I Lost My Disability Hearing — Is There Anything Else I Can Do?

I Lost My Disability Hearing — Is There Anything Else I Can Do?

This is a question we hear quite often from disabled individuals:

“I lost my hearing. Is there anything else I can do?”

The answer is yes.

Even after an Administrative Law Judge denies your claim for Social Security Disability (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), there are still additional levels of appeal available.

Appeals After a Disability Hearing

If the administrative law judge denies your claim, you may request that the Appeals Council review the decision.

The Appeals Council can:

• Affirm the judge’s denial
• Send the case back to the judge for another hearing
• In some cases, issue a favorable decision

If the Appeals Council declines to review the case or affirms the denial, the final step is filing a lawsuit in federal district court.

Why These Appeals Can Be Difficult

Appeals to the Appeals Council or federal court are generally based on the evidence and legal arguments that were presented earlier in the case.

One issue we deal with arises when a disabled person has hired another firm to assist them, but when the Administrative Law Judge rules against their client, the firm drops the case and informs them that they have 60 days to find a new lawyer if they wish to appeal the denial. Yes, we have successfully taken cases when a disabled person lost at the Hearing level while the disabled person was being represented by another firm—but this is not something we do lightly. When appealing a claim to the Appeals Council or to the U.S. District Court, the appeal is based on the arguments and evidence presented in the earlier stages of the claim-and generally the only thing a client who was cut loose from the firm they initially hired is the denial letter-which is not much when considering an appeal. We generally ask the potential client to contact their previous lawyers and request a copy of their file so we can review the documents to see if we can see a valid legal argument which was preserved. And this all has to be done in a few weeks as sixty-day deadline still applies, so this review often must occur quickly.

Federal Court Appeals

Appealing a disability case to federal court can be a lengthy and demanding process, but it can also be an important step when an administrative law judge has made legal errors. In many cases, federal courts send disability cases back to the Social Security Administration for another hearing when mistakes occurred during the earlier proceedings.

Choosing the Right Attorney Matters

When considering who to hire for a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim, it is important to ask whether the attorney has experience handling appeals beyond the administrative hearing level. You would be surprised at how many attorneys who handle Social Security Disability claims never take a case to Federal Court, and it would be in one’s best interest to know at the outset if the lawyer they are speaking with does take cases on appeal to the Federal Courts.

While everyone hopes a claim will be approved as quickly as possible, the reality is that some cases must go through multiple levels of appeal before a favorable outcome is achieved.

If you or someone you care for has recently been denied Social Security Disability benefits and you have questions about your rights, please do not hesitate to contact and speak with one of the experienced  Social Security Disability Lawyers at Powell and Denny today for a free consultation; and remember, virtual appointments are available through Zoom so you can meet with one of the attorneys of Powell and Denny from wherever you live. And remember, there is no fee unless you win.

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Offices in Huntsville, AL and Birmingham, AL

Alabama Disability Attorneys

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Powell and Denny have been selected as one of the Best Law Firms by U.S. News and World Report for each of the last 9 years, have been selected as one of Birmingham’s Top Lawyers by B-Metro Magazine for the last 5 years, have been selected by The National Advocates as one of the Top 20 Workers’ Compensation Firms (plaintiffs) and Powell and Denny, P.C.-has been selected as one of the “Best of the Best” law firms by The American Registry and included in the list as one of the Mid-South’s Super Lawyers.

Mr. Denny is AV rated by Martindale Hubbard (the highest rating possible) and Mr. Powell has been rated as Superior by The National Registry

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I Lost My Disability Hearing — Is There Anything Else I Can Do?