Winston-salem, north Carolina
Winston-Salem Disability Lawyers for SSDI and SSI
Downard & Associates helps adults in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. We work with clients by phone and video from Tennessee. We can help prepare an application, address a denial at reconsideration, or present a claim at a hearing before a Social Security judge. Start with the places you received treatment, the work your condition limits, and the stage of your claim.
How we help
Help With a Winston-Salem Claim From Application Through Hearing
For SSI, we also help with the required financial disclosures.
We help adults age 18 and older with SSDI and SSI matters. Our work depends on where the claim stands:
Application: We help complete the application, gather medical evidence, and document work history. For SSI, we also help with the required financial disclosures.
Reconsideration: We address the reasons for a denial and develop supporting evidence. That may involve updated medical records or information about income and resources for an SSI appeal.
Hearing: We prepare you for testimony and present your claim to an administrative law judge (ALJ). Preparation connects the medical record with the limitations you describe.
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.
Our North Carolina disability representation page provides the statewide overview.
Treatment records
Finding Wake Forest Baptist Records for a Winston-Salem Claim
If you received care at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, identify the hospital or clinic and the dates of treatment. The health system's records instructions include affiliated Physician Network clinics. Include other providers separately so the treatment history covers care across different systems.
MyAtriumHealth shows portions of your medical record. The health system's portal FAQ says it does not show the entire record. A portal summary is a starting point for identifying care, rather than confirmation that every relevant record has been collected.
Wake Forest Baptist's medical-records instructions provide an electronic request option through MyAtriumHealth. Its paper forms distinguish a request for yourself or a health care provider from an authorization to send records to an attorney or another organization. Choose the form for the intended recipient and follow the instructions for the appropriate facility.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) checks nonmedical eligibility before forwarding a disability claim to North Carolina Disability Determination Services (DDS). DDS obtains medical evidence and makes the initial disability or blindness determination. North Carolina DDS first seeks evidence from your own providers and may arrange a consultative examination when that evidence is unavailable or insufficient. Respond to requests for information and report treatment sources that were left out.
Benefit eligibility
SSDI and SSI Requirements for Winston-Salem 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 work credits. It requires limited income and resources, eligibility through age 65 or older, statutory blindness, or a qualifying disability, and other program conditions.
For SSDI and adult SSI claims based on disability, SSA considers whether a medically determinable condition prevents substantial gainful activity (SGA), meaning significant physical or mental work usually done for pay or profit. When required in the evaluation, SSA also considers whether you can perform past work it treats as relevant or adjust to other work. Not every claim reaches every step.
The disability 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 if the condition is expected to meet that duration requirement. SSI based on age 65 or older does not require a disability finding. For SSI statutory blindness, there is no duration requirement, and SSA does not use SGA to determine initial eligibility. SSI financial and other requirements still apply.
See SSA's SSDI eligibility explanation and SSI eligibility requirements for the separate program rules.
Get organized
Build a Treatment and Work List for Your Winston-Salem Claim
Use a short list to connect treatment sources with the work your condition affects. Identify missing information without delaying an application just because you do not have every document.
Treatment sources: List each hospital, clinic, and provider, including care outside Winston-Salem. Record contact information, approximate treatment dates, and the condition treated.
Records already available: Note which documents you have and which visits they cover. For Wake Forest Baptist care, distinguish information visible in MyAtriumHealth from records obtained through a separate request.
Work history: List job titles and dates, then describe the actual tasks, such as lifting, standing, sitting, using your hands, or concentrating. Record when symptoms changed your hours or duties.
SSI information: Identify income sources, accounts, and other resources for the financial disclosures. This information is separate from the medical evidence.
SSA's application guidance lists information to gather and says not to delay applying because documents are missing.
After a denial
Responding to an Initial or Reconsideration Denial in Winston-Salem
Deadline
60days
After an initial SSDI or SSI denial, a reconsideration request generally must be filed within 60 days after you receive the notice. After a reconsideration denial, an ALJ hearing request generally follows the same 60-day receipt rule. SSA generally presumes that you received the notice five days after its date unless you show that you received it later.
Read the decision's instructions promptly. If a request is late, a written extension request must explain the reasons. SSA must find good cause to extend the time; an extension is not automatic. The SSDI reconsideration rule and SSI reconsideration rule explain these requirements.
Hearing arrangements
Understanding Your Hearing Notice for a Winston-Salem Claim
Our hearing-office guide keeps the office information in one place.
SSA hearings can take place in person, by audio using a telephone, by agency video using SSA equipment, or by online video using your own device. Online video requires your agreement. The Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing includes forms for objecting to audio or agency video and agreeing to online video.
Audio and agency-video objections are subject to SSA's rules, deadlines, and exceptions. Follow your notices rather than assuming you can select any method without conditions. An in-person hearing may take place at a hearing office or a permanent remote site; the scheduling notice identifies the method and, when relevant, the location. Review SSA's hearing attendance options before arranging travel or equipment.
Common questions
Questions About Starting a Winston-Salem Disability Claim
Can I apply for both SSDI and SSI?
You may qualify for both programs if you meet each program's requirements. SSDI depends on an insured work record and the applicable disability rules. SSI has separate income, resource, and other eligibility requirements. An SSDI payment can affect SSI eligibility or the payment amount.
What should I do if treatment information is missing from MyAtriumHealth?
Check the health system's medical-records request instructions. Wake Forest Baptist says MyAtriumHealth does not display the entire record. Identify the missing visit or facility and use the applicable records request process rather than assuming that a missing portal entry means no record exists.
Can I get help before Social Security denies my application?
Yes. We help adults prepare SSDI and SSI applications, including medical evidence and work-history information. For SSI applications, we also help with required financial disclosures. You do not need a denial before contacting us about an application.
Can I qualify for SSI without enough Social Security work credits?
SSI does not require work credits. You must meet its income, resource, and other conditions and qualify through age 65 or older, statutory blindness, or a qualifying disability. Too few SSDI work credits do not by themselves rule out SSI.
Discuss your claim
Talk With Downard About Your Winston-Salem Disability Claim
Tell us about your condition, treatment, and claim stage. We can discuss help with an SSDI or SSI application, reconsideration, or hearing. Use the intake form to start the conversation.