Don’t lose heart if you apply for Social Security disability benefits only to have your application denied; only 30 or 35 percent of first applications are approved so you are amongst the majority. There are many reasons why the Administration will deny you benefits; perhaps your make too much money or maybe your disability is not expected to last long enough. It doesn’t matter why your application was not approved, you have the right to appeal and in many cases the case, after review, is approved.
There are several layers of the appeal process; if you hope to have the decision to deny benefits overturned you are well advised to hire disability lawyers in Oak Ridge to help you. Winning on appeal is hard enough even when you have legal representation, without legal help your chances of approval will be slim.
There are four levels of appeal:
* Reconsideration: This is exactly what it says, you ask the Administration to reconsider their decision. If you wish to ask for this you have 60 days in which to do it. A different person to the one that originally denied the application goes through the same process. Reversals at this stage are rare, only about 5 percent of reconsideration requests result in approval.
* Administrative hearing: If your application was denied after being reconsidered you have another 60 days to request a hearing in the presence of an administrative law judge. At this stage of the appeals process you will definitely want the help and guidance of disability lawyers in Oak Ridge. Don’t expect a quick response, at last count there were more than three quarters of a million people waiting their turn for an appeals hearing. The good news is, about 65 percent of those that are heard have their cases approved.
* Appeals council: If you are one of the 35 percent that are not approved you have the right to demand that your case be reviews by the Appeals Council. For the Appeals Council to act there must be an identifiable flaw in the decision made by the administrative law judge. The Appeals Council historically has granted approval for less than 3 percent of the cases they review.
* Federal law suit: If all else fails and you still contend that you should be granted disability benefits your disability lawyers in Oak Ridge can file suit in a US district court. At this level the case is heard and the decision rendered by a federal judge. The judge can approve, deny with finality or send the case back to an administrative law judge.
To win your appeal you will need the skills and unique knowledge possessed by disability lawyers in Oak Ridge.
If your application for Social Security disability benefits is denied you will need seasoned disability lawyers in Oak Ridge to argue on your behalf during the appeals process. You are invited to contact the Law Offices of Miller & Drozdowski, P.C. For more information go to the site miller-drozdowski.com.
