The Social Security Disability Process

I write so frequently about individual topics on social security disability that I often forget to include the basic big picture things. In this post, I will explain the Social Security disability process from application to US District Court. To start a claim for Social Security disability or SSI you must apply. If you are denied then in most states you would file an appeal by requesting reconsideration. Some states do not have the second step and go right to the next step which is requesting a hearing. So if you are denied at application and you are in a state that does not have reconsideration stage you appeal by requesting a hearing. If you are denied at the hearing stage you have a few different possible options. You can make an appeal to the Appeals Council called a requests for review. You can file a new application for SSDI or SSI benefits. In many cases, you can both appeal to the Appeals Council and file a new application. If you choose to do both then you essentially have two cases going on at the same time. One thing I should mention here, is that if you win your new application, you should immediately inform the Appeals Council as the sometimes can lead to a remand for a new hearing on the claim before the Appeals Council. You might be wondering why you would want to do this if you just won on your new claim. The reason is because you can only be paid on your new claim from the date of the ALJ's decision (the decision that you are appealing at the Appeals Council). Now if you lose at the Appeals Council you can file a claim in US District Court. In very rare situations, if you are denied by the US District Court you would then appeal to higher federal courts. How and what to appeal to the US District Court or higher federal courts is best left up to an experienced disability lawyer. Don't forget to check my websites for more information on SSD and SSI and veterans compensation law. You can find a list of these websites on the right of this blog.

The Basics of Disability Claims

If you are trying to win a disability claim whether it be Social Security disability or veterans compensation there are certain things you should do to give yourself the best chance to win. In this post I will not get into the details of a Social Security disability or VA disability claim but rather talk about general things you should do in either type of claim. Many of the things I will mention will seem obvious but sometimes the most obvious things are overlooked and can cost you your chance at winning your claim.

First, you should know what evidence SSA or the VA have. After all, the decision they make will be based on the evidence which they have in front of them. This brings me to my next point. Make sure all the evidence medical and otherwise that support your claim have been submitted to the decision makers of your claim. If you have a lawyer or representative all evidence should be sent to them so they can review it and then submit it. In VA cases you can find out what evidence they have by requesting your C-file and service medical records. In Social Security cases it can be a little more difficult to know exactly what is in your file at least until you get to the hearing stage when you can get a copy of your file. Before you get to the hearing stage you may want to call your local office to see what evidence they have been able to obtain.

Second, you should know what you need to prove to win your case. If the law is confusing to you and you are unsure of what you have to prove, then it may be time to consider getting a lawyer if you are not already represented. If you know what you have to prove and you know what evidence is in their file, you then can take the next step which is to get the additional information or medical evidence you need to prove your case. In some cases you may need to get medical evidence that is crucial to your claim that they do not have. In other cases, you may need an opinion letter from a doctor or vocational expert. Both the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration are often looking for very specific things and opinion letters from experts. You must know what those things are.

Lastly, the biggest mistake you can make is to think that you have a good enough case that you can leave it up to the VA or SSA to get the evidence for you. If you are not active in your case or at least have a lawyer that is, then don't expect your file to have everything you need to win. These government agencies deal with thousands upon thousands of claims. Only you or your representative have a personal stake in the out come of your claim. As I mentioned earlier, many of this may seem obvious but it does not hurt to read it because you may realize that you are not doing everything you can to give yourself the best chance to win your disability claim.