If you claim Social Security disability benefits only to have your claim denied, don’t despair. Of the many thousands of claims made every year, only 30 percent are approved. There are many reasons for this; perhaps your income is above the threshold or perhaps your disability is not total, or it is not expected to last at least 12 months. Regardless of the reason, many claimants in Chicago eventually do get their much-needed benefits upon appeal. The appeals process is quite complex and winning is not easy. However, an experienced Social Security lawyer can improve your chances of winning on appeal.
The Appeal Process
There are four distinct levels of appeal:
- Request a review of the initial claim
- Request a hearing in the presence of an administrative law judge
- Request a review by the Appeals Council, and
- Sue in Federal Court
Although a claimant can request a review of his or her initial claim, rarely does this result in approval. As nothing has changed, few denials of benefits are overturned. In fact, approximately five percent of them are overturned without the help of a lawyer.
The Administrative Hearing
If you are not amongst the five percent that is approved upon reconsideration, and you wish to pursue your claim, you are given 60 days to request a hearing in the presence of an administrative law judge. Don’t expect immediate action, because there are so many initial claim rejections; it may take as much as a year for your hearing to take place. The good news is, ALJs tend to overturn the initial denial of claim about two-thirds of the time.
You will be asked a number of questions by the ALJ, in many cases a vocational expert will be brought in to provide an opinion about what work is available in Chicago that you can do. Your Social Security lawyer can challenge the vocational expert, effectively ruling out the jobs the VE thinks you can do.
The chances of being approved for benefits are far better when you are represented by a Social Security lawyer. Contact The Law Offices of Jeffrey A. Rabin & Associates, Ltd in Chicago for information at https://www.rabinsslaw.com.
