Colorado Law for Disability

Disability laws in the United States are largely regulated by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, but states are free to make additional laws for the disabled as long as they adhere to the ADA. Colorado has specific criteria that determine disability and subsequent access to Social Security benefits.

Classification

• Colorado law judges disabilities based on a person's inability to work due to a disability. Short-term and partial disabilities are not covered under the Federal Social Security Standards. The first of the three classifications is that a person can no longer work as he once did. The second is that adjustments cannot be made around a person's disability so that he may work under different circumstances. The third is a disability is expected to last one full year or otherwise result in death if work is attempted.

Evaluation

• Colorado, along with every other state, is paid by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make disability determinations. By law, Colorado's Disability Determination Agency (CDDA) renders decisions based upon extensive evaluation of medical records. On staff, there are 75 disability examiners, 25 physicians and 40 administrative staffers to move the process of 35,000 claims a year along.

Benefits

• Under federal law, anyone in the state of Colorado who qualifies for disability benefits will either be awarded Social Security Disability insurance, which pay benefits to you and certain family members, or Social Security Income, which supplements earnings based on financial need.