WHY YOUR DISABILITY ODDS ARE BETTER AT THE APPEAL LEVEL

A Social Security disability case falls into one of 2 broad categories:  the application stage - and the appeal stage.

The application stage is where a state-run agency looks at your medical evidence and makes a decision about whether you are eligible to receive a benefit payment.  This process takes 3 to 4 months and results in denials of almost 8 out of 10 applications.

Once denied, the claimant must file a written appeal, moving the claim to a different department within the Social Security Administration known as the Office of Hearings Operation (OHO).  Here, eventually, an administrative law judge (ALJ) will hold a hearing, look at all the evidence and render a new decision.  The appeal process normally takes about 2 years.

Here's Why You Have a Better Chance With The Appeal:

• You will get a face-to-face meeting with a judge, a man or woman with a law degree and experience adjudicating legal matters.
•  You will get to bring your lawyer or legal representative with you to the hearing.
• You will get to explain your disability.
• Your representative will get to present legal arguments why you meet qualifications for a disability benefit.
• You will get to submit any new medical evidence available.
• You will be able to present your doctor's opinion (if available) at the hearing.

Of all hearings held in the United States, an average of 42 percent will result in awards (approval of benefits).  Most of these awards will include payment of past due benefits or "back pay."

Award rates, however, vary from office to office and from judge to judge.  There may one judge in a certain hearing office who awards 65 percent of cases but another judge in the same office who only awards 17 percent.  But the national average for 2017 was 42 percent favorable decisions.

So, here are two very simple conclusions to bring away from this:

1.  It's very common for a disability application to be denied.  Happens about 80 percent of the time.

2.  If denied, appeal immediately.  The appeal process is your best chance for getting paid. It never costs you money to file an appeal.  If an attorney or qualified advocate assists you, they cannot charge you a fee until AFTER you have won the appeal--and only then if you receive back pay or past due benefits.  The fee must be a percentage of the past due benefits that you have agreed upon in your written Fee Agreement. Fees are strictly regulated by the Social Security Administration.