Who Qualifies for Disability Benefits? Chicago Disability Lawyers Take You Through the Steps.
Qualifying for Social Security Disability isn’t as simple as just telling the government you’re ailing and can’t work.
Social Security has a highly particular definition of what it means to have a “disability.” It’s not what many people or even doctors might picture. It’s tied to your inability to work.
You must be unable to work because of your health for at least 12 months.
To determine if you fit these requirements, Social Security says it will put your disability claim through five questions.
Question #1: Are you currently working? You can’t be working much and still qualify for disability benefits.
Question #2: Are your medical conditions severe? More than just a diagnosis, you’ll need to provide records showing your conditions are seriously limiting.
Question #3: Is your impairment on Social Security’s official list? One path to disability benefits is to meet the guidelines in Social Security’s list of impairments, which people often call “the blue book.” But it’s not the only path, and simply having a condition on this list often isn’t enough.
Question #4: Can you continue the kind of work you’ve done recently? Your health problems must be too disruptive for your most recent jobs.
Question #5: Can you do another kind of work? It’s not enough that you can’t do your regular job. To get disability benefits, you must show Social Security that you can’t switch to something else, either, based on your symptoms, training, past job experience and age.
The Chicago disability lawyers at Nash Disability Law can help you work through all the steps to qualify for Social Security Disability. Talk to us about your case.
I Need to Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits in Chicago. What Does It Require?
When you’re applying for Social Security Disability benefits, a Chicago Disability lawyer can help you prove the three most important points in your case:
- Your health problems stop you from continuing in your job.
- You can’t switch to a different line of work.
- Your medical impairments look so severe that there’s no doubt they’ll last at least one year.
You’ll need to determine which of the two major benefits programs to apply for:
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) covers you if you worked and paid enough in Social Security taxes. It’s important to know these disability benefits are not a handout. You paid for this coverage in case you ever needed need it, like now.
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) also provides financial help when you can’t work due to health problems, but it doesn’t have a work history requirement like SSDI. You must have limited income and economic resources to get SSI.
To prove that your health, employment and financial situations qualify you for benefits, you have to fill out forms, submit medical records, get statements from people who know you and more. Nash Disability lawyers can do that for you.
Such an involved process leaves you vulnerable to making mistakes. Nash disability attorneys know what questions to ask—things you might not think of—to guide your Social Security Disability application in the right direction.
You don’t pay a fee for your disability attorney until you win benefits.
You can start by talking to us about your situation and needs for no charge.
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SSDI vs. SSI: Which Disability Benefits Program Should You Apply For?
Your situation may call for applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or both.
How can you tell if you should apply for SSDI vs. SSI?
Here are some tips from Nash’s disability lawyers in Chicago:
Your Work Background
- Apply for SSDI: You’ve worked many years and recently paid taxes into the Social Security system.
- Apply for SSI: You haven’t worked, worked only a little, or haven’t worked in a long time.
Your Savings
- Apply for SSDI: You have more than a couple thousand dollars in savings, investments, or property other than your main home and one car. You can’t have much current income from working for SSDI, but you can have most other kinds of financial resources.
- Apply for SSI: You have little in savings, investments or property beyond your home and a car. SSI has strict limits on how much you can have in financial assets.
Your Income History
- Apply for SSDI: This is where it can get tricky. The monthly checks you receive from SSDI are based partly on your past income. The more you made, the more you’ll get, up to a limit. If you have a long work record, this often means you should apply for SSDI. BUT…
- Apply for SSI: If your income from working was low enough that the amount you would get from SSDI is lower than what you would get from SSI, which sets a standard, national rate, you may be better off applying for SSI.
Whether you receive SSDI or SSI also determines which health insurance program you qualify for.
With SSDI, you get access to Medicare after a waiting period (even when you’re not the usual age to qualify for Medicare). With SSI, you get into Medicaid.
You don’t have to guess at deciding between SSDI or SSI. The Chicago disability lawyers at Nash can study your situation and help you find the best path forward.
