Taking your Social Security Disability case to Federal Court
If your initial application for Social Security disability benefits is approved, consider yourself lucky. Only about a third of applications submitted yearly to the Social Security Administration are approved. What happens to the people who make up the other two-thirds?
Some of them give up. The problem with giving up is that your chance of getting the assistance you desperately need to live on from Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance drops to zero. The disability professionals at National Disability Experts have another option that gives you a fighting chance at getting SSI or SSDI benefits.
Many people challenge a claim denial through a four-level appeal process that starts with reconsideration and can go as far as taking the case to a federal district court, where a federal judge decides about your entitlement to benefits. There are no guarantees, but even if a federal judge does not award benefits, your case can be returned to have it reviewed again by an administrative law judge at the hearing level in the appeal process.
The Social Security Disability Appeal Process
If an initial review of your application for SSI or SSDI does not go in your favor, you have the right to challenge the denial through an appeal. Be mindful of an important deadline in the appeal process. You have only 60 days to appeal at any level, so you need to contact National Disability Experts as soon as you receive notice of the denial.
The following are the four levels in the appeal process:
- Reconsideration
Hearing before an administrative law judge.
Appeals Council review
Review by a federal court - During a reconsideration, the claim receives a complete review by a Social Security representative who was not involved in the original determination. Your lawyer has the opportunity to submit additional evidence to be considered in the review process.
- A reconsideration that does not reverse the denial may be appealed to the hearing level. A hearing is held with an administrative law judge. Your disability attorney has the opportunity to present new evidence, including calling witnesses in support of your claim for disability benefits.
- An unfavorable decision from an administrative law judge may be appealed to the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council may dismiss the request for review. A dismissal by the Appeals Council ends what are known as administrative steps in the appeal process because they occur at the Social Security Administration rather than in a court system.
Instead of dismissing or denying a request for review, the Appeals Council may grant it and either issue a decision or send the case back to the hearing level. If it sends it back, the administrative law judge who previously heard the case for further action on the claim.
The Appeals Council review is the final stage of the administrative appeal process within the Social Security Administration. The next level of appeal is to seek review in federal court.
Federal Court Review
An appeal to a federal district court is a civil lawsuit filed on your behalf by a disability attorney at National Disability Experts. The civil action asks a federal judge to review the case and overturn the unfavorable decision, denying you the benefits you need from SSI or SSDI.
Federal court reviews are conducted on the documents, including legal briefs, submitted by your attorney and lawyers representing the Social Security Administration. Sometimes, a judge may request oral arguments from the attorneys before deciding the case.
A federal judge generally has three options for determining the outcome:
- Decide that you are entitled to Social Security disability benefits and award them to you.
- Send the case back to Social Security for it to take further action on the claim in line with the judge’s decision.
- Deny your challenge by refusing to overturn the denial of benefits or other unfavorable determination made by the Social Security Administration.
Federal court reviews take a long time from when your attorney files a civil action until the district court judge makes a decision.
Frequently Asked Questions About Appeals to Federal Court
Appealing a Social Security disability claim to a federal district court is usually beyond the scope of the average person’s abilities. Federal courts operate under highly technical rules of procedure that must be followed just to start the case, and it takes an attorney years to learn and refine the skills needed to do the legal research and prepare a persuasive legal brief.
The Social Security Administration restricts how much you may be charged for legal fees with attorneys working on a contingency fee basis. This means that you pay nothing unless you win.
You must exhaust the administrative appeal remedies available through the Social Security Administration before your attorney can file a civil action in federal court. It is also to your advantage to go through each of the levels of the appeal process first because an action in federal court is a lengthy process.
Statistically, an appeal to a federal court has a higher success rate than other levels of the appeal process, so it is something to consider when deciding whether it’s worthwhile. A federal court review attorney at National Disability Experts can review your case and the chances of success with you to help you make a decision.
An appeal to federal court requires an attorney with knowledge of Social Security laws and regulations and experience with the evidence needed to support a claim for SSI or SSDI benefits. A disability attorney has the background and expertise to identify issues that someone without such a background could overlook.