You have been denied a second time.

You have two options. Give up (never) or appeal the denial of your Request for Reconsideration (always)!

So what do you have to do next? You must file a Request for Hearing within 60 days from the date of the Request for Reconsideration. If you don’t, you simply won’t get a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).

You want that opportunity to tell the ALJ your story… but it is not the story you think you should tell.

When you were is school I am sure you had a teacher who wanted you to “tell them what they wanted to hear.”

It is the same thing when you are in front of the ALJ. You don’t want to tell them your story… you want to tell the ALJ the Social Security story and explain how you meet the criteria in the 5 steps we have talked about.

But, you won’t get to tell that story unless you timely file an appeal of the denial of your Request for Reconsideration. For more in-depth help contact our skilled attorneys here.

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You can lose! Even worse, you can destroy your ability to successfully appeal the Administrative Law Judge’s denial.

Many Administrative Law Judges simply do not give the same attention to an unrepresented claimant they give to a claimant who has gotten a lawyer.

Why? Because the unrepresented claimant is clueless! The claimant hasn’t the foggiest idea why the claim was denied, what they have to prove to win, what is in their file and, more importantly what is NOT in the file that should be!

It is like going to the teacher and telling them you can’t hand in your homework because your dog ate it! That makes it very easy to deny your claim.

You must understand why you case was denied. You must understand what evidence you need to give to the judge. You must make sure your medical records are current. You must make sure your doctors identify your functional limitations. You must be prepared to deal with any medical experts or vocational experts the Judge may have at the hearing to testify. You must be ready to testify about the things the Administrative Law Judge needs to hear from you to be able to award you Social Security Disability Benefits.

No, simply telling the Administrative Law Judge that you are in pain, no one will hire you, you can’t keep a job or you can’t work is NOT going to get you Social Security Disability Benefits.

What it will get you  is a big fat DENIAL! And MORE TROUBLE!

Ever decision by an Administrative Law Judge is subject to review by a higher body called the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council can agree with the Administrative Law Judge’s denial. reverse the decision or send it back the Administrative Law Judge for another hearing.

The reality is that once you are denied by the Administrative Law Judge it is going to be very, very hard to find a lawyer who will take your case and try to undo all your mistakes. The consequences of representing yourself are greater than you think! Be sure to get a lawyer such as Nancy cavey or Sharon Barrett.

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Your initial application for Social Security Disability benefits will be reviewed by disability examiner. In each of the 50 states there is a State Agency which is generally known as Disability Determination Services. This agency is responsible for handling your initial application and your Request for  Reconsideration.

Your file is assigned to a disability examiner who obtains your medical records from the medical providers you listed on your application. Once your records are received, the disability examiner will review your file and your medical records. The disability examiner will be looking for medical records that establish your physical abilities.

Since most treating doctors have not been trained to write medical reports outlining a patient’s physical abilities, it is not uncommon for the disability examiner to consult with a staff doctor in the disability unit. The staff doctor will look at your medical records and, using their medical crystal ball, determine what you are physically capable of doing-it is called “determining your residual functional capacity”. This is Social Security language for how much can you lift, how long can you stand or sit, whether you can bend at the waist etc.

Why is that important? As explained in the postings about the 5 hurdles, once your limitations are determined, the disability examiner is going to ask whether or not you can go back to the lightest job you did for the 15 years before you became disabled. If you cannot do your “past relevant work”, disability examiner will ask, at Hurdle 5, whether you perform some other work in the mythical national economy.

If the disability examiner says you can’t perform some other type of work, you win.

However, 80% of the time, the disability examiner says you can do some other type of work and denies your claim.

And, when you file your Request for Reconsideration, your claim goes back to the same State Agency that denied you in the first place. While your case goes to another claims examiner, most cases are denied again.

If is only after you get denied twice (almost always), that you can file for a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge… who is NOT bound by the earlier denials and who is NOT employed by the State Disability Agency.

You can improve your chances of approval by properly filing out the forms that are sent to you by explaining the limitations in your functioning from the time you get up till the time you go to bed. Paint a picture that the disability examiner and staff physician can see in their mind’s eye. Filling out these forms is difficult and you would benefit from consulting skilled attorneys Cavey & Barret.

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Probably twice! Your initial disability application for Social Security benefits will probably get denied and you will have to file a Request For Reconsideration. Some people may call that an appeal but the proper Social Security jargon for the first “appeal” is a Request for Reconsideration.

More than 80% of all Requests for Reconsiderations are denied. That makes twice!

And, you need to appeal a second time by filing what is called a Request for a Hearing. A real live hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge and not some disability determination clerk!

You can and, in my opinion, should have an experienced Social Security Disability attorney represent you at all stages-from the initial application, through the Request for Reconsideration and the Request for Hearing.

When you call a disability lawyer, you will be asked if you have been denied and how many times. That is short hand for trying to determine what stage of process you are at and what needs to be done next.

Remember that if you don’t appeal a denial timely you can lose valuable rights and have to start all over! You do not want to file a new application – you want to appeal by filing either a Request for Reconsideration or a Request for Hearing.

When you make that call have a copy of all correspondence you have gotten from Social Security in front of you. You can read what is says, if need be, so your lawyer can begin the correct appeal process. Don’t get confused! Appeal! And be sure to hire an experienced attorney such as Nancy Cavey or Sharon Barrett.

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National statistics show that 85% of reconsiderations are denied. What an amazing number! Why do so many Requests for Reconsiderations get denied?

Your initial application for Social Security Disability benefits and the request for reconsideration is, in most states, referred to a state agency who had contracted with the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The initial examiner most always gets it wrong. Unless there is “in your face” evidence of disability, the examiner who looks at your file at the reconsideration stage is just going to rubber stamp the initial denial.

Many times a doctor on contract with the state agency will be asked to look at the medical evidence that has been gathered from your medical providers and asked to determine what your physical limitations are and your ability to function. It is not unusual for this doctor, who know nothing about you and who won’t examine you, to tell the state disability determination office you have the physical ability to go back to the lightest job you have done in the last 15 years. That means you lose at Hurdle 4!

The request for reconsideration is just a paper review. You don’t get to meet the examiner or introduce evidence about what your doctor says.

Records do not tell the whole story.

The sooner you get through the Request for Reconsideration stage the better! You want to get to the Administrative Law Judge so you can tell your story. Appeal without delay any denial of your Request for Reconsideration. For more information contact us here.

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