Winning your Social Security Disability - the odds are in your favor

Social Security Disability and SSI disability claims seem daunting to anyone who knows a person who has had to go through the long process of filing for disability disability, getting denied for disability, and filing a social security disability appeal. And for good reason. The process can seem confusing (social security does not do an adequate job of explaining how the process works to claimants), decisions can seem arbitrary as well as incorrect, and the process can last years.

Having said all that, however, the odds are in a claimant's favor...as long as they do not give up on their claim and continue forward. What do I mean by this? Simply that if your claim gets denied by SSA, you should appeal and if your first appeal gets denied (the request for reconsideration) you should appeal again to request a hearing.

Here are some interesting statistics that are hardly new:

1. Seven out of ten applications for disability are denied.

2. Eight and a half first appeals (reconsiderations) are also denied.

3. A little better than half of all second appeals (the hearing before a judge) are approved.

Obviously, claimants who give up after they are denied on a reconsideration are doing themselves a grave disservice. How many people give up? This is even more interesting, mainly because the statistic is very sad to hear. Reportedly, two thirds of all individuals who have been denied on a social security disability claim do, in fact, decide to give up.

As I've said many times on this site, the worst thing a claimant can do is to give up on a claim. However, there are a couple of other things a claimant should do and should avoid doing.

1. Do not file a new application after you have been denied. Instead, file an appeal. Why? So you can eventually get your case heard by a judge.

2. If you have to go to a hearing in front of a judge, get a disability lawyer. You can increase your chances of winning your hearing by fifty percent if you do this.



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Additional Entries
Disability denial
Trying to win disability
Filing for Disability - links
SSA criteria and disability qualifications
How to apply for disability with SSA
Disability Requirements and filing as soon as you are eligible
How to qualify for disability benefits
How to file for disability
How can I get disability 2
How to get on disability