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Winning at a Social Security Disability HearingIt can take over two years after requesting a disability hearing for your case to be heard before an administrative judge. In addition, if you are at the stage where you have requested a hearing, you have most likely already waited months to receive a decision at the two lower levels of consideration, the initial claim and the request for reconsideration appeal with disability determination services. This adds up to a lengthy, often financially devastating period of time without benefits for an individual who is unable to work. It is important, then, that when your case finally comes before a judge, you have an idea of what the odds are that you will win your case. The good new is that an application for disability is more likely to be approved by a judge at a federal disability hearing than by a disability examiner working for your state disability determination agency. Statistics show that those filing for social security disability (SSD) or SSI benefits are far more likely to be approved when they use the appeals process than when they start over with a new claim. Although the rate of disability approval does vary from state to state, approximately 50 percent of all cases heard at social security hearings before an administrative judge are approved. Older applicants fare best at this level, because the grid used to determine a person’s ability to obtain suitable employment or to learn a new trade tends to support the fact that fewer job options are available to those 50 and older. However, all claimants who appear at a disability hearing stand a better chance of winning if they are represented by legal counsel. Some studies have shown that those represented by a disability lawyer are 50 percent more likely to win their case and be awarded SSD benefits. Despite this fact, many claimants choose to forgo legal representation at the hearing level because they either don’t want to pay for the service (25 percent of disability back pay goes to your attorney) or don’t think a lawyer has any more knowledge of the system than they themselves have, and is therefore unlikely to have anything helpful to offer—this last statement is far from the truth. To put it simply, your best chance of being awarded social security disability is at the federal hearing level when you are represented by a qualified disability attorney. After waiting so long for financial relief, it makes no sense to not take every step possible to secure a positive outcome (approval of your benefits). Any money paid for legal counsel is well worth it and in the short-term, and does not outweigh the long-term financial gain and peace of mind you will receive as a result of winning your case for disability. Even if you are capable of representing yourself at your hearing, some judges are simply more likely to seriously consider evidence when it is presented by a lawyer. Unfortunately, disability decisions, like all decisions made by human beings, are not entirely objective. If it was just a matter of reviewing the evidence without some level of interpretation, then your claim would be either approved or denied, and there would be no need for an appeals process. Make sure that when your case comes before a judge it is presented in the best, most professional light possible and you can only increase the odds of winning at a social security disability hearing. For more information on: Social Security Disability and SSI Disability.
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