Denied Disability Benefits, What’s Next?

About 70% of all Social Security Disability applications are denied.

If you have just been denied Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, don’t give up. About 70% of all Social Security Disability applications are denied. Here are a couple of things you should do if your application for disability benefits is denied.

Contact your lawyer

If you hired a disability attorney, you should contact him/her as soon as you find out that your application is denied. Officially, the Social Security Administration is supposed to contact your lawyer but the reality is that sometimes they don’t. Just to play it safe, you should contact your lawyer and let them know you were denied. If you did not hire a lawyer, then now is a good time to get one. Your chances of winning your appeals are much greater if you are represented by a qualified disability attorney.

Request an appeal

You only have 60 days to appeal your denied disability claim, don’t put it off until the last minute. As soon as you are notified that your application was denied, call the Social Security Administration and request an appeal. The first time you appeal, it is called an appeal for reconsideration. This means that your claim will be sent back to Disability Determination Services to be looked at again. Only about 15% of reconsideration appeals are approved. If you already made a reconsideration appeal, and it was denied, then the next appeal is for a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. These hearings are where most people win their disability claims. Over 60% of hearings result in an approved claim.

If you have been denied disability benefits, or if you are going to apply for disability benefits, talk with an experienced disability attorney. Click here for a free consultation with an experienced disability attorney in the Southern California area (San Diego, Riverside, Los Angeles, etc…).