Why Disability Hearings End in Denial
Even when you make every effort to do everything right, a few hearings may end in denial. It’s frustrating, but it happens, including to those with serious health problems who you’d think should win benefits.
Afterward, you’ll find yourself searching for explanations. Signs you lost your disability hearing could include:
- The administrative law judge didn’t seem convinced by your medical evidence.
- A medical expert presented an aggressive case that your health problems aren’t severe enough to rule out working.
- A vocational expert listed multiple jobs you could supposedly do, and the judge seemed receptive.
- Some of your strongest evidence and facts about your case didn’t get much attention.
- You didn’t feel great about the way you explained your story.
But these things on their own don’t mean you did something wrong. You can’t always tell how your hearing is going by the judge’s demeanor. Sometimes people who feel like their hearings were rough still win benefits.
And your case isn’t hopeless. Even after a denial from a Social Security judge, you could win benefits by identifying ways that the process went off track and calling attention to it.
If you applied for disability but got denied, get in touch right away for a FREE case consultation. You have 60 days to start your appeal.
Next Steps After You Lost Your Disability Hearing
At Hanley Disability, we find that it’s rare for our clients to be denied disability benefits at their hearings.
But if we represent you in your hearing, and you still don’t win the benefits you need, we can help you pursue more options to keep your hope for financial help alive.
The Indiana disability advocates at Hanley don’t take cases from people who had different representatives at their hearings. But we stand by you if you’ve worked with us to apply to for benefits, appeal an initial denial, or go to your hearing.
These are the kinds of decisions we’ll help you weigh after a denial from a Social Security administrative law judge:
Should I continue my appeal, or start a new application?
Often, we’ll say it’s better to appeal than start over. One reason is that your older claim, stretching back months or longer, could bring you more back pay when you ultimately win benefits.
But if you’re denied by the disability judge, you need to know that your next step in appealing doesn’t let you add new evidence. It only allows you to question the judge’s decision based on the information that’s already in your record.
So, if you experience a major change in your health and prospects for ever returning to work—such as new injuries or ailments or sharply worsening medical conditions—you may want to start a new claim allowing you to include the latest on your situation.
Should I go to the Social Security Appeals Council?
If you keep your appeal going, your next step is to ask for a review of the judge’s decision by a group at Social Security called the Appeals Council.
This is done on paper, not in person. And the focus is on identifying how the judge made procedural or factual errors in making their decision. The Appeals Council can send your case back for a new hearing, approve your benefits or deny them.
If we represent you earlier in the process, our disability advocates can help you take your arguments for benefits to the Appeals Council, too.
Should I take my claim to federal court?
After the Appeals Council, your last step is to appeal to a U.S. federal district court. Now you’re stepping outside Social Security’s legal system and asking a federal judge to reverse the SSA’s decision.
Remember: You don’t have to give up if you lost your hearing with a Social Security Disability judge.
At Hanley Disability, helping people win Social Security Disability benefits is all we do.
We’ve stood beside thousands of hard-working people like you, and we’re ready to help you take the next step to finally get financial relief.
