Request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, is it worth it?

As a former disability examiner and in my involvement in disability representation, one thing I've noticed is this: way too many applicants for disability either put off filing for disability, or, at some point, fail to file their appeals.

Why does this happen? I think in either case it is because the individual either believes that A) their chances of winning disability from social security are negligible at best or B) they believe the process is too hard, or C) they give up. So, let's address those issues.

Are a claimant's chances of winning negligible? No, on a national basis roughly thirty percent of applicants are approved and seventy percent are denied. The rate of denial is, no doubt, high. And, for those who decide to file a request for reconsideration, the rate of denial gets even higher as approximately 85 percent of reconsideration appeals are also denied.

However, for those who persist and request a disability hearing (which can be done immediately after a reconsideration request has been denied), the rate of approval goes up considerably. About forty percent of claimants who go to a hearing unrepresented win benefits and 60 percent of claimants who go to a hearing with representation win benefits. Obviously, persistence, in the social security disability system, pays off.

Is the disability process hard? Well, considering the fact that most claimants will have to fight their case all the way to the level of a hearing before an administrative law judge, it would be impossible for the process not to be hard. And "hard" is an understatement. The process can be financially devastating as a claim can take anywhere from six months to three years before a claimant is finally awarded benefits.

Should an individual who is disabled and unable to work give up on the disability claim process? The obvious answer is no and for several reasons---

1. Three out of ten people will be approved for disability when they initially file.

2. For those filing a reconsideration appeal, 85 percent will be denied. But that still means that 15 out of 100 will be approved. So, the chance of winning this early on still exists.

3. For those requesting a hearing and who show up at a hearing with representation, the chance of winning is a healthy 60 percent (I believe the actual statistic is 62 percent).

So, for those wondering if they should "bother" to request a hearing before an administrative law judge, or ALJ, I think the simplest answer is that it would be foolish not to.








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