Denver SSDI Lawyers

A serious medical condition can change your ability to work and support your family. For Denver workers with enough covered work history, Social Security Disability Insurance may provide monthly benefits when they meet the Social Security Administration’s disability requirements. SSDI is a federal program. As such, Colorado claimants must meet the same federal eligibility standards that apply nationwide.

Our Denver disability benefits lawyers represent disabled individuals pursuing Social Security Disability Insurance, commonly called SSDI. We handle claims from the initial application through reconsideration, hearings before an Administrative Law Judge, Appeals Council review, and, when appropriate, federal court.

Call Key Disability at (720) 796-9971 or fill out our contact form to discuss your Social Security disability claim. Our attorneys and staff work together throughout the process, from developing medical evidence to preparing an appeal after a denial.

SSDI provides benefits based on disability and a worker’s employment history covered by Social Security. The Social Security Administration’s disability eligibility requirements state that a claimant generally needs a qualifying disability or blindness and enough work history. A qualifying disability generally must affect the ability to work for at least a year or be expected to result in death.

A claimant’s work history is reflected in the Social Security credits earned from covered wages or self-employment income. In 2026, the Social Security Administration’s work-credit rules provide one credit for each $1,890 in covered earnings, up to four credits for the year. The earnings requirement for a credit can be revised each year.

The number and timing of credits required for disability benefits depend partly on age. Many workers age 31 or older generally need at least 20 credits during the 10 years immediately before disability began, while different rules apply to younger workers. 20 C.F.R. § 404.130 sets out several rules for determining disability insured status.

A Denver SSDI lawyer can review the work history and medical sides of a claim and identify the evidence Social Security will consider when deciding eligibility.

A diagnosis by itself does not qualify someone for SSDI. Social Security applies a five-step sequential evaluation under 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520 to decide whether an adult claimant satisfies the federal disability standard.

• Current Work: Social Security considers whether the claimant is performing substantial gainful activity. For 2026, the SGA amount is $1,690 per month for a person who is not blind and $2,830 for a person considered blind under Social Security’s rules.
• Severity: The agency determines whether the claimant has a severe medically determinable physical or mental impairment that satisfies Social Security’s duration requirement.
• Listed Impairments: Social Security considers whether the impairment meets or medically equals an impairment in its Listing of Impairments and satisfies the duration requirement.
• Past Relevant Work: The agency assesses residual functional capacity and determines whether the claimant can perform past relevant work.
• Other Work: If the claimant cannot perform past relevant work, Social Security considers residual functional capacity along with age, education, and work experience to determine whether the claimant can adjust to other work.

This process focuses heavily on functional limitations. Medical conditions can affect standing, walking, lifting, concentration, memory, interaction with others, or other abilities relevant to the work Social Security evaluates.

Social Security requires objective medical evidence before it can establish that a claimant has a medically determinable impairment. The SSA evidentiary requirements specify that this evidence must come from an acceptable medical source. After establishing the impairment, SSA considers medical and nonmedical evidence when determining its severity and effect on functioning.

Treatment records may document diagnoses, examination findings, testing, symptoms, treatment history, and changes in a person’s condition. Social Security may also consider medical opinions and relevant information from nonmedical sources.

The agency may need more information when the existing evidence does not support a determination. Under the Social Security disability determination process, Disability Determination Services generally seeks evidence from a claimant’s medical sources first. DDS can arrange a consultative examination if that evidence is unavailable or insufficient.

Our team works with clients to develop medical evidence and address gaps in the record. Our disability-claims experience includes physical conditions, mental impairments, developmental disabilities, and neurocognitive disorders.

SSDI does not have a Colorado-specific disability standard. Social Security sets the federal requirements, while state Disability Determination Services agencies make medical determinations under those federal rules.

The Colorado Department of Human Services Disability Determination Services is the state agency that makes disability decisions for the federal Social Security program. Colorado DDS is located in Aurora.

Social Security field offices generally handle nonmedical eligibility issues, such as employment and Social Security coverage information. The field office then sends the claim to DDS, which develops the medical evidence and makes the initial disability determination.

