If your claim is denied after reconsideration, you can appeal to an administrative law judge (ALJ) who hears Social Security disability cases. The ALJ will hold a formal hearing to ask you, and perhaps a vocational expert, questions about your medical conditions and your limitations.
An initial consultation with an SSI attorney is a crucial time to ask certain questions. ... An initial consultation with an SSI attorney is a crucial time to ask certain questions. ... Many of those who seek benefits must appeal an initial denial. It’s during an appeal hearing that claimants are statistically most likely to have a denial ...
 · Contact our law office today at 866-MICH-LAW to schedule a free consultation with a Social Security Disability Attorney. Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.
For assistance on a disability application or Appeal in NC, click here . Questions and Answers 1. To Apply For SSI or SSD Disability Benefits, Where do I Start? 2. How Often Does Social Security Disability Review Cases? 3. Is There A Maximum Dollar Amount For SSI Disability? 4.
 · Before considering an application for Social Security disability benefits, or for that matter, an appeal of your denial, it is always a good idea to have the advice, and potentially assistance, of a Social Security disability lawyer. Without even having to call our office, ask yourself these very important questions before you make that next call. First and foremost, ask …
Unfortunately, your odds are even lower for getting your benefits approved on the first appeal—about 12%. If you move on to the next level of appeal, which involves a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), your chances for approval increase significantly—more than 55%.
The following five statements should never be announced at your disability hearing.“I can't work because no one will hire me.” ... “I don't know why I'm here. ... “I don't do chores because my significant other, friend or family member does them.” ... “I have never used drugs or alcohol in my life.”More items...•
When answering an ALJ's questions, we recommend to our clients that they:Stay on subject and don't ramble.Be honest.Be prepared to explain any discrepancies that may be in their record.Don't be embarrassed or offended by the judge's questions.Be specific about their symptoms, treatment and limitations.More items...•
There is really no limit to the number of times you can apply for benefits or appeal your disability claim. However, there are a variety of other factors to consider when deciding whether to apply or appeal a denied claim. For many applicants who have received a claim denial, an appeal is the best course of action.
Tips to Improve Your Chances of Getting Disability BenefitsFile Your Claim as Soon as Possible. ... Make an Appeal within 60 Days. ... Provide Full Details of Medical Treatment. ... Provide Proof of Recent Treatment. ... Report your Symptoms Accurately. ... Provide Medical Evidence. ... Provide Details of your Work History.More items...•
OklahomaOklahoma is the hardest state to get for Social Security disability. This state has an SSDI approval rate of only 33.4% in 2020 and also had the worst approval rate in 2019 with 34.6% of SSDI applications approved. Alaska had the second-worst approval rate, with 35.3% of applications approved in 2020 and 36.2% in 2019.
Dates you last worked; The names, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of visits to your doctors; The names of medications that you take and medical tests you've had; and.
Be respectful of the administrative process, and address the Administrative Law Judge as “Your Honor” , “Judge”, or “Mr. or Ms….” but do not address the Judge by his or her first name or as a “hearing officer”.
What Type of Questions Will Be Asked at Your Disability Interview?When did your condition become disabling?What is the contact information for your doctors?What are the dates of the visits to your doctors?What are the names of medications that you are currently taking?What medical tests have you undergone?
Retroactive benefits might go back to the date you first suffered a disability—or up to a year before the day you applied for benefits. For SSI, back pay goes back to the date of your original application for benefits.
Here are 5 of the most common SSI denial reasons: You didn't return all the necessary forms to the SSA. Your medical conditions would not last at least 1 year. Your assets or income are over the limit.
the Disability Determination Services (DDS)An applicant can receive payments for up to 6 months while the Disability Determination Services (DDS) reviews the claim and makes the final decision.
A young couple from Monroe, Michigan, was awarded a $15.8 million verdict as the result of their baby son, Jason, being inflicted with Cerebral Palsy as the result of an error during the final stages of a labor.
While in the hospital a mother of three was not properly treated for a closed-head injury causing her untimely death.
A Livonia pedestrian recovered $1.4 million when he was struck by a commercial van resulting in a traumatic brain injury in Redford, Michigan.
Patient suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage when a hospital failed to recognize internal bleeding and treatment was delayed for more than 14 hours.
A Tuscola County jury awarded $3.3 million to a severely brain injured motorist as the result of a defective Michigan highway.
A seventeen-year-old construction worker suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting from a fall in Flint, Michigan, and was awarded $1.25 million.
