Midland Social Security Disability (SSDI) Lawyer

Why Choose Bailey & Galyen for Your Midland SSDI Claim?

SSA decides SSDI claims based on your medical evidence, work history, and functional limitations, and on whether your condition keeps you from working at a substantial level. Bailey & Galyen has represented people throughout Texas since 1982. Our attorneys can help gather medical evidence, document your work history, and prepare your application. We can also respond to SSA requests and represent you if you need to appeal a denial.

Bailey & Galyen handles Social Security Disability claims on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fee unless your claim is approved and you receive past-due benefits (back pay), and the fee comes out of those past-due benefits. If your claim is approved, you may also be responsible for reasonable case expenses, as explained in your client agreement. If your claim is denied, you owe neither a fee nor expenses. The SSA must also approve any fee a representative charges for work on a disability claim.

What Medical Conditions Qualify for SSDI?

Many physical and mental conditions can qualify for SSDI when they are severe enough to meet SSA’s disability requirements. These may include:

Back, neck, and other musculoskeletal disorders
Cardiovascular conditions
Neurological disorders
Respiratory disorders
Cancer
Autoimmune diseases
Mental health conditions
Vision or hearing impairments
Chronic pain disorders

Having a diagnosis does not automatically qualify someone for benefits. SSA looks at how severe the condition is, how long it is expected to last, and how it limits the person’s ability to work.

For example, an applicant with a serious back condition may have difficulty lifting, standing, walking, bending, or sitting for extended periods. Someone with a mental health or neurological condition may experience limitations involving concentration, memory, interaction with others, or completing tasks consistently. Medical records should help establish both the condition and the limitations it causes.

How Can Your Work History in Midland Affect an SSDI Claim?

Your work history affects an SSDI claim in two ways. It determines whether you have enough work credits (discussed above), and it shapes how SSA evaluates whether you can still work. SSA considers whether your medical limitations prevent you from performing your past relevant work, which generally means looking at the substantial jobs you held within the past five years. This matters for many Midland workers who have spent years in oil and gas, field operations, trucking, construction, equipment operation, and other physically demanding jobs. Limits on lifting, walking, standing, climbing, bending, or running equipment may make it impossible to do the same job.

However, being unable to return to your old job does not by itself prove disability. If SSA finds that you cannot do your past work, it looks at whether you can do other work. SSA bases that decision on what you can still do, along with your age, education, and work experience.

Why Are SSDI Claims Denied?

SSA denies SSDI claims for both medical and nonmedical reasons. Medical reasons include weak medical evidence or a finding that you can still work. Nonmedical reasons include earning above the SGA limit or having too few work credits. Knowing why SSA denied your claim matters, because an appeal should fix that specific problem rather than repeat the original application.

Insufficient Medical Evidence

SSA needs medical evidence establishing your impairment and its severity. Missing treatment records, test results, or details about your physical or mental limits can make it hard to prove that your condition meets SSA’s rules.

SSA Determines You Can Still Work

SSA may agree that you have a medical condition but decide that you can still do your past work or other work. This often happens when records confirm a diagnosis but do not document specific limits, such as how long you can stand or how much you can lift.

Not Following Prescribed Treatment

SSA can deny benefits if you do not follow treatment your doctor prescribed and that treatment is expected to restore your ability to work. SSA will not deny benefits for this reason if you have a good reason for not following the treatment. Good reasons include religious beliefs, a very risky procedure, or being unable to afford the treatment. Your records should explain why you did not follow a recommended treatment.

Earnings Above Substantial Gainful Activity

If you continue working and earn above the applicable SGA amount, SSA may determine that you are engaging in substantial gainful activity. Working part time does not automatically mean your earnings fall below this level.

Insufficient Work Credits

Because SSDI is tied to a worker’s Social Security earnings record, an applicant must meet the work credit requirements described above, including the requirement for recent work. A person may have a severe disability but still be ineligible for SSDI based on work history.

The SSDI Application and Appeals Process in Midland

The SSDI process can involve several stages, from the initial application through administrative and court appeals.

Step 1: Submit Your Initial Application

You can apply for SSDI online at ssa.gov, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or in person at a local Social Security office. The initial application provides SSA with information about your medical conditions, treatment providers, medications, work history, education, and functional limitations. Medical records and accurate descriptions of previous jobs can be important when SSA evaluates whether you can continue working.

