Disability Reconsideration in Michigan
Did You Get a Social Security Disability Denial? Here’s Your Next Step
A Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) denial can be crushing. You were counting on those benefits to ease your burdens after health problems forced you from work.
But you should know there’s still hope of winning life-changing disability income and Medicare eligibility. Your next step is appealing the SSDI denial. That starts with asking Social Security for a reconsideration.
That process can lead to a reversal of your Social Security Disability denial. But even if you’re denied again, you still have more chances to win benefits in a multi-step appeals process.
At Levine Benjamin, our experienced disability lawyers can help guide you through what can seem like a cold, unfeeling process.
If you’re in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing or anywhere in Michigan, or you’re in Toledo or elsewhere Ohio, Levine Benjamin’s disability attorneys can put together everything you need to appeal your SSD denial.
From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
What would you like to do?
What Should I Expect In My Disability Reconsideration?
When you’re appealing an SSDI denial, you’ll often start by filling out a Request for Reconsideration form. You must do this within 60 days of your notice of denial.
From there, a Social Security Administration (SSA) official who was not involved in your original denial will evaluate your claim, along with any new evidence you’d like to submit.
This is usually handled internally at Social Security. There’s no need for you to be present.
At Levine Benjamin, we can help you figure out what went wrong on your application, and what evidence you can submit to make your request for reconsideration stronger.
It can be difficult to tell what’s missing from your appeal of an SSD denial—or if you have everything presented correctly.
Give us a call today and we’ll even evaluate your case at no charge to you.
What’s After Reconsideration when You’re Appealing an SSDI Denial?
Reconsideration can be the start of a longer SSD appealing journey.
These are the next steps:
- Hearing: This is your only chance to plead your case in person. You’ll appear in front of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to explain why your health problems make it impossible for you to work.
- Appeals Council: If the ALJ denies you, this Council—a group within Social Security—can review your case to see if the judge made a mistake.
- Federal Court: If you’re denied again, you can sue Social Security in federal court and ask a federal judge to order changes to your disability decision.
This can all feel overwhelming. Let the lawyers at Levine Benjamin handle the legal issues and legwork of appealing your Social Security Disability denial, so you can focus on what’s most important: feeling your best.
In fact, a Government Accountability Office study found you’re almost three times more likely to win benefits at a hearing if you have representation.
Don’t take a chance with your future. Call Levine Benjamin today to start taking back control of your life.
How a Disability Lawyer Can Help with Your Appeal of an SSD Denial
Appealing a Social Security Disability denial is much more complicated than when you applied for disability benefits in the first place.
It requires knowledge of the thousands of rules that control the disability benefits system.
It requires experience looking at disability claims and identifying what went wrong.
The disability attorneys at Levine Benjamin can do all this and more for your request for reconsideration and appeal:
- Determine what part of your application lead to your denial
- Gather fresh evidence for your appeal of your SSDI denial
- Make sure the many new forms you must fill out are done correctly
- Create a legal strategy for your appeal
- Help you prepare to explain your situation to the disability judge
- Create a legal strategy for your appeal
- Represent you in your hearing with the disability judge
- Question vocational or medical experts who many testify about you
- Gather testimony from people who know how your health problems have affected your life
It’s a lot of work, which you shouldn’t have to tackle alone when you’re already struggling with medical impairments.
An attorney who has been through this process thousands of times can make it much easier for you.
When you have an experienced Social Security Disability lawyer, you can feel better knowing that someone capable is taking care of your claim for benefits.
Best of all: You pay no attorney fee until you win benefits.
Special Rules that Can Help with Appealing your SSDI Denial
Of the thousands of rules for disability benefits, you can use some of them to help you appeal your Social Security Disability denial.
If you didn’t fully take advantage of these points in your initial application, this is where your disability lawyer can help increase your chances on reconsideration and appeal.
Here are three examples:
- Over 50 Denied SSI? Your age is a factor in your disability claim. If you’re over 50 and denied SSI, you may have an opportunity to explain to Social Security how your age affects your ability to do different work from what you’ve done before. Social Security may go easier on you.
- Beyond Your Diagnosis to Your Everyday Functioning. Social Security recognizes many impairments as possibly qualifying for benefits. But it’s not enough to just list your impairments. And you could still get benefits even if your diagnosis isn’t on Social Security’s list. You may need to officially show what Social Security calls your “residual functional capacity.” That is a review by a doctor of what day-to-day activities you can perform—regardless of what medical conditions you have.
- Do You Have a Special Case? If your medical condition is also an urgent emergency—such as cancer that is threatening your life—you may be able to get Social Security to speed up and approve your claim for benefits. This is called a “compassionate allowance,” and you should make sure Social Security knows if you need it.
Your disability lawyer will know how to make these points clear to Social Security—and also if you have any other options to make your disability claim stronger when you file for disability reconsideration, or you’re further along in appealing an SSDI denial.
In the end, this is about more than just getting through a government process and getting benefits.
Disability income and health care support means holding on to your self-sufficiency—and even your dignity.
Let Levine Benjamin’s disability lawyers help you move forward.