Middle-aged woman suffered severe disfiguring facial burns from a simple surgical procedure.
To check the status of your appeal, create or log in to your personal my Social Security account.
The notice will tell you how to appeal. If you file an appeal within 10 days of the date you receive your notice, your SSI benefits may continue at the same amount until we make a determination on your appeal. The notice will tell you if you are entitled to continued benefits.
You (or your representative, if you have one) must inform the judge about or submit all written evidence, objections to the issues, and pre-hearing written statements no later than 5 business days prior to the scheduled hearing and must submit subpoena requests no later than 10 business days prior to the hearing.
If you do not attend the scheduled hearing, you may lose your appeal rights and benefits. We may pay you for travel costs if the distance to the hearing from your home is more than 75 miles one way. If you need money for reasonable and necessary travel costs, tell the judge as soon as possible before the hearing.
If for any reason you cannot make it to your hearing, contact the hearing office in writing, as soon as possible before the hearing, but not later than 5 days before the date set for the hearing or 30 days after receiving the notice of hearing, whichever is earlier, and explain why you cannot attend.
If you do not want to appear at a hearing before a judge, you or your representative may ask the judge to make a decision based on the evidence in your file.
If you disagree with the reconsideration determination, you or your representative may request a hearing before a judge by writing to us or by completing a Form HA–501 (Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge). Go to www.ssa.gov to complete an online request for a hearing. If needed, we can help you complete this form.
No. In fact, it is a common misconception that a disability lawyer can do this. In some cases, a lawyer can, for a case that is at the hearing level, ask for an expedite based on dire financial need, but this does not happen much due to the extreme backlog of disability cases at hearing offices.
For the sake of clarity, SSDRC.com is not the Social Security Administration, nor is it associated or affiliated with SSA. This site is a personal, private website that is published, edited, and maintained by former caseworker and former disability claims examiner, Tim Moore, who was interviewed by the New York Times on the topic ...
The Social Security forms for appealing a decision give you only a few lines to write your explanation on why you think the decision was wrong, but you should feel free to write the phrase "see attached page" on the form and submit a letter along with the form that carefully outlines the problems you see with the decision.
The disability appeals process can be a complicated and confusing maze. You have the right to hire someone -- either a disability lawyer or a nonlawyer representative -- to help you with your claim and appeal, and it is common for people to do that.
These types of statements may have little effect on a Social Security disability or SSI disability claim at the initial claim or first appeal level, but at the disability hearing level, such statements can actually win the case, provided they are strong enough and are backed up by the objective medical evidence contained in the same doctor's office notes. If your doctor supports you and is willing to fill out an eight-page form for you, it's best if your doctor fill outs the SSA's RFC assessment form. Call your Social Security office and ask them for the form.
The denial letter you received from the SSA that denied your eligibility for benefits will include an "explanation of determination," which is sometimes called the "disability determination rationale."
Request Appeal on Time. After every decision, you have only 60 days to submit your appeal in writing. If you wait more than 60 days to request an appeal, your appeal will probably be dismissed.
If your application for Social Security disability was denied, you still have a good chance of being approved for benefits through the appeals process. Here are some important things to be mindful of.
You should be completely honest at any level of appeal when giving information about your impairments and the limitations your impairments cause. For example, some people may be embarrassed to disclose their psychiatric problems, but those impairments need to be considered as well, as they may have an effect on your disability determination. While you also should not be melodramatic and exaggerate your issues, do not be ashamed to admit the difficulties your impairments have caused you.
The SSA will ask several questions about your current finances, living situation and lifestyle during your SSI interview. What they won’t ask about is your disability, doctor, medical treatments or how bad your symptoms are right now. This SSI interview is strictly to determine if your finances qualify you for monthly benefits.
SSI Phone Interview Don’ts: 1 Talk too much or complain about how bad you feel. Your interviewer meets with disabled people every day. For this reason, you should only share details about your financial situation. 2 Offer too information about your life. For example: If it sounds like you live with a partner or relative rent-free, it may affect your SSI payment. If a friend occasionally gives you free meals or a ride somewhere, that can also affect your benefit amount.
Still have questions about the best way to prepare for your SSI interview? A lawyer will happily answer all your questions for free by phone. No matter how tricky your situation is, a lawyer can help you without charging anything up front. You can even practice giving your interview answers to help you work out any nerves or concerns before you go. If you get a lawyer to help with your claim, you’ll pay nothing unless you eventually win benefits. And if your lawyer helps you win, then you’ll only pay a small, one-time fee.
