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Physical injuries, chronic illnesses, and serious medical or mental health conditions can profoundly affect your ability to work and meet everyday financial needs. Fortunately, these impairments may qualify for disability benefits through the Social Security disability program.
However, the application process presents numerous complications, and disability claims face rejection at alarming rates. By partnering with an experienced Bowie Social Security Disability lawyer, people with disabilities can take the proper steps to obtain the benefits they require.
For more than 25 years, Gordon, Wolf & Carney has been assisting people with their Social Security disability benefits. We work with our clients at every stage of application filing and administrative review to help them obtain the relief they need. Our attorneys understand the many challenges involved in pursuing a disability claim and work to help our clients overcome them.
What is Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)?
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides monthly financial support to workers who have contributed to the Social Security system through payroll taxes but can no longer perform substantial work due to a qualifying medical condition. To qualify for SSDI benefits, you must have accumulated sufficient work credits by paying Social Security taxes during your employment history, with the specific number of credits required depending on your age when your disability began.
The program operates under strict federal guidelines established by the Social Security Administration, which evaluates whether your medical condition prevents you from engaging in substantial gainful activity and is expected to last at least 12 consecutive months or result in death.
What is Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides monthly payments to disabled individuals with limited income and resources, regardless of work history. Unlike SSDI, SSI is a needs-based program that evaluates your current financial situation, including income, assets, living arrangements, and family support. In Maryland, SSI recipients also qualify for Medicaid, ensuring access to essential healthcare services.
What Benefits Can I Receive Through SSDI?
SSDI provides a comprehensive package of benefits designed to support disabled individuals and their families during periods of inability to work. Our disability lawyers understand the full scope of available benefits and fight to secure approval for the maximum benefits of your claim.
Primary Benefits
The Social Security Administration provides two fundamental benefits to approved SSDI recipients that form the foundation of disability support. These primary benefits offer financial stability and access to healthcare that many disabled individuals depend on for survival:
- Monthly Cash Payments: The SSA calculates your monthly benefit amount based on your lifetime earnings record and the amount of Social Security taxes you paid during your working years, with payments typically ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars per month, depending on your earnings history.
- Medicare: After you receive SSDI benefits for 24 months, you automatically become eligible for Medicare, which offers broad health coverage for hospital care, medical services, and prescription medications.
Family Benefits
Your dependent children under age 18, children under age 19 who are still attending high school, and disabled adult children whose disabilities began before age 22 may receive monthly benefits equal to up to 50 percent of your SSDI amount. Your spouse may also qualify for benefits if they are caring for your qualifying child or have reached retirement age.
How Do I File an SSDI Claim?
Filing an SSDI claim requires careful preparation and close attention to detail. Although the application process may appear straightforward, most initial claims are denied, often because required information is missing, incomplete, or does not clearly explain how a medical condition limits the ability to work under the SSA’s rules. Even small missteps can undermine a claim at the outset. Here are the steps involved in the process:
Complete Application
You can file your SSDI application online through the Social Security Administration’s website, by phone, or by scheduling an appointment at your local Social Security office in Bowie to complete the paperwork in person with SSA staff assistance.
Gather Necessary Information
Before beginning your application, collect essential documents, including your Social Security number, birth certificate, medical records documenting your condition and treatment, names and contact information for all healthcare providers, your work history for the past 15 years, and information about any workers’ compensation or other disability benefits you receive.
Submit Disability Report
Complete the detailed disability report that asks specific questions about your medical conditions, how they limit your daily activities, your symptoms, medications and side effects, medical treatments you have undergone, and how your impairments prevent you from working.
Follow Up on Your Claim
After submission, monitor your claim status regularly, respond promptly to any requests from the SSA for additional information or medical records, and attend any consultative examinations scheduled by the Disability Determination Services (DDS).
How Does Social Security Determine Eligibility?
The Social Security Administration follows a five-step sequential evaluation process to determine whether you qualify as disabled under federal law. At each step, the SSA asks specific questions about your work activity, the severity of your medical condition, and your ability to perform various types of work.
