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The appeals process for disability claims can be fairly exasperating, not to mention emotionally arduous and financially devastating. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of social security and ssi disability claimants, this is a road they will be forced to travel down. What does the appeals process for disability claims entail? Essentially, it involves a mild amount of paperwork (appeals forms for social security and SSI claims are fairly simple and easy to complete); however, at every level of the appeals process, it also involves a lengthy amount of waiting. How much waiting is involved in the appeals process? It depends on what stage of the process a disability claim is currently at. SSDI (social security disability insurance) and SSI (supplemental security income) claimants who have been denied after a basic application has been filed, will need to file a request for reconsideration. A reconsideration is handled in exactly the same manner as a basic application, or initial claim. And, likewise, it can take just as long (as little as a month, or as long as six months or longer to get through this part of the appeals process). Please note: depending on where you live and when you read this page, the reconsideration phase of the appeals process may no longer be in effect, due to SSA plans to overhaul and streamline the disability appeals process. However, regardless of such plans and the timetable for their rollout, whenever a disability claimant requests an appeal following the denial of a basic application, the social security office will send the claimant the correct and appropriate appeal paperwork. The reconsideration phase of the disability appeals process can be fairly lengthy. However, the next appeal, the hearing request phase of the appeals process, is considerably more time-consuming, and, thus, financially more problematic for claimants. Making the request for a hearing before an administrative law judge is a simple thing to do and the actual appeals paperwork may only take five to ten minutes to complete and put in the mail (if you have a disability lawyer, by all means have that individual complete the appeals forms for you). What makes the hearing request phase difficult is the incredible amount of time that it takes to actually be granted a hearing date. Again, depending on where you live (and which hearings office you must deal with), it can take as little as six months to get a hearing date, or as long as 24 months to get a hearing date. Why does it take so long to be granted a date for a hearing? There are a number of different factors that have contributed to such lengthy wait times, but, essentially, they all boil down to this: the social security administration has not devoted the necessary manpower resources that would be required to "move" cases faster than they currently move (the social security administration has, at various times, had freezes on hiring when, in fact, to account for a growing population and growing numbers of cases, there should have been a focus on increasing the number of disability examiners, clerks, and claims reps who work in the system). Unfortunately, this level of bureaucratic planning incompetence has had the effect of throwing into utter chaos the lives of claimants who are forced to wait vast amounts of time for a disability hearing. Of course, the long wait time involved in getting a hearing date provides an additional rationale for having legal representation on a case. Typically, a disability attorney will make periodic status check calls on cases that are pending at the Office of Hearings and Appeals and when a hearing date is known to be approaching, a representative will work to ensure that a claimant's most recent medical records are gathered and made available to the judge assigned to the claimant's case. A disability representative may also attempt to "speed up" a pending claim by submitting either a dire need letter or a request for an on-the-record-review . For additional information about disability hearings and appeals, you may wish to visit this section:The Disability Hearings Appeals Phase Disability Lawyers Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation How much can you can if you get disability from social security? Why does it take so long to get an SSDI decision from social security disability? |
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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY SSI LAWYERS ATTORNEYS ANSWERS TO YOUR SSDI & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 3 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSDI & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 4 |
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If you suffer from a medical disability such as hip, neck, shoulder, ankle, wrist, back, or other joint problems, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rsi or repetetive stress injury, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, dysthymia, depression or other mood disorders, congestive or chronic heart failure, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high blood pressure (hypertension), seizure disorder, stroke, copd, emphysema, hearing loss or poor hearing, statutory blindness, peripheral field problems or other vision loss, clinical obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity or, simply, adhd, bipolar disorder or manic depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, autism, head trauma, memory loss, low iq, mental retardation, learning disability, epilepsy, cancer, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, lupus, anxiety, inner ear problems, meniere's, vertigo or dizziness, kidney failure requiring dialysis or other renal problems, cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other liver disease, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, rsd or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, peripheral vascular disease, lyme disease, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hiv, aids, anemia, sickle cell, thyroid problems including hypothyroidism, esrd or end stage renal disease, reflux, gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease), cfids, muscular dystrophy, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or tachycardia, bradycardia or other arrhythmia and have initiated or been denied on a social security disability, or ssi, claim for benefits, this site may assist you with your case. Social Security Disability benefits are often difficult to win; however many claims for social security disability are lost simply because a claimant did not know enough about the disability process to their social security or ssi claim. For information re: representation on a social security disability or ssi claim (attorney or non attorney representative), see the "questions" & "how" pages. |
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