What Is A Disability Hearing Appeal?Constantly being denied social security disability benefits can be incredibly frustrating to an individual who feels their claim is justified and warranted. All through the appeal process they allow their hopes to get up high as they eagerly await the decision. Being denied time and time again can be wearing and can be troubling if the individual does in fact have a disability that makes it difficult, if not impossible for them to work. If they are denied by an Administrative Law Judge they may feel their voice is mute. However, they may want to continue their pursuit with a disability hearing appeal. The type of appeal differs somewhat from the Request for Reconsideration, the request for a hearing and the hearing before the Administrative Law Judge. When a claim goes to a disability hearing appeal it is presented before the Social Security Appeal Council. The job of the SSAC is to determine if the Administrative Law Judge did the right thing. In order for a claimant to have their case considered before the SSAC they must send an appeal. Typically this is prepared by an attorney who will outline the reason for the appeal as well as why the claimant feels the Administrative Law Judge made a mistake. As like most steps in the social security disability appeal process the claimant can expect to wait weeks or months to hear back. Most claimants can expect to receive notice that their appeal has been denied. This can be difficult to hear as many claimants now view this as their last chance. However, they can take it yet a step further and file a lawsuit. However, this is best determined by the attorney. If the SSAC does indeed say they will consider the case this can be very good news for the claimant. Typically the SSAC will only reconsider the claim if the judge failed to take something vitally important into consideration. This may be an important piece of medical evidence. In some cases after reviewing the case and the proceedings that took place in the Administrative Law Judge's presence that an error was made. The SSAC can make several determinations about the individual social security appeals that they hear. One is that the claim is again denied after they've reviewed all the information. The second decision can be that the Administrative Law Judge did make a mistake and the claim may then be approved. The third possibility is that the SSAC decides that the Administrative Law Judge did make an error and the case should be reheard. If this is the determination the claimant can once again expect to spend up to two years waiting for a new hearing date. |