If the SSA makes a favorable determination at any step, your claim is approved without proceeding to subsequent steps. However, if you do not meet the criteria at any step, the SSA denies your claim.
Determine Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)
The SSA begins its evaluation by determining whether you are currently engaged in substantial gainful activity (SGA), which refers to work that involves significant physical or mental activities and produces earnings above a specific monthly threshold. For 2026, the SGA threshold is $1,690 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,830 per month for blind individuals.
If you earn more than the applicable SGA amount, the SSA will deny your claim regardless of how severe your medical condition may be, based on the reasoning that anyone earning above that threshold is demonstrating the ability to perform substantial work.
The SSA does not count certain income when calculating SGA, including subsidized earnings, impairment-related work expenses, and unsuccessful work attempts. Our attorneys help identify and document these to keep your earnings below the disqualifying threshold.
Assess Severity of Impairment
The SSA considers an impairment severe if it more than minimally affects your capacity to perform these fundamental job tasks. Medical conditions that cause only slight abnormalities or symptoms that do not significantly restrict your functioning will not satisfy the severity requirement, resulting in the denial of your claim at this early stage.
Medical conditions that cause only slight abnormalities or symptoms that do not significantly restrict your functioning will not satisfy the severity requirement, resulting in the denial of your claim at this early stage.
Meeting or Equaling a Listed Impairment
When the SSA determines your impairment is severe, the agency compares your condition to the detailed medical criteria in the Listing of Impairments, commonly called the Blue Book. The Blue Book contains specific requirements for hundreds of medical conditions organized into categories such as:
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Cardiovascular conditions
- Respiratory illnesses
- Mental disorders
- Neurological impairments
- Cancers
If your medical evidence demonstrates that your condition meets all the criteria of a listed impairment—including specific diagnostic findings, laboratory results, clinical observations, and functional limitations—the SSA approves your claim without further analysis. Even if your condition does not precisely match a listing, you may still qualify if your impairment is medically equivalent to a listed condition in severity and duration.
Evaluate Ability to Do Past Relevant Work
If your condition does not meet or equal a listing, the SSA assesses whether you retain the physical and mental capacity to perform work you have done in the past 5 years. Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) represents the central concept in this evaluation:
- Physical RFC: The SSA evaluates your ability to perform exertional activities such as lifting, carrying, standing, walking, sitting, pushing, and pulling, as well as postural activities such as climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling.
- Mental RFC: The agency assesses your capacity to understand and remember instructions, maintain concentration and persistence in completing tasks, interact appropriately with supervisors and coworkers, and adapt to workplace changes and pressures.
If your RFC allows you to perform your past relevant work as you actually performed it or as it is generally performed in the national economy, the SSA denies your claim. Our disability attorneys challenge RFC assessments that overestimate your capabilities and present evidence demonstrating you cannot return to your former employment.
Determine Ability to Do Another Type of Work
When the SSA concludes you cannot perform your past work, the final step evaluates whether other jobs exist in significant numbers in the national economy that you can perform given your age, education, work experience, and RFC. The agency considers your transferable skills—abilities from your past work that apply to other occupations—and whether you can reasonably adapt to different types of employment.
Vocational experts often testify at hearings about what jobs, if any, exist for someone with your specific limitations. If the SSA identifies jobs you can perform despite your impairments, the agency denies your claim. If no appropriate work exists for someone with your RFC and vocational profile, the SSA approves your disability claim under 20 CFR § 404.1520.
SSDI Claim Denial
Approximately 67 percent of initial SSDI claims are denied by the Social Security Administration, forcing most applicants to pursue appeals through multiple levels of administrative review. The high initial denial rate reflects the SSA’s stringent disability standards, the importance of properly documenting medical limitations, and the tendency of disability examiners to underestimate the severity of applicants’ conditions.
