Q: Can you appeal further if you are still not awarded social security disability benefits when your case is heard by an administrative judge?
A: A claimant who is denied after a hearing can file another appeal. You can submit a request to have the Social Security Council of Appeals conduct a review of your claim. After you file to have your claim reviewed, one of three outcomes will occur. If the Appeals Council agrees with the hearing verdict, it will not grant any further review. The council may return the claim to the hearing office to have another hearing conducted, if it believes it warrants another examination. The third outcome for your social security disability case could be a review and new verdict decided upon solely by the Appeals Council. A claimant who is not awarded benefits after an Appeals Council review, may bring a lawsuit through the Federal district courts. The majority of claimants whose cases are heard before an administrative judge have a social security disability lawyer on their side. Those who were not represented by an attorney when their claims went through the hearing would be wise to contact one before any request for review is filed.
Q: What is the typical amount of time it takes for you to hear whether your application for social security disability benefits was approved or denied?
A: The average wait time after an initial application for social security disability is anywhere from 3 to 6 months. That being said, many cases take longer. The main thing that stalls claims in the initial review process is a wait for medical records. A lot of social security disability applications are not approved when they are initially reviewed. The next step for those cases is to file for reconsideration. If still not approved, the next appeal is for a hearing. By the time a case makes it through the hearing process, it may have been in the system for years. It is difficult, therefore, to determine how long any particular claim might take before a decision to award benefits is made. On the bright side, there are applicants who are awarded benefits after the initial review process and only wait a couple months.
Q: Do you have to file in person when you submit a social security disability application, or can you do it via the web?
A: You can submit your online, as well as find out all the information you need to know about qualifying for disability insurance. Got to the official government Social Security site (http://www.ssa.gov) and click the “Disability” tab at the top of the page.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:06 am
Social security regulations are labyrinthine, and working out which social security benefits you are allowed to receive can be challenging. To make the process easier, here are answers to some of the questions frequently asked by applicants for disability benefits.
There are no partial disability social security benefits, since SSA is designed only for people who are completely disabled and who have been (or are expected to be) disabled for at least a year. If you need partial disability, you will have to apply through a state or local disability program. You will still be able to receive state and local disability benefits if SSA denies your application because you are not completely disabled.