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


How to Appeal a disability claim denial from Social Security


How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits


 
If your initial disability claim is denied, you need to contact your local Social Security office or the toll free number 1-800-772-1213 for an appeal (if you have an attorney, you may contact that individual and they will submit the necessary appeal forms for you).

It is important to always remember that all appeals for social security disability and SSI have a sixty-day appeal period and this is not negotiable with SSA. Appeal requests that are received outside the deadline date will generally not be accepted by the social security administration (unless "good cause" for the late appeal can be shown, such as a medical emergency), meaning that a claimant who files late will probably have to start over with a new disability application.

The Social Security appeals process consists of four levels, ranging from reconsideration requests to federal court. The first appeal is known as a request for reconsideration, and once you fill out and return your appeal paperwork, your claim will be sent back to the same state agency responsible for Social Security medical decisions for another decision. This is the agency at which a disability examiner rendered a decision on your initial disability application and in most states it is known as DDs, or disability determination services.

At DDS, after your appeal request is received by the social security office, a different disability examiner will review your reconsideration claim. However, your claim will be decided using the same rules and regulations as the initial social security disability or SSI claim. This accounts for why most reconsideration appeals are also denied.

If your reconsideration is denied (currently 87 percent of such appeals are denied), you may request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Often a hearing is your best chance of receiving a disability allowance, because an administrative law judge, while bound by the same rules and regulations as the state disability agency, has much more room for independent interpretation of the medical evidence.

Also, the judge will receive professional input from the disability attorney representing your case, should you choose to appear with representation, as well as any medical or vocational experts that the judge has chosen to have appear (one of your attorney's jobs will be to respond to hypothetical situations brought up by one of these experts, or to cross examine the testimony that they deliver to the judge).

Most claimants, for a variety of reasons, should consider getting a Social Security representative (an attorney or a non-attorney advocate) who is familiar with Social Security rules and regulations. As with any other court, it is usually a good idea to have a representative who knows the specic law and regulatory framework.

Claimants who appear unrepresented will generally be at a strong disadvantage, even in being able to interpret the information contained in their own file (which will be made available to them if they appear alone, so that they may examine the evidence that has been accumulated at all the prior steps of the process).

If your disability hearing before an ALJ (administrative law judge) is denied ,you may file an appeal of this decision to the Appeals Council (note: not many decisions are reversed there), and after that your only course would be Federal Court.

However, it should be stated that some individuals will pursue all appeal levels, be denied at each, and then will later begin the process all over with a new claim and be granted benefits. With SSD and SSI disability claims, persistence can often result in ultimately being approved for benefits.















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Individual Questions and Answers


  • What is the Chance of Winning an SSA appeal for disability?

  • Social Security Notice of Denial for a Disability Application or Appeal

  • What does a Disability Lawyer do to help you?

  • Social Security Disability Advice for Filing

  • Reconsideration of a Social Security Disability denial- what does it involve?

  • How to Apply for Disability - Where do I go to apply for disability ?

  • Filing for SSD Disability - When Should You put in a Claim?

  • Applying for Disability - what are the rules?

  • How to Qualify for Disability - How severe must a condition be?

  • Applying for disability benefits in North Carolina

  • The difference between an Application for disability and a Social Security Reconsideration?

  • Is Receiving Social Security Disability Based On Whether I Can Do My Current or Last Job?

  • Social Security Disability Doctor, Supportive Statements

  • Social Security Disability Mental Testing

  • How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability?

  • How long does it take for an examiner to review a disability case?

  • Disability Hearings and the Social Security Appeals Process

  • How do I see a judge for my social security disability case or SSI Claim?

  • How Quick Is The Disability Claim Decision Made?

  • What Happens When You File an SSI or Social Security Disability Application?

  • How long Does SSI last?

  • To Win Benefits, You may have to Appeal a Social Security Disability Denial or SSI denial

  • How Long Does Your Attorney Have To File Your Social Security Disability Appeal?

  • What is an extended period of eligibility for social security disability or SSI ?

  • What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI?

  • Is there a time limit for how long you can collect Social Security Disability or SSI benefits?

  • How Disabling Does A Condition Have To Be For Social Security, SSDI Benefits?

  • Can a child receive disability benefits for asthma ?

  • Congestive Heart Failure, Social Security Disability, and Applying for Benefits

  • Hiring a Qualified Disability Lawyer in Minnesota

  • How Long Will It Take To Get Approved for Disability?

  • Are you allowed to work at all if you get Social Security disability or SSI ?
























    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