What Is SSDI Denial Appeal?Receiving a notice in the mail that your claim for social security disability payments has been denied can be devastating. When a person can no longer work and provide for their family because of a disability they often sink into a deep sense of depression. Having to take out loans or turn to family members for help, is humbling and frustrating. Then to find out that you are not entitled to receive SSDI benefits is even more difficult. There is hope after someone has their claim rejected and understanding the social security denial appeal process is priceless. After an initial claim is filed, the claimant can expect to receive a notice in the mail that details the status of their claim. In some cases they will be approved and for them there is nothing left to worry about. For others they have to begin the denial reconsideration process which involves filing an appeal. This appeal is referred to as a Request for Reconsideration and how it is handled is incredibly important. Once the claimant is told that they are denied they only have sixty days to file their Request for Reconsideration. It's advisable that they do this early as even one day over the sixty day limit can result in their claim being denied yet again. Filing for the appeal is similar to the initial claim in that the individual must outline their injury, how it has impacted their life and include medical data to support their claim. If the Request for Reconsideration is denied the claimant can then ask for a hearing, which is the last step in the process. A hearing is granted to most claimants who request it and the time spent waiting for that hearing can seem unbearable. That's because in some locales it can take close to two years for a claimant to receive a hearing date. Even then, they must be prepared as they are likely to be in front of the judge for only about an hour. Some people mistakenly believe that the best course of action when their initial claim for SSDI is denied is to simply file a brand new claim. This may seem like the best idea, but it rarely results in anything other than the claim being denied yet again. The biggest problem with this particular approach is that there is a lot of time wasted. Instead of compiling a whole new claim, the individual could instead pursue an appeal of their first claim which puts them notably closer to a hearing date. Unless the claimant is well-versed in the laws surrounding SSDI and SSI it's imperative to have an attorney representing them at the hearing. This is the last chance that claimant has to win their claim. This is very serious and should be viewed as such. |