When disabled Americans apply for Social Security Disability, they often are surprised and disappointed when they are denied. They imagine that perhaps they don’t qualify after all, and that most other disability applicants are being approved around them–that they are the exception. Unfortunately, it is actually the other way around. At the initial application level, about two thirds of disability applicants are denied. The ones who are approved are either the most extreme cut-and-dry cases, or the cases that had the most complete file and were the easiest for Social Security workers to process. It is all too easy for the majority of disability cases to fall through the cracks.

If your disability claim has been denied, it may help to understand the process and what will likely happen when you appeal. Here we will discuss each level and the appeal process necessary to continue.

Level #1: Initial application. As discussed above, most applicants are denied at this level. It usually takes up to six months to receive a disability decision. If denied at that point, an applicant usually has 60 days to appeal the decision. If you are at this point, APPEAL. If you wait until that time has passed, you will have to reapply and will waste valuable time.

Level #2: Reconsideration. Although some states skip this step, most states have this level at which your file is sent to Disability Determination Services for your claim to be reevaluated. At this point, any missing medical records will be requested and you may be sent to a Social Security doctor for current evaluation records and a medical opinion. Unfortunately, your chances of being denied at this stage are even greater than the initial level. The wait for a disability decision at this point can be anywhere between two months and a year, depending on how much work is needed to complete your file before a decision is made. If you are denied at this stage, APPEAL.

Level #3: Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. This level may seem intimidating, but it is the point at which your Social Security case has the best chance of being approved. Unfortunately, this stage also has the greatest wait. Applicants may wait a year to even two years, just for the hearing to be scheduled. Then they must wait a couple months or so for the hearing, and then months for the decision. If you have been denied at this level, do not despair. You have a couple options. You can appeal your decision, or you can start a new claim. Or you can do both, if allowed in your state. Disability lawyers often recommend the third alternative.

Level #4: Appeals Council. This is where the Social Security workers comb through your file and the Judge’s decision to see if a mistake was made, or determine if any new evidence may warrant a different decision. Sometimes the disability case is remanded back to the judge, at which point the Social Security judge must reconsider your claim. This stage often takes a long time as your file is juggled between offices and levels. If you have a disability lawyer, he or she may write a brief on your claim to represent your side of the situation. If your claim is denied at this point, you can still begin a new claim, or you can appeal.

Level #5: Federal District Court. At this point another judge considers your claim, and more briefs may be involved. This level can take quite a long time, with a year basically being the minimum wait (two years is common). You can continue the appeals all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court at this point, if you feel your case was unfairly handled and you do qualify under Social Security’s rules. However, it is probably a waste of time to go further than this point, so consider beginning a new Social Security disability application.

No matter where you are in the process, you can always hire a disability lawyer to increase your chances of being approved. Even if you go unrepresented, your chances can be good if you are informed. Best of luck.

If a person is disabled and thus unable to work, he or she has the right of pursuing a claim for social security disability getting it filled immediately. Many who have made claims for disability benefits have experienced hardships and problems generally because they do not know the length of the process involved and only realize later that it was better that they had filled an application immediately. In case a claimant is denied his or her initial claim, he or she should immediately consult a social security attorney or a non attorney representative who will provide representation and assist in the claim for both the past (back pay) and the continuing benefits.

Consulting an attorney would be very important, reason being that disability system operates in a way that the claimant application may be approved on the initial application or may be forced to appeal with the case being presented before a judge. Though this does not happen all the time, it is a predictable occurrence when dealing with social security disability claims. Statistics have shown that initial claims are denied sixty to seventy percent of the time, forcing the claimants to ask for a hearing in order to be approved; in most cases represented by a social security disability attorney.

The fact is that many of disability claims will not be successful at the initial claim or even at the reconsideration levels. This takes place even when the claimant is represented by non attorney disability advocate or a social security disability attorney. When the case is been handled by the administrative law judge, it is always advisable that the claimant is accompanied by an attorney or disability advocate. However, the claimant should have in mind that even with a representation, there is no guarantee that social security benefits will be awarded. However, he or she is assured that the case will be developed properly before it is taken for a hearing. It has been established that majority of claimants do not prepare a disability case properly prior to the hearing. The social security disability attorney comes in to assist the claimant applying the expertise and familiarity in regulations and rules of social security and thus is more likely to bring an outcome that is favorable.

