If you need a Durham Social Security Disability Lawyer, The Bishop Law Firm can help with your case. This article will discuss the steps you need to take to get your claim started and how our firm can help you.
Social Security Disability Benefits
Social Security Disability has two main types of benefits: Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSDI benefits draw from credits from the work that you have done in your life, while Supplemental Security Income is a need-based program.
Social Security Disability benefits are not awarded based on percentages of disability. You are either disabled or not. Social Security Disability is also not related to short-term disability or long-term disability, as Social Security is a federal program with its own rules.
Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits (SSDI)
You pay FICA (Social Security taxes) from each paycheck. These federal program payments are insurance payments on your retirement benefits. If you become disabled before your full retirement age, you can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, which are your retirement benefits paid early due to your disability.
Generally speaking, you must have worked five of the last ten years to be disability insured. Assets do not affect Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Supplemental Security Income is a need-based program with income and resource limitations for those not meeting the above work requirement. Monthly SSI benefits are capped at $967 for an individual ($1,450 for a couple) (2025) and are reduced if someone is helping you financially.
In 2025, your countable resources must be worth less than $2,000 for an individual and $3,000.00 for a couple to receive Supplemental Security Income. You should also read what SSA considers as SSI Resources.
Depending on your work history and finances, you may be able to apply for both or only one type of benefit. You must be found disabled by Social Security before you are entitled to either type of benefit.
What disabilities does Social Security recognize?
SSA defines disability for adults as:
The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.
In our experience, the name of your diagnosis is not as crucial as the severity of your symptoms. Social Security will examine the severity of your symptoms to determine if you are disabled.
Mental illnesses (post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, as examples), sensory disability, and physical illnesses will all be evaluated based on how they affect you, not on their name.
A notable exception to the above is if your condition is listed on the Compassionate Allowance List.
Also, see Social Security Disability Conditions and Compassionate Allowances
The Social Security Disability Claims Process
To be successful with your disability claim, you may have to go through several levels: Initial, Reconsideration, Request for Hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge, the Appeals Council, and even the Federal District Court. Not all applicants have to go through all levels, but many do.
At every level of the disability process, SSA will use the Five Step Sequential Evaluation to determine if you are disabled.
- Step 1 – Are You Working? The Social Security Administration defines work as “Substantial Gainful Activity” (SGA). SGA is roughly defined as work from earnings that average more than $1,620 (2025) a month. If you gross that amount, you generally will not qualify for disability.
- Step 2 – Is Your Condition “Severe”? Severity is key when it comes to what qualifies as a disability. Severe is defined by the Social Security Administration as: your condition must interfere with basic work-related activities for your claim to be considered.
- Step 3 – Is Your Condition on the List of Disabling Conditions? The Listings are usually tough to meet and not always interpreted as a common reading would suggest. If you meet a listing, you are gravely ill. The listings are here.
- Step 4 – Can You Do the Work You Did Previously? The Social Security Administration will examine your past work and determine whether it was sedentary, light, medium, or heavy. They will also evaluate the skill level: unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled. For instance, an attorney would be sedentary skilled work. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles is here.
- Step 5 – Can You Do Any Other Type of Work? If the Social Security Administration finds that you cannot do the work you previously performed, they look to see if you can do anything else. Social Security will use the "Grids" to determine if there is other work that you can do. The "Grids" are the Medical-Vocational Guidelines. The grids are only for exertional impairments. The grids do not consider non-exertional impairments (i.e., mental impairments). If you can do any other work, you will not be found disabled. Read The Grids and Your Social Security Disability Case.
To win your disability case, you must receive health care that generates medical records (medical evidence). Medical evidence is essential to proving that you are disabled from your medical condition. If you are not receiving medical treatment for your impairments, it will be exceedingly difficult to win your disability claim.
If you are unable to afford medical treatment in Durham, you can apply for Medicaid at the Durham County Social Services, contact Lincoln Community Health Center, try MedAssist for your medicines, and apply for Duke Charity Care. If you need mental health treatment, you can try NAMI Durham.
What do Social Security Disability Lawyers do?
As mentioned above, you may have to go through several levels to have your claim approved. The initial claim and reconsideration decisions are made for Social Security in North Carolina by DDS (Disability Determination Services). DDS denies the vast majority of disability claims that they see. A disability lawyer can help ensure your case keeps moving through DDS.
In addition, if you receive denials at the initial and reconsideration levels, you must request a hearing before a Social Security Administrative Law Judge. Appeals have a 60-day deadline.
The hearing before the Administrative Law Judge is where you have your best statistical chance of winning your case. A disability lawyer can ensure you have appealed, request the proper additional medical evidence, discuss your work history with you to ensure SSA is classifying your past work correctly, submit all evidence in SSA's electronic portal, and present evidence to the ALJ at the hearing in a way that Social Security needs to see it.
Legal representation can help in the complex process of Social Security Disability law.
How are Social Security Disability Lawyers paid?
Social Security Disability Lawyers are paid on a contingency fee basis, which means they do not get paid unless the client wins. The Social Security Administration controls the specific amount a Social Security Disability Lawyer can charge.
In 2025, a disability attorney can charge 25% up to a maximum of $9,200 out of a client's backpay. If you do not receive disability benefits backpay, your Social Security Disability Lawyer gets nothing.
Durham Social Security Disability Lawyer
Step One: Call The Bishop Law Firm at (919) 615-3095 for free case reviews or start online now.
Step Two: File a claim at the local Social Security Office. The regional SSA office is at 3004 Tower Blvd, Durham, NC 27707. Their phone number is (888) 759-3908. You may want to call ahead. In addition, you may file a claim online here. When you file this claim, you will need the following information.
After you apply for benefits, your case is forwarded to DDS (Disability Determination Services) in Raleigh, NC. A disability examiner will be assigned to your case. The examiner may send forms to fill out and may also send forms to 3rd parties for them to give their opinion about your daily activities.
You must complete these forms and return them to the DDS examiner immediately. In addition, DDS may send you to a consultative examination.
Unfortunately, DDS denies most claims for disability benefits. If you have already applied and been denied Social Security Disability benefits, you must appeal the denial immediately.
The SSA Appeals Process can prevent an applicant from attaining disability benefits. If you miss the 60-day deadline, you must start your disability case at the initial level again. The subsequent appeal is called a reconsideration.
The reconsideration level decision is also made by DDS, except that your chances of winning are even lower. If denied at the recon level, you must request a hearing before an SSA Administrative Law Judge. If you live in Durham, your judge will be at the Raleigh Office of Hearing Operations (OHO).
While having a Social Security Disability Lawyer at the initial and reconsideration levels helps, having a disability attorney at the hearing is imperative. Gathering your medical information, requesting an opinion from your doctor, preparing you for the hearing, and asking the right questions can make the difference between winning and losing your Social Security Disability claim.
Unfortunately, some ALJs even take the stance that if a claimant can represent themselves, then they are not disabled.
Step Three: If you go anywhere new for treatment, take any new medication, or have any new diagnoses, you need to call us and let us know so we can forward that information to SSA/DDS or order your medical records, depending on where you are in your Social Security Disability case.
If you need a Durham Social Security Disability attorney, The Bishop Law Firm handles Social Security Disability cases at any level and is willing to assist you throughout your disability case. We do not get paid unless you win! Call us today for a free case evaluation at (919) 615-3095.
