Levels of Appeal

Under Social Security guidelines, if you are denied, there are generally four levels of appeal which the Gillette Law Group can use to turn that denial into the disability benefits you deserve.

1. Request for Reconsideration – If your initial application for Social Security Disability benefits is denied, this is an opportunity to submit additional evidence by completing an Appeal Disability Report, and to have your application reviewed by someone other than the official who turned you down.  A lawyer can help you obtain additional medical records and get an opinion of the treating doctor.  It is important to have a lawyer help you with this appeal.

2. Hearing by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) – If you were denied at the Reconsideration level, your attorney can have your case evaluated at a hearing by an ALJ.  It is vital to have an attorney prepare your case and help you prepare your testimony.  This is an opportunity to present your testimony, along with any additional medical evidence and work history.  Social Security may have its own witnesses.  Your attorney can cross-examine them.

3. Review by the Appeals Council – If the ALJ also denies your claim, your case is not necessarily over.  Your disability lawyer may ask that your case be reviewed by Social Security Administration’s Appeals Council, located in Falls Church, Virginia, with additional offices in Baltimore.  This is the last “administrative decisional” level; the Appeals Council renders the Social Security’s final decision.

The Appeals Council looks at all requests for review, but it may deny your request for a review if it believes your hearing decision was correct.  If the Council reviews your case, it may either grant your benefits outright or send your case back to the ALJ for further review.

Gillette Law Group, PLLC, represents people unable to work appeal their case.  Whether you need to apply for benefits  or were already denied, contact us to talk about your case.  There is no attorney fee unless you receive disability benefits.

Don’t give up…Get Gillette!