Don’t be discouraged. Most people who apply are denied. Since 1990, Penar Law has helped turn denials into approvals. It’s a FREE call to talk about your claim. If you don’t win benefits, it costs you nothing.
Your hearing is the most critical stage in your case. Your appeals hearing before the Administrative Law Judge is your first chance to present evidence in person. It’s crucial that you and the evidence be well prepared. We strongly recommend you get legal help before and during the hearing to present the most effective case.
Our Disability Attorneys Can:
Social Security often brings in expert medical witnesses to provide testimony. They can hurt your chances of winning benefits. We know how to counter these experts. We can fight for your rights, and we can win.
According to Social Security’s own statistics, people win benefits more often when they have representation than when they don’t. Since there’s no fee if you don’t win benefits, the decision to get legal representation is an easy one.
Penar Law helps their clients at all four levels of Social Security appeals. Contact us to talk about your Social Security disability case, today! If you don’t win disability benefits, there’s no cost to you.
Under Social Security guidelines, there are generally four levels of appeal where we can help win the disability benefits you deserve.
If your initial application for Social Security disability benefits is denied, we can submit additional evidence, help you fill out a Disability Report – Appeal form, and then get your application reviewed by someone other than the official who turned you down. Legal representation is important at this stage of process.
If you were denied at the reconsideration level, we can have your case evaluated at a hearing by an ALJ. At this point, our attorneys can present any additional medical evidence and work history. Social Security may have its own witnesses, and your attorney can cross-examine them. The preparation of your case and your testimony is crucial at a hearing.
If the ALJ also denies your claim, your case is not necessarily over. Your disability lawyer may ask that your case be reviewed by the Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council, located in Falls Church, Virginia, with additional offices in Baltimore. This is the last administrative decision level; the Appeals Council renders Social Security’s final decision.
The Appeals Council looks at all requests for review, but it may deny your request if it believes your hearing decision was correct. The Appeals Council may also grant your benefits outright or send your case back to the ALJ for further review. Receiving a decision from the Appeals Council may take a year or longer.
If the Appeals Council declines to review your case or if you and your attorney disagree with that decision, the last step may be to file a lawsuit against Social Security in Federal District Court. (District Court is not part of Social Security.)
You must file your case in the federal court within 60 days of the date you received your Appeals Council denial. A non-attorney disability advocate cannot file appeals in federal court. You must have an attorney who is admitted to practice in federal court. Our attorneys have extensive experience arguing in federal court.
Federal court appeals are typically about procedural issues rather than medical facts. No one is allowed to testify. No new evidence is presented. It can take a year or longer to receive a decision from the judge. The judge may:
In very rare cases, further appeals may be made to Federal Circuit Court and the United States Supreme Court.
Penar Law represents clients who are unable to work at all levels of the appeals processes. Contact our office to talk about your case. There is no attorney fee unless you win disability benefits.
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