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How Long Is The Appeal Process For Social Security Disability

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How Long Will It Take To Get Benefits

How Long Does the Social Security Disability Appeal Process Take?

The amount of time it will take you to obtain Social Security disability benefits depends on a number of factors.

Your location in the United States affects how long it will take you to obtain Social Security disability benefits.

In your city, county, or state, the location of your local Social Security Administration office affects the amount of time it takes to process a claim.

For example, Maryland residents, who use the Columbia, Belair North, Benson Avenue, Abingdon, or West Road offices of the Social Security Administration will usually wait longer to have a claim processed than people who use the Owings Mills office.

Generally, once you file all the documents necessary to process your initial application for Social Security disability benefits, the Social Security Administration will mail you a Notice of Decision within 120 days.

If your initial application for Social Security disability benefits is denied, you have 60 days to file an appeal, also known as a Request for Reconsideration.

Once you file all the necessary documents to process your Request for Reconsideration, the Social Security Administration will take approximately four to six months to process your appeal.

However, if your documents are lost, which happens more often you might imagine, or if your local Social Security Administration is under staffed, which is quite common, you may wait significantly longer for a Notice of Decision on your Request for Reconsideration.

Common Reasons Ssd Claims Are Denied

There are many reasons your SSD claim may be denied, but some reasons are more common than others. Some of the most common reasons given for denying an SSD claim include:

  • You dont meet the basic requirements. These typically have nothing to do with your medical history. Instead, this essentially means that you earn more than the substantial gainful activity limit, or you dont have enough work credits.
  • Your medical condition is not severe enough. If you do not meet the SSAs definition of disabled or the condition will not last longer than one year, you will not qualify for SSD.
  • You dont follow doctors orders. You must be willing to help yourself and your condition. If the SSA believes that you are not following prescribed treatment plans, it will deny your claim.
  • Youre uncooperative with the SSA. Its always in your best interests to cooperate with the SSA. This means releasing your medical files, showing up for consultative exams, and otherwise complying with the SSAs requests.
  • The SSA cannot reach you. If you move or change your phone number, you must inform the SSA.
  • You dont have enough medical evidence. Medical evidence is crucial in any SSD claim. If you cannot provide enough evidence showing the extent of your condition, your claim will be denied.
  • You are in jail. You cannot receive SSDI benefits if you are incarcerated. You can receive them once you are released.

The Social Security Disability Appeal Process

Below you will find an overview of the SSA disability process. This includes an estimated waiting time at each stage of your case. Cannon Disability Law typically wins cases at the hearing stage, because this is when we argue your case before a judge. Throughout the wait for a court date, we ask you to maintain a good relationship with your doctors. Good relationships with your doctors helps us collect your medical records. We need your medical records in order to build a winning case.

The best thing you can do to help yourself during this process is to bring us all of your medical records as soon as you become our client. Medical records are the evidence you need to win your disability case. If you have questions about medical records, please read The Importance of Medical Records In Your Disability Case. When we have your records, we understand your medical issues and how they are preventing you from working. When the judge understands your impairments, you have a better chance of winning your case. If you have questions about how to collect medical records or how to find a physician who can help you with your physical or mental health, call or contact us. Contact us for free now.

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How Long Is The Disability Application And Appeals Process

The Social Security Disability process can vary in length and can be longer for some than others. Without strong representation or someone to guide you, there may be no choice but to stick it out and keep fighting for your SSDI or SSI Benefits, which could take years. Which is why we recommend you discuss your situation with a professional before you even apply. We can help you determine whether you will even qualify for social security benefits, and if you do, how you can win you case and start receiving your benefits in the shortest time possible.

Applying for Social Security Benefits

SSI applications require a personal interview, while an SSDI application can be filed online or at the local Social Security office. Either way, it can take a long time to fill out the application, especially if you need to hunt down the required information, which includes the details of your medical history, education, former employment, and financial situation.

The First Social Security Review

Once you submit your application for disability, your wait for a decision may take weeks or months. Some applicants qualify for expedited review under the compassionate allowances program. Others must undergo additional reviews, including an SSA examination.

On average, CAL applicants receive a decision within four weeks. The typical wait for other applicants ranges from three to six months, but there are things that can lengthen the wait, like insufficient medical evidence, for example.

The Appeal Process In Social Security Disability

How Long Is The Appeal Process For Social Security ...

There are four levels of administrative adjudication of Social Security claims. They are:

The initial determination, Hearing before an administrative law judge, and Review by the Appeals Council.

