If you applied for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits and were denied for medical reasons, you may request an appeal online. If you do not wish to appeal a medical decision online, you can use the Form SSA-561, Request for Reconsideration.
It takes SSA about three months to reinstate your benefits—and you would receive a lump sum payment of the money owed to you for the time after your income dropped below the BEP.
Usually cases are reviewed every three years; but some cases are reviewed more often. Sometimes the decision will direct the Social Security Administration to conduct a review at a certain time. Often the Notice of Award will tell you when to expect a review.
An applicant can receive payments for up to 6 months while the Disability Determination Services (DDS) reviews the claim and makes the final decision.
You may ask us orally or in writing. If your benefit payments are suspended, they will automatically start again the month you reach age 70. If you change your mind and want the payments to start before age 70, just tell us when you want your benefits reinstated.
The most common reason for someone to lose SSI benefits is having too much income, either through working or receiving it in some other way.
Cases are pulled at random to be reviewed by the Disability Quality Branch. These claims include Social Security Disability claims which have been accepted and claims which have been denied. Roughly one in 100 claims is selected to be reviewed by the Disability Quality Branch.
Most people who are receiving Social Security Disability do not need to worry about their benefits being reversed or revoked unless their condition improves and they are able to return to work.Nov 29, 2010
ALJ decisions are not binding legal precedent. Courts or federal agencies can overturn their decisions under certain circumstances such as where those decisions are unsupported by substantial evidence in the record.Nov 5, 2020
You might be able to do a telephone interview, but you'll most likely have to go to your local Social Security office and sit down with a claims representative. After that meeting, the representative will submit your claim to an examiner for a final decision.May 21, 2021
Expedited Reinstatement allows former SSDI beneficiaries whose benefits ended within the 5 previous years to get up to 6 months of temporary SSDI cash benefits if their income drops below the SGA level.
Unlike private insurance companies the SSA does not generally conduct surveillance investigations, but that doesn't mean that they can't or never will. Once you file a disability claim, the SSA looks for proof of your disability.
When you first contact an attorney for representation, either the attorney or a firm staff member will conduct an initial interview with you to gat...
Your attorney, or a staff member in the law firm, will request the medical records needed to win your claim and submit them to the Social Security...
It is not unusual for attorneys to wait until a month or two before a disability hearing to first speak to a client. Up to that point, your only co...
The SSA allows you to bring a witness to testify about your disability, but because witnesses can be harmful or helpful, your attorney will decide...
Your disability lawyer will determine the best way to win your case. First, your lawyer will review your denial letter from Social Security to get...
After you are denied, you will have the option to appeal your decision and improve your claim. If you have applied for Social Security Disability benefits and are faced with an unfavorable decision, do not panic. If you are denied Social Security disability, you can fight the decision.
Getting an Unfavorable Decision. If your initial disability application was denied, you are not alone. Approximately 65-70% of all initial applicants are denied disability benefits. Though this may seem like a large amount, claims are denied for all different reasons. After you are denied, you will have the option to appeal your decision ...
While some may feel a great sense of indignity over being denied at the initial stage of a disability application, it is important to remember that such initial-stage denials are actually quite common.
Suffering an injury or being diagnosed with a disability can be a very stressful and frightening time. More than likely you will be worried about how you will support yourself and your family, especially if the disability prevents you from carrying out your job.
If you hire an experienced Social Security disability lawyer before you apply for Social Security disability benefits, then you can be confident that your attorney will:
You may not have hired a lawyer the first time you applied for Social Security disability benefits and your application may have been denied. However, you can benefit from a Social Security disability lawyer if you need to reapply. Specifically, you should consider that:
If you decide to hire a lawyer to represent you at any stage of the SSA disability process, you should know how that lawyer is paid. First and foremost, you do not pay the lawyer any fees that are not part of your settlement. Federal law regulates this. You only pay if the lawyer succeeds in getting your benefits for you.
Disability benefits are a federally run program through the Social Security Administration (SSA) that provides financial assistance to those who have become disabled and are unable to work to earn a living wage. Disability benefits can be used to cover the costs of medical bills and everyday living expenses.
Your disability lawyer will work to prepare you for the hearing level. Disability attorneys understand the hearing process, and they will review your records and get a general idea of what kinds of questions that the judge may ask you. You will practice responding to these questions.
Before your hearing with the SSA to determine if your case was wrongfully denied, your lawyer will hold a pre-hearing meeting with you to go over some of the potential questions you will be asked. This will be either in person or over the phone. Among the many questions, these may include:
The strength of a disability case is based on medical evidence. A disability specialist will review your medical history and work with you to gather any medical reports you might need. More specifically, to decide which information is the most relevant, he or she must go through the hundreds of pages of records.
