rules. Most adults need 40 credits with at least 20 earned in the ten years before disability began; younger workers need fewer on a sliding scale. The part that surprises people is that coverage does not last forever. Like any policy, this one can lapse: stop working long enough and your insured status ends on a date SSA can calculate to the day, called your date last insured. A claim filed after that date can still win, but only by proving the disability began before coverage ran out, which makes old medical records suddenly very important. Our work credits guide covers the counting rules in detail, and checking your own earnings record through your ssa.gov account takes minutes.
The Five-Step Test SSA Uses on Every Claim
Every SSDI claim runs through the same sequential evaluation under 20 CFR 404.1520.
Step one asks whether you are working above substantial gainful activity, $1,690 a month for non-blind claimants in 2026; earn above it and the claim is denied without the medical file ever being read (current amounts in our SGA limits guide).
Step two asks whether your condition is severe.
Step three checks it against SSA's listings of impairments, and a claim that meets a listing is approved right there; the conditions we handle map to those listings.
Steps four and five ask whether you can still do your past work or adjust to other work, considering your age, education, and skills.
Most contested cases are decided at steps four and five, and they are decided on the medical record: what your providers documented, over time, about what you can no longer do.
How to Apply, and What Slows Claims Down
You can file online at ssa.gov, by phone, or through your Social Security field office, and the application itself is the easy part. What decides the claim is the file behind it: complete treatment records, a work history that matches the medical story, and provider opinions that explain limitations instead of listing diagnoses. The avoidable delays we see are the same ones every time: gaps in treatment that read as recovery, working above the earnings limit while the claim is pending, and applications that never mention conditions the records support. Consistent treatment is not just good medicine here. It is the evidence.
After the Decision: Payments, Medicare, and Denials
Duration rule
12months
Approval starts a clock, not a check. SSDI has a five-month waiting period after your established onset date, so payments begin with the sixth full month. Back pay can reach up to 12 months before your application date when the onset supports it, and your monthly amount comes from your lifetime earnings record, not from how sick you are; our guide to how much disability pays explains the math. Medicare eligibility follows 24 months after SSDI entitlement, with the wait waived for ALS. And if the answer is no, a denial is the beginning of the appeals process, not the end of the claim: most initial claims are denied, the deadlines run 60 days at every level, and the stage where claims win most often is the hearing.
SSDI Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get SSDI if I am under 31?
Yes, with fewer credits. Workers who become disabled before 31 qualify on a sliding scale, generally needing credits for half the time between age 21 and the onset of disability, and workers disabled before 24 can qualify with as few as 6 credits earned in the prior 3 years. Young workers should never assume they are not covered.
Can I get SSDI if I never worked?
No. SSDI is earned coverage, paid for through payroll taxes, so a work record is the price of admission. But the same medical standard powers SSI, the needs-based program, and adults disabled since childhood can sometimes draw on a parent's earnings record. A short conversation sorts out which door is yours.
How much does SSDI pay per month?
Your amount comes from your lifetime average earnings, not your diagnosis or your bills, so two people with the same condition can receive very different checks. Your ssa.gov account shows your projected benefit to the dollar. Higher past earnings mean a higher benefit, because you paid more in.
Does SSDI come with health insurance?
Yes, eventually. Medicare eligibility begins 24 months after your SSDI entitlement date, with coverage starting in month 25, and the wait is waived for ALS. Many approved claimants bridge the gap with TennCare, a spouse's plan, or marketplace coverage, and back pay often helps carry those costs.
Can my family get benefits on my SSDI record?
Often, yes. A spouse and minor or disabled children may qualify for auxiliary benefits on your earnings record, each up to a percentage of your benefit within a family maximum. These do not reduce your own check, and families regularly leave this money unclaimed because nobody told them it existed.
Conditions we handle
SSDI for the conditions you're living with
We've represented Tennessee families with virtually every type of disabling condition. Below are some of the most common, but if your condition isn't listed, call us anyway. SSDI eligibility is about what your condition prevents you from doing, not its name.
Free case review
Put Your Premiums to Work
If you cannot work and your credits are in place, the benefit exists because you paid for it. Request your free case review or call (615) 255-4307 and we will check both tests, coverage and medical, and tell you plainly where your claim stands.
Under federal fee rules, you pay nothing unless you win, capped at 25 percent of past-due benefits or $9,200, whichever is less.