Step 2: Texas Disability Determination Services Reviews Your Claim

SSA first confirms nonmedical requirements, such as work credits and current earnings. It then sends the claim to Texas Disability Determination Services (DDS), the state agency that makes the medical disability decision for SSA. DDS may request additional records or ask you to attend a consultative examination if more information is necessary. After reviewing the evidence, SSA sends a written decision approving or denying the claim.

Step 3: Request Reconsideration, If Your Initial Claim Is Denied

If your initial claim is denied, you generally have 60 days after receiving the decision to request reconsideration. SSA assumes you received the notice five days after the date printed on it unless you show otherwise. A different DDS examiner reviews the claim and considers the existing record along with applicable new evidence.

The appeal should address the reason for the original denial. Depending on the circumstances, that may mean providing updated medical records, additional evidence about your limitations, or more complete information about your previous work.

Step 4: Request a Hearing Before an Administrative Law Judge

If reconsideration is unsuccessful, you can request a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). You generally must request the hearing within 60 days after receiving the reconsideration decision. At the hearing, the judge may ask about your medical condition, treatment, daily activities, work history, and the limitations that prevent you from working.

An attorney can help prepare you for the hearing, submit relevant evidence, address weaknesses in the record, and present your case to the administrative law judge.

Step 5: Request Appeals Council Review or File in Federal Court

If the ALJ issues an unfavorable decision, you generally have 60 days after receiving it to request review by the Social Security Appeals Council. The Appeals Council may deny review, decide the case, or send it back to an ALJ. If the Appeals Council denies review or issues an unfavorable decision, you generally have 60 days after receiving its notice to file a civil action in federal court. For Midland residents, that court is the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

SSA may extend an appeal deadline if you had good cause for missing it. For example, a serious illness may have kept you from filing, or you may never have received the notice. Without an extension, a missed deadline often means filing a new application, which can affect the past-due benefits available.

What Benefits Can You Receive Through SSDI?

Approved applicants generally receive monthly SSDI benefits based on their average lifetime earnings covered by Social Security. The payment amount is not based on the type or severity of the disability. SSDI payments may also increase through annual cost-of-living adjustments.

Back Pay and the Waiting Period

SSDI has a five-full-month waiting period, so benefits generally begin with the sixth full month after the date SSA finds your disability began. People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, do not have to serve the waiting period. Once SSA approves a claim, it pays past-due benefits (back pay) for months you were eligible while the claim was pending. SSA can also pay retroactive benefits for months before you applied, going back as far as 12 months before the application date, but not for months within the waiting period.

Medicare Coverage

SSDI recipients generally become eligible for Medicare after receiving disability benefits for 24 months. People with ALS become eligible for Medicare when their SSDI benefits begin, and people with end-stage renal disease (permanent kidney failure) may qualify under separate Medicare rules.

Benefits for Family Members

Certain family members may qualify for benefits based on your Social Security record. A spouse may qualify at age 62 or older, or at any age if they care for your child who is under 16 or disabled. A divorced spouse may qualify if they are unmarried, at least 62, and were married to you for at least 10 years.

Children may qualify if they are unmarried and under 18, or under 19 if still in high school. Adult children may also qualify if their disability began before age 22. Each family member may receive up to 50 percent of your benefit amount. SSA also limits the total paid to one family on a worker’s record, so each person’s payment may be smaller when several family members qualify.

How Workers’ Compensation Can Affect SSDI Payments

You can receive SSDI and Texas workers’ compensation benefits at the same time, but SSA may reduce your SSDI payment. Under the federal workers’ compensation offset, SSA generally reduces SSDI when your combined benefits exceed 80 percent of your average earnings before the disability. The offset can also apply to certain other public disability benefits.

Contact Bailey & Galyen About Your Midland SSDI Claim

Ian Croall

Vice President & Managing Attorney

Applying for SSDI can be difficult when you are already dealing with medical treatment, an inability to work, and financial uncertainty. A denied claim can make the process even more frustrating. Bailey & Galyen can help you understand the SSDI requirements, prepare an initial application, or determine what needs to be addressed after a denial. Our Social Security Disability lawyers serving Midland can review your medical evidence and work history and represent you throughout the appeals process.

Contact Bailey & Galyen to schedule a free consultation and discuss your Social Security Disability claim.

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Midland Social Security Disability Lawyer