Schedule a No Cost Consultation
Free ConsultationTop Reasons for Disability Claim Denials
Our attorneys understand the most common reasons SSDI claims are denied and work to prevent avoidable mistakes while addressing potential weaknesses in your application. The SSA may deny claims for a variety of technical and medical reasons:
Lack of Medical Evidence
Insufficient documentation from treating physicians, missing diagnostic test results, incomplete treatment records, or inadequate descriptions of functional limitations prevent the SSA from confirming the severity and duration of your condition.
Failure to Follow Medical Treatment Plan
When you do not follow prescribed treatment without a good reason, the SSA may determine that your condition will improve with proper medical compliance and deny benefits based on the assumption that treatment will restore your ability to work.
Too Much Earnings
Earning more than the substantial gainful activity threshold demonstrates to the SSA that you retain the capacity to perform substantial work, resulting in automatic denial regardless of your medical condition or symptoms.
Prior Denials
Previous denial decisions create unfavorable records that influence subsequent claims, especially if your medical condition has not significantly worsened since the last denial or if you cannot demonstrate substantial deterioration in your functioning.
Technical Denials
Missing application deadlines, failing to appear for consultative examinations, not responding to SSA requests for information, earning insufficient work credits, or other procedural failures result in denials before the SSA even evaluates your medical condition.
Our Bowie Social Security Disability Lawyers Will Fight For Your Claims
When you work with Gordon, Wolf & Carney, you gain dedicated advocates who commit themselves to securing the disability benefits you need. We handle every stage of the SSDI process, from initial applications to federal court appeals.
Pre-Application and Initial Claims
Our attorneys provide comprehensive support before and during the initial application process to maximize your chances of approval:
Free Case Assessment
We evaluate your medical condition, work history, and financial situation during a no-cost consultation to determine your eligibility for SSDI benefits and identify the strongest approach for your claim.
Evidence Collection
We contact your treating physicians, hospitals, and medical facilities to obtain complete records documenting your diagnosis, treatment history, response to medical interventions, and functional limitations resulting from your condition.
Application Assistance
Our attorneys handle the completion of all required forms, prepare detailed statements outlining how your disability affects daily activities and work, and compile supporting documentation to present your claim in the strongest possible light.
Appeals Process
Many applicants give up after the initial denial, but the appeals process offers significantly higher approval rates for represented claimants. When the SSA denies your initial claim, we pursue appeals through all available administrative and judicial levels:
Reconsideration
We submit detailed written arguments explaining why the initial denial was incorrect, obtain additional medical evidence that strengthens your claim, and present your case to a different disability examiner for fresh review.
Administrative Law Judge Hearing
We prepare you for testimony before an ALJ, develop questions that elicit helpful responses from vocational and medical experts, cross-examine witnesses who provide unfavorable testimony, and present legal arguments explaining why the evidence supports approval of your claim.
Identify Legal Errors
We review hearing decisions for legal mistakes, procedural errors, and misapplication of disability regulations that provide grounds for appeal to the Appeals Council or federal court.
Further Appeals
We file Appeals Council review requests when ALJs issue unfavorable decisions, and we represent clients in federal district court when administrative appeals are exhausted, pursuing every available avenue to secure your benefits.
Ready to Secure Your Future? Schedule a Consultation Today
At Gordon, Wolf & Carney, our experienced Social Security Disability lawyers serving Bowie, MD, have dedicated more than 25 years to helping disabled individuals throughout Maryland obtain the financial support they need and deserve. We understand how overwhelming the disability process can feel when you are already struggling with a medical condition that prevents you from working.
We take pride in providing compassionate, personalized representation that puts your needs first. Our firm has successfully represented thousands of claimants at every level of the Social Security disability system, from initial applications through federal court litigation, and we bring that extensive experience to every case we handle.
We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we win your case and secure benefits for you, eliminating any financial barrier to quality legal representation. Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in disability benefits for our clients, including substantial back payments covering months or years of benefits owed from the date your disability began.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Bowie Social Security Disability lawyer.
