As someone who has been employed for years and now has a disabling medical condition, you may have a strong claim for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Your condition is serious enough that you can’t work any longer or you need help managing the tasks of daily living.
You send in an application to the Social Security Administration (SSA) with medical documentation, only to receive a rejection notice in return. Rather than giving up, now is the time for you to look at your options for appealing a denial of your benefits claim.
The SSA offers numerous stages of appeal
Sometimes, a mistake in judgment by an SSA employee is directly responsible for the denial of your benefit request application. They may have a personal bias that makes them skeptical of your diagnosis or they had an off day and missed important information in your application. You may be able to ask for a reconsideration of your application. This kind of appeal has another employee go over your application.
If that does not result in an approval of your benefits, you can then request a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. At a hearing, you can address any mistakes that you made in your application and gaps in the documentation you provided.
Even if the hearing doesn’t go in your favor, there are two more stages of appeal available even after you see a judge. Recognizing that appealing your SSDI denial is an important part of getting benefits can motivate you to follow through after a denied claim.