Tell the truth! If you lie and the SSA finds out, it could disqualify you from SSI in the future (or you could owe them money you’ll have to pay back all at once).
There’s no need to feel nervous about your SSI interview, but always answer questions honestly! This interview doesn’t tell the SSA whether you truly have a disability. They’re assessing your financial situation to ensure that you’re eligible for benefits.
The SSA just needs to know if you can manage your own finances without help. These questions help them determine whether or not to appoint someone called a “representative payee” to handle your payments. Ask them to appoint someone you trust to receive your monthly benefits as well as help you manage your funds.
Keep in mind that coming unprepared will only delay your SSI benefits. The SSA will not approve your next SSI payment without proof your income and assets are within the current limits. Not bringing important documents to your appointment could slow the entire process down. If that happens, you’ll have to schedule a second PERC/SSI interview and show up with all your documents in tow.
But since most hearings will normally be concluded under an hour (some hearings can actually be as short as 15 minutes), you can count on not having to answer questions for an extended time period. (Read about what happens at a disability hearing .)
Believe it or not, one of the most common mistakes a disability claimant can make during a hearing is failing to answer the question asked by the ALJ. To avoid this, pay attention to what the ALJ has specifically asked you and try to answer only that question in a sentence or two. It may be helpful to take notes on a piece of paper or, if you didn't understand or hear the question, ask the ALJ to restate or explain the question for you.
A disability advocate can provide you with pre-hearing preparation, which will help you avoid answering the judge's questions in a way that may hurt your case and can allay any fears you may have . Additionally and, perhaps, more importantly, a disability representative can answer many of the judge's questions that arise at a disability hearing. ...
If the ALJ believes you are exaggerating your symptoms, you will lose credibility with the ALJ, and if an ALJ doesn't believe you, you will likely lose your claim for disability benefits. For example, if the ALJ asks you to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten on an average day, it would be unwise to answer that your daily pain is at a ten.
Be Honest and Don't Exaggerate. The most important way to answer an ALJ's question is with honesty. Some claimants feel that if they make their symptoms sound worse than they really are, they will have a better chance at winning their claim. However, exaggerating your disability usually has the opposite affect.
ALJs often ask disability claimants how their lives have changed since the onset of your impairment. A detailed and descriptive answer to this question can be quite helpful in winning your claim, especially if the ALJ is on the fence about how to decide your case. For example, if you used to go to church every weekend, garden, walk the dog, or play cards with friends, and you can no longer enjoy these activities, tell this to the ALJ. You should also describe how your disability has affected activities like reading books or newspapers or watching television. Chronic pain frequently interferes with concentration to the extent that people are no longer to do even sedentary activities. This is important information for an ALJ to know, because it gives insight into how you would probably function in a work setting.
Sometimes, a disability claimant will have periods of time during which he or she received little or no medical treatment. An ALJ will question a claimant about these gaps in care. Be prepared to give an honest answer as to why you didn't seek treatment. If you were without insurance, state this. If your symptoms briefly improved during that time, it is better to state and explain this than to give an untruthful answer, because once you lose credibility with the judge, you risk losing your disability claim.
If the judge asks you what you do during the day, it is okay to say that you make yourself a quick breakfast or cup of coffee, that you watch TV, check your email or even that you spend time doing light cleaning, caring for pets or checking your email.
The key to success at your disability hearing is preparation. A good lawyer will ask the same probing questions as the judge and when you prepare with your lawyer you get the benefit of expert advice about how to best answer.
Social Security disability judges are under a great deal of pressure to only approve deserving cases. While outright fraud is relatively rare, judges are nevertheless trained to be skeptical about every claimant they see.
Our experience has been that judges don’t expect disability claimants to sit at home in a recliner all day long, moaning in pain. Your activities should not be equivalent to work but you will not be penalized if you maintain some form of routine. The key to success at your disability hearing is preparation.
Every case has flaws but if you lie about information the judge sees in your record, you will likely lose.
Try to avoid absolutes when you testify – words like never, always, and impossible. Also stay away from not very much, not too far, or not too long. These phrases mean nothing and can make your judge frustrated.
Some judges will look for a reason to deny your claim if they sense you have given up and decided for yourself that you are disabled. You want to present yourself as a fighter – unhappy with your current medically unemployed status and ready to try anything to get back to work.