There are four stages of disability appeals. You may not have to go through all of them, but they always proceed in this order:
Reconsideration: The first step is asking Social Security for reconsideration. Another claims examiner will look at your case file and come to their own conclusion about whether you should be awarded benefits.
Chances of approval at this stage are still low. Recent Social Security data puts the odds of success around 11-13% in Ohio.
Disability hearing: This could be your best chance to win disability benefits. You’ll get to make your case to an administrative law judge personally and talk about how your health problems make it impossible to work.
This part of the process is intimidating, but a disability lawyer can prepare you and let you know what to expect.
Appeals Council: If the judge rules against you in your hearing, the next step is asking the Social Security Appeals Council to review the decision. This is not the time to introduce new evidence. In this stage and the next, you are arguing Social Security made a legal error.
The Appeals Council can uphold the hearing decision, grant you benefits, or send you back for another hearing.
Filing a suit in federal court: The last step takes you outside of the Social Security system. You file a civil suit in Federal District Court and ask a judge to review the SSA’s decision.
This isn’t like a disability hearing where you make your case in person. The judge will read your arguments and Social Security’s arguments and make a decision based on what’s in your file.
When you finally win on appeal, you won’t just win monthly benefits and medical coverage through Medicare or Medicaid.
You’ll also be awarded a lump sum of back pay to make up for the months or even years that it took to approve your disability claim.
This is also how a disability lawyer gets paid. Our fee comes out of your back pay, so you only pay an attorney’s fee once you win benefits.
And your attorney can’t charge anything they want. Social Security places strict caps on how much of your back pay can go to your lawyer through the level of your administrative law judge hearing.
Similar fee limits still apply at the Appeals Council level, but can vary. Federal court has a different fee system, but also has limits.
Because you don’t pay a fee unless you win benefits, there’s little financial risk to working with an experienced Social Security Disability lawyer who knows this system thoroughly.
A lawyer does several things for you as you appeal your denial of disability benefits: updating your evidence, correcting mistakes, strengthening your arguments—and also lightening the work and stress on you.
Having a lawyer can also increase your chances of winning benefits.
Our Dayton disability lawyers can:
Appealing a denied Social Security Disability claim takes a long time, but the HNB Law team will be with you every step of the way.
We’re not like some big national firm where you’ll meet your lawyer the day of your hearing.
We know the appeals process well, and we know Ohio. We’ll give your Social Security Disability appeal the personal attention it deserves.
Disability appeals are confusing, so you probably have questions. Our Ohio disability attorneys can answer them.
Schedule a consultation with our team if you’re ready to appeal your disability denial. Here are answers to some of the most common questions we hear about denied disability claims.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has strict standards for anyone applying for disability benefits. SSI and SSDI are for people who can’t work any job for 12 months or longer because of their health.
This is a high bar to clear. The application for benefits is more complicated than most people expect. It’s easy to leave out information that Social Security wants to see in your claim.
Social Security is also under pressure all the time to make sure undeserving people don’t get approved.
Consider these issues and it’s not hard to understand why around 60% of initial claims get denied.
In most cases, appealing a denied disability claim is better than submitting a new application. Starting over can increase the wait time for benefits and could affect how much you get in back pay.
It may be better to keep your existing claim alive.
If your medical condition has drastically changed since you submitted your initial application, then starting over with a new SSDI or SSI claim might be worthwhile. Our Ohio disability lawyers can advise you on your next steps.
A disability hearing takes place in front of an administrative law judge. There isn’t a jury or courtroom full of people. It’s not that kind of hearing.
But Social Security can send expert medical and vocational witnesses who testify about your ability to work, which can complicate your hearing.
This is often your best chance to make your case for disability benefits. You’re explaining what your life is like, in real time and possibly in person, not just on paper.
The judge will ask questions about your condition. You can make it clear how your health impacts your ability to work.
This can be intimidating, but an experienced Ohio disability attorney can walk you through it beforehand so there are no surprises.
Our Ohio disability lawyers can help you from the beginning of the benefits application process, but we’re also ready to assist if you applied on your own and got denied.
Most people get denied the first time they apply for Social Security Disability benefits. Don’t let that discourage you. Reach out to HNB and get started on your appeal.
An Ohio Social Security Disability lawyer won’t charge an up-front fee to help with your appeal. We collect an attorney fee only when you win benefits.
And there are rules about how much a disability lawyer can charge. Our fee comes out of the back pay you receive when you win benefits, and we can only charge up to limits set by Social Security.
Higher levels of appeal may require other filing fees and other expenses. If that could apply to you, we will let you know.
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