The Social Security disability process has been streamlined in Alabama. You no longer have to go from denial to reconsideration. You can skip reconsideration and ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge. This has cut about 4 months off the appeal process, compared to the 40 other states that still use reconsideration. However, the appeal process is still long (about a year on average).
The initial decision on your Social Security disability claim is made by an Alabama state agency called the Disability Determination Service (DDS). DDS is under contract with Social Security but is manned by state employees, not federal employees. They deny just over 70 percent of all disability applications that they review.
Most denials are what we call "Step 5" denials. DDS will often find that the claimant cannot perform any past relevant work (Step 4). The final step, or Step 5 is this: Is there ANY OTHER work that exists in the local, national or regional economy that the claimant could perform? DDS will usually find that while the claimant cannot perform any past relevant work, he or she can perform other work.
Sometimes the "other work" proposed will be absolutely ridiculous. For instance, a recent denial said that the claimant could work as a worm catcher, an egg breaker or a security surveillance system monitor.
These jobs are taken from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles that was first published during the Great Depression to let people know what jobs existed in different parts of the country. It is no longer published. It was last revised in 1991. So data in the DOT is at least 22 years old. Obviously, it is not a reliable guide to how many jobs exist or where. But it is, unfortunately, what Social Security uses as a standard.
How do you combat a system as outdated and extinct as that? First, you appeal your denial as soon as you get it. (By law you have 60 days to request a hearing). This kicks the case out of the state DDS system and into a special unit of the Social Security Administration known as ODAR, the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. A trained attorney will review your case file. If he or she cannot approve it, the case will be scheduled for hearing before an administrative law judge. Your odds a better here.
Second, let me be frank. The hearing is not a cake walk. It is a legal proceeding that requires very strict evidence be submitted from the right sources. Otherwise, it will also result in a denial. (The national average for hearing awards has fallen over the past 2 years from 64 percent to 48 percent). The best way to present correct evidence is to be represented professionally.
You can represent yourself. Of course, you can also represent yourself in a divorce case, a bankruptcy, or a murder trial. That's not advisable, but there is no law against bad judgment. Representing yourself at a disability hearing is equally bad judgment, in my opinion. Get someone who knows how to win your hearing. You pay nothing if you don't win. And if you do win, you pay only a percentage of your back pay, which the judge must approve in advance of the payment.
The initial decision on your Social Security disability claim is made by an Alabama state agency called the Disability Determination Service (DDS). DDS is under contract with Social Security but is manned by state employees, not federal employees. They deny just over 70 percent of all disability applications that they review.
Most denials are what we call "Step 5" denials. DDS will often find that the claimant cannot perform any past relevant work (Step 4). The final step, or Step 5 is this: Is there ANY OTHER work that exists in the local, national or regional economy that the claimant could perform? DDS will usually find that while the claimant cannot perform any past relevant work, he or she can perform other work.
Sometimes the "other work" proposed will be absolutely ridiculous. For instance, a recent denial said that the claimant could work as a worm catcher, an egg breaker or a security surveillance system monitor.
These jobs are taken from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles that was first published during the Great Depression to let people know what jobs existed in different parts of the country. It is no longer published. It was last revised in 1991. So data in the DOT is at least 22 years old. Obviously, it is not a reliable guide to how many jobs exist or where. But it is, unfortunately, what Social Security uses as a standard.
How do you combat a system as outdated and extinct as that? First, you appeal your denial as soon as you get it. (By law you have 60 days to request a hearing). This kicks the case out of the state DDS system and into a special unit of the Social Security Administration known as ODAR, the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review. A trained attorney will review your case file. If he or she cannot approve it, the case will be scheduled for hearing before an administrative law judge. Your odds a better here.
Second, let me be frank. The hearing is not a cake walk. It is a legal proceeding that requires very strict evidence be submitted from the right sources. Otherwise, it will also result in a denial. (The national average for hearing awards has fallen over the past 2 years from 64 percent to 48 percent). The best way to present correct evidence is to be represented professionally.
You can represent yourself. Of course, you can also represent yourself in a divorce case, a bankruptcy, or a murder trial. That's not advisable, but there is no law against bad judgment. Representing yourself at a disability hearing is equally bad judgment, in my opinion. Get someone who knows how to win your hearing. You pay nothing if you don't win. And if you do win, you pay only a percentage of your back pay, which the judge must approve in advance of the payment.
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