SSA also maintains hearing operations in Denver. Its official hearing-office materials identify a Denver hearing office serving the Denver Social Security field-office area and several other Colorado field-office areas.

A Denver disability claim may therefore involve the Social Security Administration, Colorado DDS, medical providers, and an Administrative Law Judge at different stages of the process.

Social Security provides several opportunities to appeal an unfavorable disability decision. Its current appeals process begins with reconsideration and can continue through a hearing, Appeals Council review, and federal district court review.

The primary stages are:

• Reconsideration of the initial determination
• A hearing before an Administrative Law Judge
• Review by the Social Security Appeals Council
• A civil action in federal district court after Appeals Council action

The time to appeal a Social Security decision is limited. SSA generally gives claimants 60 days from receipt of the decision notice to seek the next level of review and usually assumes the notice arrived five days after it was mailed. If an appeal is filed late, SSA may extend the deadline when the claimant provides an adequate explanation for the delay.

At the hearing level, an Administrative Law Judge can review the evidence and hear testimony concerning the claimant’s medical conditions and ability to work. Our team prepares clients for disability hearings, reviews the administrative record, develops evidence, and represents claimants before ALJs.

An unfavorable ALJ decision may be taken to the Appeals Council. The SSA Appeals Council process generally requires a request for review within 60 days of receiving the hearing decision. The Appeals Council may deny review. If it grants review, it may issue a decision or return the case to an Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings.

Federal judicial review can become available after Appeals Council action. The Social Security Administration’s federal district court guidance generally gives a claimant 60 days to file a civil action after an Appeals Council decision.

Denver residents seeking judicial review may proceed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The court provides a specific Complaint for Review of Social Security Decision, along with filing instructions for Social Security cases. Its Denver courthouse is the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse.

Federal court review uses the administrative record developed before Social Security. It reviews the agency’s final decision, rather than starting the claim over with another disability hearing.

Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income both provide benefits to qualifying disabled individuals, but their nonmedical eligibility requirements differ.

SSDI is tied to covered employment and a worker’s Social Security record. Supplemental Security Income is a needs-based program for people with little or no income and resources who have a disability, are blind, or are age 65 or older.

Some people qualify for SSDI and SSI at the same time. Social Security refers to these as concurrent benefits. Each program retains its own eligibility and payment rules.

Our attorneys handle both SSDI and SSI claims, including cases where a claimant’s eligibility under both programs must be evaluated.

SSDI generally includes a five-month waiting period. Under the Social Security Administration’s SSDI payment rules, entitlement generally begins in the sixth full month after the date Social Security determines the disability began. The five-month waiting period does not apply to qualifying ALS claims approved under the applicable rules.

The amount of an SSDI payment is based on the worker’s lifetime average earnings covered by Social Security. The number of accumulated work credits determines eligibility, but earning additional credits beyond the required amount does not, by itself, increase the monthly benefit.

Most SSDI beneficiaries also become eligible for Medicare after receiving disability benefits for 24 months. Medicare begins sooner for people receiving disability benefits because of ALS.

Social Security disability law is the focus of our work. Our team has represented thousands of Social Security claimants and has appeared before hundreds of Administrative Law Judges. We handle initial applications, reconsideration, ALJ hearings, Appeals Council proceedings, and federal court cases if needed to pursue a fair resolution.

Our attorneys bring broad multistate Social Security Disability experience together with Colorado-local knowledge and Denver disability-claims experience. We also have experience with developmental disabilities and neurocognitive disorders, where medical records and functional evidence can require careful development.

Every stage of an SSDI claim builds on the information developed before it. Our attorneys and staff work together to review records, prepare claims, respond to denials, and represent clients as their cases move through the Social Security appeals process.

A Social Security disability claim can affect monthly income and future health coverage. Accurate medical, employment, and procedural information can shape how Social Security evaluates the claim at each stage.

Call Key Disability at (720) 796-9971 or fill out our contact form to discuss your SSDI claim. Our team brings extensive Social Security disability and hearing experience to clients in Denver and throughout Colorado.