You’ve suffered a life-altering disability and can no longer work. And to add to your financial worries, your disability claim with Social Security has been denied.
Applying for SSDI is a complex process with many opportunities for mistakes. Only a third of applicants get approved for benefits after their initial application. If your claim was denied, there are many possible reasons for it:
- You have not worked long enough to pay into the system.
- Your disability does not fit Social Security’s definition to qualify.
- You submitted an incomplete application or an application with errors.
- You provided insufficient medical evidence of your disability.
- You have not followed your doctor’s treatment recommendations.
- You earn too much money to qualify for benefits.
- You have not responded to Social Security’s requests for more information.
- You failed to attend Social Security’s consultative examination by a SSA doctor.
- You provided misleading or false information.
- The Bureau of Disability Determination or SSA made a mistake when reviewing your application.
After a denial, you are entitled to appeal the decision.
Filing a SSDI Appeal
The appeal process is conducted at a series of levels:
- Reconsideration
- Administrative hearing
- Appeals Council review
- Federal Court
Before you begin the appeal process, you will need to understand why your claim was denied and work to make corrections or gather additional supportive documentation so your appeal is more likely to be successful.
Reconsideration Stage
The first level of your appeal will involve asking for a reconsideration of your denial. You can resubmit paperwork with previous and new evidence, and someone who is unfamiliar with your initial application will look over your corrected application and decide whether to accept or deny your claim. If your application is again rejected, you can request (within sixty days) an administrative hearing.
Administrative Hearing
At the administrative hearing, you will appear before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to answer questions and make your own case for your disability claim. The judge will consider all evidence and documentation and hear testimony on your behalf. With an experienced SSDI attorney preparing and representing you, your claim is much more likely to be accepted at this stage of the appeal process.
Appeals Council
If your claim is denied at the hearing level, your next step is the Appeals Council. The Council will only review the Administrative Law Judge’s decision for error and will not review your actual disability claim. Unless there is a technical error at the hearing level, the Council rarely overturns the decision or sends it back down to be heard again.
Federal Court
If you have gone through the Appeals Council review and were still denied disability, you have one final option. You have sixty days to file a civil action in your local Federal District Court against the Social Security Administration. At this level, no new evidence or documents concerning your claim will be considered. The federal judge will only determine if either the ALJ or Appeals Council made a legal error in their decision.
The Benefits of Legal Representation
Although your right to appeal a SSDI claim denial is critical, you can spend years appealing on your own. The most critical level of your SSDI claim appeal is appearing before the ALJ at the administrative hearing stage. You will be able to directly present your evidence to someone who can positively or negatively affect the outcome of your claim. This is when it is most crucial to have a skilled SSDI attorney on your side to prepare and advocate for you.
Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance is complicated. Those who have legal representation are far more likely to have their claim approved or get their denial overturned than those without it. At Silver & Silver, our experienced SSDI attorneys work diligently on behalf of our clients, who need and deserve these critical benefits. If you have been denied SSDI benefits, call us at (610) 638-7255 or schedule a no-cost consultation through our website contact form.
Disclosure:
This website is designed to provide only general information. The information presented on this website is not formal legal advice. You should not rely on any general information from any source for making legal decisions. Each legal matter is unique and requires specific attention from a qualified and experienced attorney. Unless a representation agreement has been signed with the Law Offices of Silver and Silver, we are not your legal representatives.
