The Social Security Disability Application Process

The Initial Application for Social Security Disability Benefits

You can apply for Social Security Disability Benefits at a local Branch Office of the Social Security Administration. To get the address and telephone number of your nearest Branch Office, call the Social Security Administration hotline telephone number at 1-800-772-1213. (Deaf and hard of hearing individuals can reach the Social Security Administration on its TTY number at 1-800-325-0778.)

The application form for Social Security Disability Benefits requests a lot of information. In addition, the Social Security Administration may take several months to review your initial Social Security Disability claim.

Many individuals are denied at this stage, even though they meet all the requirements for benefits. Some people simply give up and go away, even if they are genuinely entitled to get Social Security Disability Benefits.

Do not be intimidated by the application process. If you are disabled, you have the right to seek benefits.

If the Social Security Administration denied your application for Social Security Disability Benefits at the initial stage, you have 65 days from the date stamped on the denial letter to appeal the decision and ask for a hearing to present your claim to an Administrative Law Judge.

Video: Attorney Richard Bernstein talks about your legal rights to Social Security Disability Benefits

The Social Security Hearing

An individual who files a proper appeal before the 65-day deadline will be scheduled for an Administrative Law Judge hearing on his or her Social Security Disability Benefit claim. At present, the Social Security Administration takes as long as 2 years to schedule your hearing date.

The Administrative Law Judge who conducts your Social Security Disability Benefits hearing will evaluate the following factors, to decide if you should get benefits:

• Whether or not you accumulated enough SSA earnings (work credits) to be insured for disability benefits.
• If not, whether or not you qualify under the SSI income limits.
• Whether or not you have an impairment that has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least 12 months, or is expected to result in death.
• The nature and extent of your impairment.
• Your ability to engage in substantial gainful activity since your impairment began.
• The date that your disability began.

At the Sam Bernstein Law Firm, our experienced Social Security Disability lawyers represent individuals at this level. If the Social Security Administration just denied your application for Social Security Disability Benefits, or if you filed an appeal and are waiting for your hearing, contact us immediately. Please submit a simple, free and confidential legal consultation form about your claim for Social Security Disability Benefits now.

Appeal of a Denial at the Hearing Level

If the Administration Law Judge denied your Social Security Disability Benefits claim, you have a legal right to appeal the decision further, to the Social Security Appeals Council. However, you must file for that appeal within 65 days of the date the the Administrative Law Judge denied your claim.

Therefore, we recommend that you contact a lawyer immediately, if you are seeking review by the Social Security Appeals Council.

If you or a loved was denied Social Security Disability Benefits, contact an experienced Michigan Social Security lawyer today. Please submit a simple, free and confidential legal consultation form about your Social Security Disability claim now.

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