A lot of people get denied the first time they apply for Social Security Disability. If you are denied the first time, you have the option to go back and appeal the decision. Sometimes the appeal goes right through and you are able to get on disability fairly quickly. However, the odds are just as good that you are going to have to fight really hard for your appeal to go through. 

How to Appeal

If you are going to appeal, the sooner you do it, the better off you are. As soon as you get your decision, then you will want to submit the appeal. You can either appeal in writing or you can go to to the Social Security Administration's website and start the appeal there. You have 60 days from when you get the get the letter saying you weren't approved to file the approval. That's why you want to get started as soon as possible. 

As part of the appeal process, you can request information from the SSA about your decision. That will allow you to find out what the adjudicators thought about your case and what prompted their decision. 

Types of Appeals

There are four different types of appeals that you can use. 

Reconsideration

Reconsideration means that you are asking them to look your case information over again. You may submit more documentation; however, reconsideration means that they just look over what you already submitted. Since the appeal generally goes to a different set of adjudicators, they will be looking at your information with a fresh pair of eyes. 

Administrative law judge

If you ask for a judge to review your case, your case will be decided by just one person. They will have all your information in front of them. They will be able to evaluate it and place the information within a certain set of criteria that the SSA gave them. The judge may ask to see you or they may just want only to see your information. 

Appeal council

The appeal council is a group of people that will let you set your case in front of them. Again, they will have access to your original application, as well as any information that you provide them. 

Federal judge review

A federal judge review is similar to an administrative appeal. It is just a higher level appeal. 

Lawyers

You have the right to have a lawyer help you with your application and appeal. You can bring your lawyer in at any point; however, most people tend to wait until they get denied the first time. You generally don't have to pay the lawyer up front. They usually take a part of your settlement afterwards. 

Getting SSDI is a process. It can take some time because you have to start with providing all kinds of information. If you get denied the first time, then you can appeal. For more information, talk with social security lawyers, such as those at R.J. Marzella & Associates, P.C..

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