Denied Disability Claims

If your initial application for Social Security Disability is denied, don't give up. Most applicants are denied by the local Social Security office. If you consult with a lawyer experienced in social security law, chances of early approval increase. Think of the application process like a funnel and sifter. Millions of people are pouring in their applications. Those who are in-patient long term in hospitals or nursing homes, with catastrophic or hopeless health situations, go through the system faster. Even then, persons seeking Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) cannot collect until the sixth month of disability. People eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is federal welfare, do not have a five-month exclusion.

When you see a lawyer to help with social security, our SSD attorneys ask if you are still working. Most times, the local office will not even take your application if you are working. See your SSD attorney before you stop working so your complete medical record and employment record can be obtained before you cut the financial cord.

After the initial denial, your Disability lawyer will appeal and request a reconsideration. Your file will be handled by a state subcontractor for the Social Security Administration [SSA] called Disability Determination Services [DDS].

Working with DDS is your best chance for an earlier approval before being put back into the SSA hopper to wait a year or more for a hearing with a judge in the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review [ODAR]. Your attorney will get your complete record to DDS and then call DDS to make sure it was received. Sometimes, the DDS coordinator does not even bother to look at what was sent. Sometimes, your lawyer will get your U.S. Senator or U.S. representative involved to pressure the DDS to do its job. The DDS coordinator should schedule you to see a medical doctor or a psychologist or both depending on your disability and what you

have for medical records. Sometimes the assigned doctor is so biased that the attorney advises the applicant not to bother attending because the report will just be used to support a denial.

Ideally, the lawyer is able to convince the DDS coordinator that the medical record supports approval. Sometimes, the DDS worker can get the applicant to a more favorable medical examiner. With DDS help, the applicant is often approved for disability within 6-9 months of application.

If you are young, of education and a past history of substantial work, you will be selected for denial. The philosophy is that you many have transferable skills and be able to do some light duty work. Your case is for a judge to decide.

The SSD attorneys at Marcotte Law Firm have decades of experience representing social security applicants before judges at ODAR. We write letters to a judge when we think they can make an early approval on the record. Our Lowell SSD Lawyers prepare the applicant for hearing so he or she will know what the judge will ask and want to know; but, most importantly, what you should be aware of in a hearing.