If you apply for Social Security disability benefits only to have your claim denied, don’t despair, you are in good company. It is estimated that a full 65 percent of all applications are denied. There are plenty of reasons for this, the Administration’s employees are certainly not infallible, maybe your income is too high or perhaps your disability is not expected to last at least a year. It makes no difference why your application was not approved; you have the right to hire a Social Security disability lawyer in Missouri and appeal the decision.
There are several lawyers of appeals, at any one you may get a reversal of the decision to deny or it can be elevated to the next level. Winning your appeal is never a given but you can certainly improve your chances when you are supported by an experienced lawyer.
There are different levels of appeal:
* Review: This is the first step, you can ask that your initial claim be reviewed and the decision to deny be reconsidered. You have 60 days to do this. The chances of overturning the denial of benefits is slim, at best, five percent of claims reconsidered are subsequently approved.
* Hearing: If you wish to continue with your appeal the next stage is to request a hearing in the presence of an Administrative Law Judge. Although the wait for a hearing is long, those claimants that are represented by a Social Security disability lawyer in Missouri will see success in about two thirds of the cases.
* Appeals Council: If you are amongst the one third that did not get a reversal after your hearing, you can ask the Appeals Council to review your application. The Appeals Council does not get involved in the details of a case; they will only send the case back to the ALJ if they find a flaw in his or her decision.
If all else fails and you are sure you meet the criteria you and your Social Security disability lawyer in Missouri can file a lawsuit in a district court.
The chances of winning your disability case on appeal are far better when you are represented by a Social Security disability lawyer in Missouri. To discuss your case in detail you are invited to contact the Grundy Disability Group, LLC.
