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The social security disability and SSI disability appeal system basically has only one type of deadline, the 60 day deadline. If you get denied at any level of the system, you have that amount of time to file an appeal. And, actually, you have 65 days since social security will give you an extra five days for mailing. But even with so such a long appeal period, many claimants make the mistake of missing their appeal deadline. In this article, we'll discuss the social security disability appeal system and the impact of missing an appeal deadline. Social Security has a process that allows any disability claimant to disagree with their disability decision by filing an appeal. So what is the Social Security disability appeal process? The Social Security disability appeal process begins with the date stamped on the notice informing you that your initial claim has been denied. The first level of appeal is called a request for reconsideration. Reconsiderations are an intermediate appeal level, which frankly is not of much use. In fact, Social Security has considered doing away with this level in order to streamline the disability appeal process. However, this is an option that has been on the table for more than a decade, and so far reconsiderations have remained a part of the disability appeal process. What happens when you file a reconsideration request? Social Security sends your reconsideration appeal to the same state disability agency that denied your initial disability claim, and another disability examiner reviews your case. Remember, although your disability claim is being reviewed by another disability examiner, the examiner is still bound by the same rules and regulations as the initial disability examiner. As you might imagine, very few initial disability decisions are overturned at the reconsideration level. Statistics suggest that only about ten or fifteen percent of initial disability claim decisions are overturned at the reconsideration appeal level. Should your reconsideration appeal also be denied, you have sixty-five days from the date of the denial notice to file a request for hearing before an administrative law judge. This is the hearing level at which many claimants will stand to have their greatest chance of being awarded benefits. Administrative law judges have much more flexibility in making their disability medical determinations, consequently many individuals are awarded disability benefits at this level even though they were initially denied. So what happens if you miss an appeal deadline? For many, missing an appeal deadline means they must start the disability process again by filing a new initial claim. Social Security allows an individual to file an appeal anytime within sixty-five days of their disability denial notice. Often, Social Security claims representatives are somewhat lenient when it comes to the late filing of appeals, if the individual has a good reasonable reason for filing their appeal late. If you have a good reason, or good cause, for filing your first appeal late, the Social Security claims representative may allow your disability claim to proceed to the reconsideration appeal level. In effect, the claims representative would be granting you good cause. If your request for reconsideration is denied (most are denied), you must file your request for hearing. It is at this level that I cannot stress timeliness enough. Administrative law judges are not very lenient toward late requests for hearing appeals. If your disability appeal is not filed timely it will most likely be dismissed. If your initial disability claim has been denied, the administrative law judge hearing is your best chance of winning disability benefits from Social Security, so you can see how important it is not to miss your appeal deadline at this level. For this reason, it may be prudent to seek professional representation if you are denied at the initial claim or reconsideration level. A Social Security disability representative will make sure that your appeals are filed timely, in addition to representing you before an administrative law judge. 
Social Security Disability and SSI Disability Information
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