When you appeal for SSDI benefits, Nash Disability Law gets the right evidence in front of the right people.
How Do I Appeal When I’m Denied Social Security Disability?
You follow these three main steps in Chicago to appeal a denied disability application from the Social Security Administration (SSA):
Step 1: Ask for reconsideration.
First, you file a request asking Social Security to reconsider their decision to deny you.
They’ll send your claim back to Springfield, where Social Security will have a fresh reviewer look at your file—not the same person who denied you before.
You should know, however, that it’s still tough to get approved at this step. An overwhelming number of people, close to 90 percent, receive denials.
As rough as that sounds, it’s still not time to give up. A denied disability lawyer can improve your chances of being in the small group that wins benefits.
Step 2: Go to a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
Next you can take your denied Social Security claim to a hearing with a special Social Security judge.
This is your main chance to explain your problems and how you struggle with day-to-day activities and job duties face-to-face with a key decision-maker at Social Security.
It might be your best chance of winning Social Security Disability benefits. Social Security says more people win benefits at the hearing level.
Another government study found that lawyers with them to their hearings were almost three times more likely to be awarded benefits than those who did not.
A Chicago disability appeal attorney from Nash Disability Law can guide you through this process, help you prepare for your hearing and make sure that your evidence and your arguments are ready to make a strong case for why you need benefits.
Step. 3: Take your case to the Appeals Council.
If the ALJ denies your claim, believe it or not, this still isn’t over. You can keep fighting for benefits.
Now you can ask for another review by a group at Social Security called the Appeals Council (AC). Nash Disability Law can help you decide if your denied disability appeal should take this step.
The AC reviews whether the ALJ’s decision to deny your appeal was legally sound. Your disability lawyer can send documents bringing attention to possible errors by the judge.
While the Council technically can grant benefits, your main goal will be getting the Council to send your case back to the judge for another hearing—with directions on what to do differently.
Our founder Tom Nash formerly worked for Social Security as one of its attorneys. Our law firm has always had a deep knowledge of the inner workings of Social Security Disability.
We help people qualify for Social Security Disability benefits by getting the right pieces of evidence, at the right time, to the right person at Social Security, in the right way.
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What Are My Chances of Winning Social Security Disability Benefits?
The Social Security Administration makes it clear that it denies most people who submit applications for Social Security Disability. You’ll want to work with experienced Chicago disability attorneys at Nash Disability Law.
People who present strong, error-free claims are the ones who eventually win Social Security Disability benefits.
We focus, every day, on getting Chicagoland residents into the one-third who receive benefits in the end.
Social Security says many of the people who are denied disability benefits have what it calls non-medical “technical denials,” which means their health problems might qualify but they’re still working and earning too much, or they haven’t earned enough credits through recent work.
The next largest group got denied because Social Security found their medical problems didn’t meet its requirements.
If you need to make a Social Security appeal, let us look at your situation and see how we can correct what led to the rejection.
At last, you may be able to get financial support to make your life easier so you can live more fully.
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What Do I Need for My Social Security Disability Appeal?
To successfully appeal your SSDI denial, you’ll need to file certain forms and update the information that you put into your original disability application.
You’ll need new reports from doctors and other medical records showing how your health impairments are severe enough to prevent you from working — and maybe have gotten worse.
Nash Disability Law does all of this for you:
- Analyze your Social Security file
- Obtain additional evidence from doctors and other medical providers
- Build your legal arguments
- Prepare you to testify before a judge
- Question witnesses in your hearing
- Cross-examine any medical and vocational experts who testify about you
Frequently, Social Security will bring their own expert medical witnesses to talk about whether your health problems are serious enough to keep you from working any job.
That may hurt your chances of winning benefits. It’s another reason why you should get an experienced disability lawyer working on your behalf.
At Nash Disability Law, an attorney will always represent you at your hearing, which may not be the case at other firms.
At many firms, you won’t meet your attorney until the day of your hearing. We believe in getting to know you and truly understanding what you’re going through with health and financial troubles.
Our disability legal team has helped thousands of people in the greater Chicago area win Social Security Disability benefits. It’s best to contact us as soon as you realize you can’t work due to your health, because sometimes we can even get you benefits without a hearing.
If YOU WERE DENIED — or even if you still need to apply for SSDI benefits — CONTACT US NOW.
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