Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates represents adults in Wilmington, Delaware, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. We work with clients by phone or video and help with applications, reconsideration appeals and hearings. Start with a list of your treatment providers, the dates your health affected your work and any decision you have received from Social Security. If you received care through ChristianaCare, check whether older records are missing from your current patient portal.
How we help
How We Help Wilmington Adults With Applications and Appeals
We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or new cases involving back-pay issues alone.
We help put the medical evidence, work history and claim forms together. Our work with Wilmington clients can include:
Applications: We help prepare the application, gather medical evidence and document work history so the information addresses the claim requirements.
Reconsideration appeals: We review the reasons for a denial and help address missing evidence or gaps identified in the decision.
Hearings: We help develop the medical record, prepare you for questions and present the case to an administrative law judge.
You can work with our team by phone or video from Wilmington. Our Delaware disability representation page provides broader statewide information.
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 Wilmington Adults
Duration rule
12months
SSDI generally requires enough work covered by Social Security, including sufficiently recent work, and a qualifying medical condition. Work-credit requirements depend on your age when the disability began. For statutory blindness, the recent-work test does not apply, but the total-work requirement still does. SSI has separate rules for limited income and resources, citizenship or qualifying noncitizen status, residency and other requirements. SSI can be based on qualifying disability, statutory blindness or age 65 or older; it does not require an SSDI insured-work record.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates whether a medically determinable condition prevents substantial gainful activity, meaning significant physical or mental work of a kind usually done for pay or profit. Its evaluation may also consider whether you can do past work or adjust to other work. A decision can occur before those later steps if an earlier step resolves the claim.
Generally, the condition and the resulting inability to perform substantial gainful activity must have lasted, or be expected to last, at least 12 continuous months, unless the condition is expected to result in death within 12 months of disability onset. You do not have to wait until a full year has passed before applying.
SSI statutory blindness has different rules: SSA does not use substantial gainful activity to determine initial SSI eligibility based on statutory blindness, and there is no duration requirement for SSI statutory blindness. Financial and other SSI requirements still apply. See SSA's SSI eligibility explanation and SSDI work and disability requirements.
Treatment records
Building a Wilmington Treatment History Beyond MyChart
Compare the records you can see with your own treatment timeline.
Delaware's Disability Determination Services reviews medical eligibility for Social Security disability claims. SSA field offices check nonmedical requirements, such as insured status. A useful medical history identifies the providers who treated you, when treatment occurred and what records may be available.
If you received care through ChristianaCare, do not assume that every older record appears in MyChart. ChristianaCare's MyChart information explains that some records from its previous portal transfer to MyChart, while other older information may require a separate request. Compare the records you can see with your own treatment timeline.
ChristianaCare's medical-records instructions distinguish requesting your own copy from authorizing records to be sent to an attorney or another third party. Both require written, signed authorization. Use the form that matches the recipient, and list care from other providers separately.
Get organized
Prepare a Treatment and Work Timeline for Your Wilmington Claim
Use a simple list with one entry for each provider and each job. SSA's application information checklist identifies the medical and work details it requests.
Treatment sources: Record each doctor, hospital, clinic and therapist, with contact information, treatment dates and any patient identification number you have.
Records to locate: Note visits, tests and treatment dates that are missing from your portal. Mark which records you already have and which may need to be requested.
Work history: List job dates and actual duties. Describe tasks your condition affected, including lifting, standing, concentration or keeping a work schedule, as applicable.
Medications and tests: List current medicines, who prescribed them, and the names and dates of medical tests. Note side effects or symptoms you need to explain.
SSA advises people to apply without delaying just because some documents are missing. Completing this list can help you identify gaps while the claim moves forward.
After a denial
Responding to a Disability Denial in Wilmington
Deadline
60days
For an initial SSDI or SSI denial, the next administrative review is generally reconsideration, which must be requested in writing. After a reconsideration denial, the next step is generally a written hearing request. For these requests, the usual deadline is 60 days after you receive the decision notice.
SSA normally presumes that you received the notice five days after its date, unless you show that it arrived later. Keep the notice and any information showing when it reached you. Do not assume the date printed on the letter is your receipt date.
If a request is late, you can ask for an extension in writing, explain the delay and show good cause. SSA decides whether the reason meets its rules. Its SSDI reconsideration rule and SSI reconsideration rule explain the time limit and extension process.
Hearing arrangements
Wilmington's Field Office and the Dover Hearing Office
SSA's hearing-office locator lists the Wilmington, Delaware field office among the field offices served by the Dover hearing office. This describes the directory relationship; it does not establish the assignment or location of every Wilmington resident's hearing. Our hearing-office guide provides additional office information.
Use your scheduling notice for the office, date, appearance method and any location instructions for your case. An in-person hearing may be held at a hearing office or another authorized hearing site. A directory entry alone does not tell you where to attend.
SSA offers four hearing appearance 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 follow SSA rules and exceptions, including certain changes of residence and extraordinary circumstances. Review the appearance notice and its forms within the applicable time limits. SSA's hearing-options explanation describes the methods. Phone or video meetings with our team do not set your SSA hearing format.
Common questions
Questions About Wilmington Disability Claims
Can I rely on ChristianaCare MyChart for my entire treatment history?
Not necessarily. ChristianaCare says that some information from its previous portal moves into MyChart, but older information may need to be requested separately. Check your treatment dates against the records you can access and identify any missing visits or tests.
Should I wait to apply until all my medical records arrive?
SSA advises people not to delay applying solely because some documents are missing. Provide accurate treatment-source information and identify records that still need to be obtained. The disability duration rule also does not require waiting 12 months before applying.
Does a diagnosis by itself qualify me for disability benefits?
No. SSA evaluates medical evidence under its program rules. A condition may qualify through a listing or another part of the evaluation, but the diagnosis alone does not establish that every requirement is met. SSDI work requirements and SSI financial requirements are separate from the medical decision.
Do I need to travel to Tennessee to work with Downard?
You can work with our team by phone or video from Wilmington. Those meetings are separate from an SSA hearing, which follows its own appearance and scheduling notices.
Discuss your claim
Talk With Downard About Your Wilmington Disability Claim
Tell us whether you are applying, appealing an initial denial or preparing for a hearing. We can discuss your claim by phone or video and explain the work involved at that stage.