I Was Denied Social Security Disability Benefits in Chicago. What Now?
According to Social Security’s own statistics, you may be more likely to win disability benefits when you appeal a denial than when you apply in the first place.
Social Security denies a large majority of people initially. But for people who file appeals, your chances may go above 50 percent, especially when you go to a hearing with a disability judge.
And one government study found that people who had a representative like a lawyer with them at their hearing were almost three times more likely to win benefits than those who didn’t.
The Nash Chicago disability attorneys will fight to have your claim reconsidered, and we’ll guide you through the hearing process.
Every day, we help Chicago area people win the disability benefits they need for more stable, peaceful, fuller lives.
“SEEING YOU WIN BENEFITS—AND GET BACK YOUR SENSE OF HOPE—IS OUR PASSION! THE TRUTH IS, YOU INSPIRE US.”
— Tom Nash, founder of Nash Disability Law
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Why Work with a Local, Chicago Disability Lawyer?
You might find a national company or law firm advertising that they help people with disability benefits. You should go with a disability lawyer in Chicago instead.
Why? For something this personal, this complicated, and this important to your future financial stability, there are many reasons to work with someone close by:
- Most of all, to the Chicago disability lawyers at Nash, you’re a neighbor, not a number. We care for you personally.
- We regularly work with the Social Security offices and disability judges across Chicagoland and know what they look for in disability claims.
- We know the Chicago area health care centers and clinics that provide the treatment and the medical evidence you need for your claim.
- Nash has licensed Chicago disability attorneys, not the non-attorney advocates you may get at large disability benefit companies.
- You’ll speak with or meet your Chicago disability attorney from Nash to prepare for your disability hearing in advance. Some attorneys or advocates only meet you on the day of your hearing, if at all.
Nationally, over several years, Social Security has been denying about 80 percent of first-time disability applications.
When you go to a local disability judge to make your case for benefits, your chances go up.
Social Security has disability hearing offices in Chicago, Evanston, Oak Brook and Orland Park. Numbers from 2025 show the judges there approving benefits about half the time. (Chicago, 57%, Evanston, 58%, Oak Brook, 55%, Orland Park, 47%).
It shows the value of having a local, Chicago disability attorney. Go into your hearing with someone who’s from here, who has long worked here, and who knows this place and its people.
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What Do People Say About Working with Nash Chicago Disability Attorneys?
When you’re deciding on a Chicago disability attorney, you want to know what the experience was like for other people who worked with them.
At Nash, we’re proud to be able to share many stories from clients whose lives we influenced for the better. Here are a few:
Serious Knee Problems & Getting Disability with Nash
“I’ve worked hard all my life,” said Nick C. in a Google review of Nash. “I had a pain in my knee one day, saw a doctor, and the nightmare began.”
Nick ended up having multiple knee replacements and extensive therapy. But his knee doesn’t bend, he can’t sit for long periods, he struggles to get up from sitting, and he can’t climb stairs.
He called Nash Disability Law and got approved for disability benefits in a matter of months.
“As God is my witness, they were a godsend,” he said about his Chicago disability lawyer team. “STOP thinking about calling them and just call.”
Dealing with a Difficult Disability Benefits System
Tom M. said he found out the hard way how difficult it is to get disability benefits on your own.
“It is a maze to get through, which is intentional as they do not want to pay disability,” he said in a Google review.
“Save yourself a lot of time and headaches and let Nash Disability deal with it,” Tom said. “You won’t regret it. I know I didn’t. A+”
Getting Disability for Back Problems with help from Nash
Carrie H. had multiple spinal surgeries and eventually couldn’t walk or stand unassisted and couldn’t work.
She remembers being nervous going into her disability hearing with a judge, but her Nash disability attorney eased the experience for her.
“They met with me beforehand to help calm my anxiety,” she said in a Google review. “The judge approved me right there.”
“I received my back pay within a few weeks of the hearing, and I was even able to receive benefits for my daughter until she turned 18.”
“I appreciate how smooth the process was.”
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