Most disability lawyers are instructed to only accept cases that will most likely be successful, so if you do not have a strong case, they will choose to reject your case. The initial review happens when you first file your claim for disability benefits. Often, the claim is denied during the initial review process.
Your lawyer will review the details of your case and determine the best way to pursue your claim. After reviewing everything, your lawyer will be able to determine the best way to proceed with your claim and the likelihood of your claim being approved.
When you start your claim, you must complete the claim forms in detail. Don’t skip any questions and be sure to answer in detail. Properly answer the questions, indicating how you are disabled and your restrictions and limitations.
If you're denied at the application level, it becomes more important to hire a lawyer. Disability lawyers know how to prepare a disability case for a hearing and they have the necessary expertise with Social Security rules and regulations to win at the hearing. Your lawyer may want to practice asking you questions that the judge might ask so that you aren't nervous at the hearing and so that you can testify (honestly) in a way that's helpful to your case.
And if you don't want to wait upwards of two years for a hearing date, you might try to hire an attorney for help with the initial application.
Without an attorney, it's difficult for a claimant to do this successfully. In addition, your lawyer will likely be familiar with how the particular judge likes to run hearings, and will be able to present evidence according to what the judge likes—and does not like—to hear.
While the severity of your disability doesn't affect the amount of money you get, the date that Social Security thinks you became disabled does matter.
Though you aren't required to have an attorney in a disability claim (with an appeal to federal court being the exception), attending a hearing before a judge without the assistance of a legal professional can result in a lost opportunity to win disability benefits. ( Here's why .)
Most disability claimants think they can't afford a disability lawyer or law firm, but a lawyer can charge you only if Social Security approves you for benefits, at which point the lawyer's fee is taken out of the back payments that Social Security will owe you.
For this reason, most SSDI and SSI claims will need to go to a hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ) before a claimant can hope to receive disability benefits. It is at the level of an ALJ hearing that having a disability attorney can really help win a claim.
Statistically, the vast majority of Social Security Disability (SSDI/SSD) and SSI claims are denied at the initial claim and reconsideration levels, whether or not a disability claimant ( applicant) is represented by an attorney (or nonattorney representative).
Can a disability claimant who is not represented by a legal professional still win an SSDI or SSI disability claim at an ALJ hearing ? Yes, it is possible. However, the odds of winning a disability claim before an ALJ are markedly decreased when a claimant does not bring an attorney or representative to the hearing.
Magnolia worked as a Social Security Disability Examiner, where she reviewed cases and made decisions on approvals and denials. Later she became disabled herself. She was kind enough to share her experiences with readers here:
1. Lawyers may not be collecting your medical records. Many lawyers do not collect any records at this point. Instead, they write down your doctors information on the application forms and then hope that Social Security will collect everything.
For SSDI, which is the benefit program for workers who have paid into the Social Security system over multiple years, one of the most basic reasons you could be denied benefits is that, when you apply, you are working above the limit where it is considered " substantial gainful activity " (SGA).
8. You Commit Fraud. If you obtain disability benefits by dishonest means, the SSA can terminate your benefits and prosecute you for fraud. If you obtained benefits through fraud on the part of someone working for the SSA, your benefits can also be terminated.
Your Disability Won't Last Long Enough or Isn't Severe Enough. To qualify for SSDI or SSI benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must believe that your impairment is severe enough to last at least 12 months or result in your death. The only exception to this duration requirement is for blind SSI applicants.
The SSA and Disability Determination Services (DDS)—the agency that determines your medical eligibility for benefits—must be able to communicate with you regarding your application. If these agencies cannot reach you to schedule examinations or communicate with you about critical matters, your benefits may be denied.
You are allowed to work a small amount when you're applying for and collecting SSDI, but not over the SGA limit, which is $1,310 per month in 2021 (for nonblind people). The figure is adjusted annually. Income from investments does not count toward the SGA—only work income counts, as it shows your ability to work.
Your medical records are vital to granting your disability. If you refuse to release those records to the SSA, your claim will likely be denied. Similarly, the SSA may need additional information about your impairments, either because your treating doctor's medical records are incomplete or because you have no regular treating doctor. In these instances, the SSA will request that you be examined by an SSA doctor, during something called a consultative examination (CE), at government expense. In some cases, the SSA will require you to attend more than one CE. If you refuse to attend or request that the SSA make a determination based on the medical records already in your file, you may be denied disability because of inadequate medical information or failure to attend the CE.
But there's a limit on all earned and unearned income for SSI, around $1,600 per month, that applies both when you're applying for benefits and when you're collecting benefits. And any time your income is over $85 per month, your SSI payment will start to be reduced, by a somewhat complicated formula.