After this, a case may be filed in federal court.

The time limit for all Social Security disability appeals but one is 60 days from the date of receipt of a decision. Because there is a strong presumption that decisions are received five days from the date on the face of the decision, unless there is evidence to the contrary, the effective time limit is 65 days from the date of the decision.

The only exception to the 65-day effective time limit for appeal applies to appealing an ALJ denial to the Appeals Council after there has been a federal court remand. The time limit is 30 days for these appeals.

When the period for requesting the next appellate step ends on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or any other day of which all or part is a non-workday for federal employees by statute or Executive Order, the period is extended to include the next full workday. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.3, 416.120.

Disability Service Improvement

Some DSI administrative law judge hearing procedures are more formal with more mandatory time limits than under current practice. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 405.301 ff.

Claimant appeals of ALJ denial decisions, unless the Decision Review Board takes jurisdiction, go directly to federal court. 20 C.F.R. § 405.501.

Initial and Reconsideration Determinations

The Hearing

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What If Your Appeal Is Denied

If you are still denied Social Security disability benefits after your hearing before the administrative law judge, you can submit a request for the Appeals Council to assess your case.

The Appeals Council has discretion over which cases they hear, so they may grant, deny, or dismiss your request for a review. The only times the Appeals Council cannot deny your case for review is when one of the following is true about your case:

  • There was a legal mistake in your hearing, such as the hearing was incomplete.
  • There is not enough evidence as to why the judge made a particular decision.
  • Another error was made, such as the judge did not inform you that an expert witness would be present at your case.

Like all levels of the appeal process, you have a limited amount of time to request a review from the Appeals Council. If you do not make your request within this time limit, the Appeals Council can dismiss your request for a review. The chances of winning your case at the Appeals Council level is very small, as only 2 to 3 percent of decisions are overturned at this level.

If the Appeals Council denies your request for review or your case is dismissed, you can take your claim to federal court by filing a lawsuit. A federal judge will review the case looking for legal mistakes, although they will take factual evidence into consideration in many cases, such as the extent of your disability.

If You Have Already Received A Denial Your Chances Of Approval Are Increased Significantly If You Have Legal Representation

At the request for reconsideration and hearing levels, an attorney can collect and submit relevant medical evidence, obtain doctors opinions, draft a brief to the ALJ, and prepare you for questioning by the judge. An attorney can also elicit helpful testimony from you and cross-examine vocational and medical experts, demonstrating your inability to work. At the Appeals Council and federal court level, a lawyer can present legal arguments to show your case was wrongfully denied.

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How Long Do Social Security Appeals Take

  • Legal Posts

The Social Security Administration provides Social Security Disability Insurance benefits to eligible disabled individuals who are unable to work as a result of their physical or mental condition. Many people rely on these benefits to make ends meet when they can no longer work due to their disability. But unfortunately, getting approved for SSDI benefits is not easy, which is why you should seek legal representation from an experienced Tampa Social Security disability attorney.

Over 70% of initial SSDI applications are denied every year. But you still have a chance to obtain benefits even if your initial claim is denied. Applicants who have been denied have the opportunity to appeal the SSAs decision and continue fighting for the benefits they need.

What are the different steps in the process of appealing the SSAs decision? How long will an appeal take? Heres what you need to know:

Why Does It Take So Long To Get Disability Benefits

How long is the Social Security Disability process?

There are many great benefits available to veterans. Unfortunately, the VA tends to often move at a snails pace. The backlog for disability claims is a mile long, and it typically takes months, if not years, to receive approval for your claim. If there is any issue with your claim it can take even longer, especially if your initial claim gets denied and you have to file an appeal.

In order to ensure that veterans receive their benefits in a somewhat timely manner, many will hire a VA disability lawyer at the beginning of the filing process. While a lawyer isnt strictly necessary at this point, they can help to ensure that you have everything in order and avoid a denial of your claim.

If your claim gets denied, then you will certainly need a lawyer to handle your appeal. If your claim is approved, then an experienced VA lawyer can help ensure that the VA sticks to its promise of sending you your back pay within 15 days. Otherwise, you may have to wait additional months for this needed money.

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How Does The Appeal Process In Florida Work

The Florida appeals process is similar to other states. There are four steps in the entire appeals process:

  • Request for Reconsideration
  • Administrative Law Judge Hearing
  • Appeals Council Review
  • A U.S. Federal Court Hearing.

