Even if you have researched the topic of Social Security disability and understand that most claims take the better part of two years before an ultimate decision is made, it doesn’t mean you can file a claim and wait to hear from Social Security about it.
This would be a natural thing to do because there are huge wait times at different levels of the Social Security disability process, but there is danger in doing this.
It is probably alarming to know, but there are a percentage of Social Security disability claims where Social Security actually loses paperwork and doesn’t notify an applicant that a decision is made. Even though this is Social Security’s mistake, remember you are talking about the federal government and they are the ones who make decisions, so there is really no recourse to take even if Social Security loses your paperwork.
This is crucial because if a decision is made and an appeal is required, the applicant only has 60 days to file an appeal. If you miss appeal deadlines you may have to start the process over.
Hiring an attorney or representative may be helpful in making sure your claim gets processed, but sometimes Social Security doesn’t process paperwork filed by your representative and does not inform your representative’s office a decision is made. You can’t appeal a decision you didn’t know was issued.
Even if you have an attorney or representative you should call their office about once a month to determine status of a claim. Your attorney or representative will contact Social Security to make sure all necessary forms and paperwork has been processed so you don’t miss any deadlines.
Remember, just because you hire an attorney or representative doesn’t mean your responsibilities are over because you are still needed to stay on top of your own claim to make sure there is nothing more you need to do.
For more information about checking-up on the status of a claim click here.
