If your initial application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits is rejected, then you may have several opportunities to get this decision overturned. However, there is a limit to the amount of times and levels in which your requested appeal may be reviewed. Continue reading to learn what to do if your SSDI appeal gets denied and how an experienced New Jersey federal court appeals attorney at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur can help you take this next step.
What is the next step if my SSDI appeal gets denied?
First of all, if the Social Security Administration (SSA) determines that your initial application does not prove your eligibility for SSDI benefits, then you may file a request for reconsideration. Of note, you may only have 60 days to file this request; and then the SSA may take three to four months to respond.
Then, if your request for reconsideration also gets denied, you may have 60 days to file an appeal. You may be scheduled for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) within the year. Here, you must be prepared to answer or explain any questions or issues the judge may have with your application.
If you are notified that your application is once again denied, then you may have 60 days to request that the Appeals Council review it. The council may send your application back to the ALJ for further review, which could take up to one year.
Finally, if it still gets denied, then the final stage is to file an appeal in federal court. Here, a federal judge may review your overall case and determine whether the SSA made an error in denying your SSDI benefits claim in the first place. Essentially, this is treated as a civil action against the SSA. Again, you may only have 60 days to file this appeal.
What can I do to prepare for the federal district court review?
To reiterate, the federal district court review is your final opportunity to gain SSDI benefits; so you must take it seriously. With that being said, it is in your best interest to prepare for this review in the following ways:
- Ask your attorney to file an initial complaint against the SSA in federal court.
- Collect and submit your initial application for SSDI benefits.
- Collect and submit all the SSDI claim letter denials you have received thus far.
- Collect and submit your new and existing medical evidence of your disability.
- Collect and submit your new and existing financial information.
- Ask your attorney to file a brief on the facts supporting your appeal.
- Ask your attorney to give an oral argument about how you qualify for SSDI benefits under current law.
In the end, the first action you should take is to retain the services of a skilled New Jersey federal court appeals attorney. So call us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