Most disability appeals go up to the administrative law judge hearing, so dont be intimidated by the prospect of your appeal being denied at the Reconsideration stage. About 67% of appeals in front of an ALJ are successful.

For current benefit recipients appealing an adjusted rate, filing an appeal within 10 days will allow those individuals to retain their previous benefit amount through the duration of the appeals process. As appeal waiting times can take months appealing within this window can have significant implications on income.

#: Va Gathering Of Evidence Phase

In Step 3, the VSR will do three things:

  • Ask for evidence from you, health care providers, governmental agencies, or others
  • Review the evidence
  • Move the claim to an RVSR for decision

****If the VA needs more evidence during this phase, your claim may return to this step more than once. This is very common to see your VA claim move back and forth between phases. No need to worry!

This step normally takes around 30-60 business days.

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How Long Does It Take For A Social Security Remand Hearing From Federal Court

The Social Security Disability benefits process can take a long time. It can take even longer if you have to appeal and fight for the benefits that you deserve. In those cases, it can take years to get benefits. Here, we will walk through the appeal process and answer the questionhow long does it take for a Social Security remand hearing from a federal court?

Proving You Have A Critical Case Or A Dire Need

Reconsideration Review impacts Social Security disability ...

When you file, there are many people waiting in line in front of you. If you can prove one of these things which most people cant you can jump forward in line:

  • Prove your condition is terminal
  • Prove you have been rated totally disabled by the Veterans Administration
  • Prove you were injured while on active duty in the armed forces
  • Prove your condition is on a list of conditions that are obviously disabling for everyone who has them, for example, Downs syndrome. You can check to see if your condition meets a listing by searching this website for your particular condition.
  • Prove you have no food and no way to get food
  • Prove you lack needed medical care and that you have no way to get it.
  • Prove you lack shelter, that is, you are homeless, or will soon lack shelter. If you are living in a house or an apartment you would have to show you are being evicted or show your mortgage is being foreclosed, or that your home has no utilities or is uninhabitable for some other reason. If you are staying in a shelter, you need to show you are about to be thrown out.

If you can show one of these things to the Social Security Administration of course you should. But never file a dire need request until you are certain that you have all the evidence lined up so that you will win the case! Dont be in a hurry to lose your case!

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If Your Dtc Application Is Approved

The notice of determination will show which year you are eligible for the DTC. You wont need to submit a new Form T2201 every year, unless we tell you that we need one. Information about other programs that are dependent on eligibility for the DTC may also be included in the notice of determination.

When your eligibility is about to expire, we will notify you one year in advance as well as in the year it expires.

You can view your DTC information in My Account.

You should tell us if your medical condition improves to the point that you no longer meet the criteria for the DTC.

Get Help From Rob Levine & Associates To Appeal A Social Security Disability Claim

If you are concerned about the status of your SSI or SSDI claim and need help with your appeal process, Rob Levine & Associates can help. Our team will work with you to ensure that all necessary medical documentation and forms are filed on time and will follow up to ensure your case receives the attention it deserves.

We will guide you through the entire claim process, including any additional appeals that may be required. Call us today at 866-LAW-SSDI to set up a consultation to discuss your case with an attorney.

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Q: My Social Security Disability Application Was Denied And I Missed The Deadline For Appealcan I Try To Appeal Again

If your application for Social Security Disability benefits was denied, you are in good companyin fact, most peoples initial attempt at applying for Social Security Disability is a flop.

After your initial application is denied, you are given a 60-day window to file an appeal to the Social Security Administration, or SSA. While it is incredibly important that you adhere to all deadlines related to your application, life often gets in the wayespecially if you are coping with a challenging disability.

Should you miss the 60-day deadline for filing an appeal, you may still be able to file if you are able to prove to the Social Security Administration that you had a valid, substantial reason for missing the deadline. This is known as good cause, and the SSA lists several causes that would be honored and granted an extension.

Appeal A Denied Disability Tax Credit

How To Appeal A Social Security Disability Denial

After reapplying, if the Disability Tax Credit Certificate comes back rejected again, it is possible to appeal the Canada Revenue Agencys decision. Once the appeal is made, the CRA will assign you an appeals officer. This officer will review your file and make a decision about your case.

Before filing an appeal, you may choose to ask benefit specialists for help. However, rather than waiting for your Disability Tax Credit application to be denied multiple times, be proactive ask benefit specialists from the National Benefit Authority for help before you apply.

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