After Appeals Council Review Your Case How Long Does It Take for a Decision

If y'all have been denied Social Security disability benefits after a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge, the next step in the appeals process is filing a Request for Review with the Appeals Quango. A Social Security Appeals Council lawyer tin aid you increase your chances of success. Here, we will hash out the Appeals Council process and how the Social Security Appeals Council works.

What is the Appeals Council for Social Security disability?

The Appeals Council is located in Falls Church, Virginia and is tasked with reviewing all Social Security disability appeals after a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The Office of Appellate Operations (OAO), through the Appeals Council, serves every bit the last level of administrative review inside the Social Security Administration.

The Appeals Quango consists primarily of authoritative appeals judges (AAJ) and appeals officers (AO). The Appeals Council considers appeals from hearing level decisions. Information technology also performs quality review, policy interpretations, and court-related functions.

What is the Appeals Quango Process?

The Appeals Council review procedure generally begins later on an application for benefits has been denied at the hearing level or a request for hearing has been dismissed. You lot have lx (sixty) days from the receipt of the ALJ'southward determination denying your claim for benefits or dismissing your request for hearing to file a "Asking for Review". This is the document that starts your entreatment to the Appeals Quango.

Rarely, if e'er, practice you need to have a hearing with the Appeals Council. Instead, the Appeals Council simply reviews the record from your hearing. This would include your medical records every bit well as the recording from the hearing. If you have an Appeals Council lawyer, he or she would submit a "cursory" which is a several folio argument about how the guess in your case made an error of law or did not base the decision on substantial evidence.

Unlike the ALJ, the Appeals Council is more often than not not looking to see if you are disabled. Instead, the Appeals Council is looking to see if the ALJ'south decision is supported by substantial evidence or if at that place was an error of constabulary. This can be a confusing concept, simply the Appeals Council allows for some level of discretion amid the ALJs. It is possible for you to win with ane judge and lose with some other. Unless the estimate's decision is not supported by substantial evidence or contains an error of law, the Appeals Council will non grant your Request for Review.

This is i of the most disruptive parts most the Appeals Council process. In most cases, new show will not be reviewed. Your Appeals Council lawyer is only making high level legal arguments about your case.

What happens after I file a Request for Review with the Social Security Appeals Council?

The Appeals Council looks at all requests for review, only it may deny a request if it believes the hearing decision was correct. If the Appeals Council decides to review your case, it will either decide your case itself or return it to an administrative law estimate for farther review. When the Appeals Council reviews your case it may consider whatever of the issues considered past the administrative police force guess, including those issues that were favorably decided in your case. Yous volition receive a copy of the Appeals Council's terminal action on your example.

If you had an Appeals Council lawyer, that lawyer will receive a re-create of the determination also.

How long does the Appeals Council take?

Appeals Quango look times vary greatly. We accept seen the Appeals Council make decisions in as little as one month. Nosotros take besides seen the Appeals Quango accept as long equally 20 months to issue a conclusion. Unfortunately, the fourth dimension it takes to procedure your instance depends on a number of factors – all of which are beyond our control.

In some cases, you lot tin can asking an expedited appeal, just this requires "skillful cause". "Good cause" is a vague term, merely more often than not means that yous are suffering a near immediate impairment such equally a pending eviction or utility shut-off. You volition demand to produce testify such every bit the utility close-off detect in order to request an expedited appeal.

One of the major advantages of using an Appeals Council lawyer is that we know when you may be eligible for an expedited appeal and when it is a expert idea to request i. Nosotros also know the process for requesting that your case exist expedited which speeds the procedure forth.

What are the odds of winning with the Social Security Appeals Council?

As of 2019, the Appeals Council granted less than 15% of all Requests for Review that were filed. Many people consider the Appeals Council to be a "rubber stamp" for the ALJ. While information technology is true that in many cases the Appeals Council volition deny the Request for Review, it is of import to annotation that thousands of people do have their Requests for Review granted each year. The total data fix for Appeals Council remands is bachelor here:

What happens if I win at the Appeals Quango?

In near cases, "winning" at the Appeals Quango does not mean you become benefits. Information technology means that yous get a "remand hearing". That means that the Appeals Council sends your case back to an ALJ for a new conclusion. In most cases, it will be sent back to the same judge that denied you in the beginning place. The only saving grace here is that the Appeals Council volition tell the ALJ what the ALJ did wrong and instruct them to fix their mistake.

Unfortunately, even with these instructions, sometimes an ALJ will deny your case once again. This would force you to file another Request for Review with the Appeals Quango.

What happens if I lose at the Appeals Council?

If yous disagree with the Appeals Council's conclusion, or if the Appeals Quango decides non to review your case, your side by side step is to file a civil accommodate in a Federal district court. This is a very complicated process. Most SSD attorneys do not handle claims at this level. Nosotros exercise though. We have filed hundreds of cases in the Federal Commune Court.

Practise I need a Social Security Appeals Council Lawyer?

While you tin can certainly file a Request for Review without an Appeals Council lawyer, this isn't recommended. Also many people who file an appeal to the Appeals Council on their ain are denied over technical problems that could have been prevented if the appeal was completed with a superlative Appeals Council lawyer.

The Appeals Council grants less than 15% of all appeals. In order to ensure that your claim has the highest chance possible of your appeal being granted, you should have an Appeals Council lawyer who knows the system assist y'all complete your Request for Review.

Patrick J. Best of ARM Lawyers has helped thousands of individuals get their disability benefits. To get started on filing your Request for Review today, call our offices now at 484-464-2066. The best part is that we tin can start the whole procedure over the phone or by video conference so you don't even need to come into the office!

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Source: https://armlawyers.com/practice-areas/social-security-disability/social-security-appeals-council-lawyer/

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