If a claim is denied at the reconsideration level, there is another opportunity to appeal the unfavorable decision. This appeal is called a request for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), and an individual has 60 days from the date on the denial letter (Notice of Reconsideration) to file it. After the 60-day statute, a claimant must submit “good cause” for filing late. The ALJ has the right to either reject or accept such a claim.

In order to file, one must submit the following forms to the SSA:

1. Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge (HA-501-U5)
2. Disability Report-Appeal (SSA-3441-BK)
3. Authorization for Source to Release Information to the Social Security Administration (SSA-827)

After the appeal is processed by the SSA, it will be forwarded to the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, where it may undergo a pre-hearing case review to decide if a favorable decision can be made before a hearing is scheduled. If a favorable decision is made at this point, it is called a “Decision on the Record.” Generally however, the claim does proceed to the Hearing, which is scheduled many months later.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 7:18 pm and is filed under Social Security Disability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.