 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
If you are denied for disability are you able to win social security or SSI benefits on appeal?How to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits Yes, and it is more often the case that those who file for disability will win their benefits on a social security appeal versus winning on an initial claim. Only about a third of all applicants will be awarded disability benefits after filing at the initial level. The remaining two-thirds will be denied. Of those individuals, the ones who file their first available appeal (the request for reconsideration) will have only a minimal chance of being approved (historically, about 13-15 percent of recons are approved). However, for those who persist and file their second appeal (a request for a social security hearing), the odds of approval will increase substantially. Typically, more than half of all applicants who appear at a disability hearing will be awarded social security disability or SSI benefits. The rate of approval differs by state, and is also affected by whether or not a person is represented by a disability lawyer, a non-attorney disability representative, or has chosen to represent themselves (without a doubt, this is the worst possible option since it can assumed that nearly all applicants will have no idea of how to properly and completely prepare a case to be heard by an administrative law judge, or even how to interpret the information that is in their own file). The disability hearing, obviously, represents the best opportunity for being approved if one is represented. And this is because an experienced claimant's representative (as we said, an attorney or non-attorney can fill the role) will have familiarity with: A) How cases are determined, both procedurally and as required by law and regulation; B) The definition of disability used by the social security administration; C) How vocational (work related) and medical information is viewed by SSA; D) The importance of obtaining a medical source statement from a claimant's treating physician. E) The information that was used to decide the case at the levels prior to the hearing level (the application and the reconsideration). Having said this, though, it is not impossible to win a disability claim at the reconsideration level. Because the rate of denial on reconsideration appeals (remember that the reconsideration is the first appeal and it is also handled by a disability examiner, albeit a different disability examiner than the one who handled the initial claim) is so high (85-87 percent), many people simply assume that it is nearly impossible to win at that level. Obviously, simply using an observation of case outcomes, this may seem very true. But cases at this level can be won when an effort is made to provide sufficient medical record documentation to the disability examiner who is working on the case, particularly when a strong effort is made to obtain a statement from the claimant's treating physician that is backed up by that doctor's own history of treatment with the claimant. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Topics and Questions SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |