Being medically denied on a Social Security disability claim is all part of the process for most claimants. As a Social Security disability law office we know this all too well and try to advise clients accordingly that appealing unfavorable decisions is quite common.
It’s no secret that the majority of claimants are denied at least once and many times twice before being approved at the hearing level when they go before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), but what happens when a client loses at the hearing level?
Clients who are represented by an attorney or representative will be advised that there are three options after an unfavorable decision from ALJ is issued. These options are to file an appeal with the Appeals Council, do nothing and let the decision stand or to file a new claim.
An attorney would advise filing an appeal with the Appeals Council if the attorney believes there were errors made by the ALJ in the decision making process. If an attorney or representative advised that they will not appeal a decision or file a new claim, it is often a result of a case that lacks enough evidence to prove disability.
The last option is to file a new claim and yes, this is exactly like starting all over. As you can expect, most clients are not real enthused about filing a new claim after they have been denied on a previous claim that took two years. It’s an unfortunate situation, but sometimes filing a new claim is the best course of action.
An attorney or representative would not advise about filing a new claim if they did not believe the case was winnable. Sometimes when a claimant is unsuccessful at the hearing level it can be for a number of reasons, such as an unsympathetic ALJ or the claimant has a gap in their medical treatment.
Our law office has represented many clients who were unsuccessful at a hearing before an ALJ, but later were awarded benefits on a second try.