Several claimants have opted to go for a claimant hearing without the need of an attorney and though some have gone ahead to win the award, the chances are fewer than when he or she is represented. The claimant may even realize that getting a disability hearing in the first place may take a longer time than he or she had thought. Some of claimants who have been successful without the assistance of a social security disability attorney or a non attorney representative may not have stood a chance of obtaining the benefits at their earliest convenience. The claimant may also not get much in back pay if he or she fails to obtain the onset date that is most favorable. The attorneys also assist the claimants in getting medical records and statements from the claimant’s doctor.

How does the Social Security Administration (SSA) define disabled? The answer to this question is crucial to your Social Security disability claim.

Many people think that if their doctor has said they are unable to work, or if they’re receiving disability benefits from their job, then SSA will automatically declare them disabled. However, this is far from the truth. Although SSA will take into account your doctor’s medical evaluation, that information will be only a part of their method of determining your disability.

The SSA lists five criteria to be used for determining disability:

1) Are you working? First and foremost, if you are currently working and your earnings average more than $940 a month (in 2008), you generally cannot qualify as disabled.

2) Is your condition considered severe enough to prevent you from performing work-related activities? You must show that your medical condition, and not some other factor, is preventing you from working.

3) Is your medical condition in SSA’s Listing of Impairments? This list encompasses 14 categories of medical conditions that would prevent a person from working. If your condition isn’t on the list, you will need to prove that its severity is equal to those on the list.

4) Can you perform the work you did previously? If your condition isn’t as severe as the medical conditions on the list, then you must show that it interferes with your ability to do the work you did previously.

5) Can you do any other type of work? The SSA takes your age, medical condition, education, training, past work experience and skills into consideration to determine whether you can do a job other than your previous one. If SSA believes that you can be employed in another job, your claim will be denied.

The SSA also bases its determination of disability on the duration of your inability to work. You must have been unable to work for at least 12 months, or you are not expected to be able to return to work for at least that long. For example: if your illness or injury means that you cannot work for 6 months but you are expected to return to work after that time, or have returned to work, SSA won’t consider you disabled.

The SSA will look carefully at your ability to do things associated with your job, such as sitting, lifting, walking, climbing stairs or ladders, etc. SSA will look at your ability to endure things like extreme temperatures, noise, dust, fumes, etc., if related to your profession. Your ability to concentrate and carry out instructions will also factor into the disability evaluation.

While SSA disability benefits are meant to be a safety net for people who can’t work because of a medical condition, the screening process is arduous to ensure that claimants are truly unable to be gainfully employed. All in all, determining disability is rarely an easy process. It can take years and many appeals to qualify for benefits. An attorney experienced in presenting disability cases to SSA will ease the process for you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Sharon A Christie

Government Benefit

In a world where the government should take care of its people with all the taxes and fees that get cut off from our salaries, we can still claim refunds for some of them. A huge majority of people who are still willing and able workers apply for social security disability. They do collect disability benefits because the amount of money they earn determines the social security disability claim. It holds no bearing whatsoever to the kind of work that they do. For you to be entitled to SSI benefits as well as social security disability, you need be earning as much as the Substantial Gainful Activity, SGA amount. To be able to be declared substantially gainfully active, all you need to be earning is a minimum of what the SGA pays through salaried work. This means that you are not disabled if you are substantially and gainfully active. Therefore, you would be entitled to the claim.

How Much Will Workers Receive

The current bottom sum for all those salaried workers is $940 per month (as per the 2008 pre tax calculations). So if an applicant chooses to work, and find that they earn less than this bottom amount then they could apply for this payment since they are already eligible due to their low income status. Applicants who have an approval or intend to seek consideration should remember this: If you as an applicant are a full time worker and you get the full SGA amount, then the chances are you do not have to lose eligibility for your benefits.

Trial Work Period

What happens is that once applied, the beneficiaries are subjected to what is known as a trial work period which can last up to duration of nine months. The name trial work period is given to put forward that the applicant can attempt to go back to work without nullifying their eligibility. Those who are able to get back to work but for some reason or other have been unable to stay for the whole 90 days required to be on the job are able to be claimed under unsuccessful work attempt. It should be noted however that an unsuccessful work attempt claim does not nullify your eligibility for the benefits available.