Filing for Social Security Disability benefits can be a frustrating experience. After filing your claim, gathering evidence and giving it to the Social Security Administration, it is still possible your claim will be denied. When this happens, it is not always easy to know what to do. Should you appeal the decision, or file a new claim, hoping for a better result?
Filing a new claim has many pitfalls, not the least of which is that your filing date will change, making you eligible for a much shorter time period of retroactive benefits. This could mean you are losing thousands of dollars in benefits to which you may otherwise be entitled. Further, in many cases, it is unlikely that a new claim is going to be met with any more success than the old one.
The first step in the appeals process may seem the same as filing a new claim. This request for reconsideration will go through practically the same process as the original claim, that is, a review by an officer at Ohio Disability Determination Services. Because of this it is likely that the reconsideration will also be denied. However, in this case, your original filing date is retained, and there is another step to the process, which is to request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. This request should be made within 60 days of the reconsideration’s denial.
Disability applications heard by an ALJ have a greater chance of success than the filing of a new claim with the SSA. It will also take less time than filing anew claim and waiting for the agency to go through the processing procedure all over again. If you do decide to file an appeal, it may be in your best interest to consult an experienced disability attorney to help you with the presentation of your case before the ALJ.
Source: ssdrc.com, “Submitting a Social Security Disability Appeal in Ohio,” accessed 12/15/2014