If you are denied at the hearing level you will receive a Notice of Decision – Unfavorable from the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). If you receive a Notice of Decision – Unfavorable you have two options: one is to file an appeal with the Appeals Council or to file a new claim.
At Greeman Toomey, if a client is denied at their hearing, the attorney who represented you at the hearing will review the decision and your file to determine what is the best course of action.
The appeal with the Appeals Council is called the Request for Review of the Hearing Decision/Order (SSA 520). This request must be filed within 60 days of the date of the decision. It is important to note that if the hearing decision is not appealed that decision is made final.
The Appeals Council will review your decision to determine if the Administrative Law Judge made the correct decision at the time of the hearing. This review can take can take over a year to process.
The Appeals Council has three different options. It may be decided that the decision was incorrect and you are in fact disabled. It may be determined that more information is necessary and your claim will be returned to the ODAR office for another hearing. Or the Appeals Council may deny your Request for Review. Unfortunately, we most often see that the Appeals Council denies the Request for Review.
For some of our clients, it may be in their best interest to file a new claim. If this is the option that you choose, there is a 65 day waiting period from the date of the decision before filing your new application. Because the hearing decision will have been made final, when refiling the earliest you can allege disability is the day after the judge’s decision.
The processing time for the new claim will be similar to your previous claim. For additional information regarding the processing of these claims please refer to this earlier blog post.
