Clear & Honest Answers
To Questions About Your Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Benefits

Attorney Shawn Taylor

Filing a reconsideration appeal after an SSD denial

by | Aug 8, 2018 | Social Security Disability |

West Virginia residents who file for Social Security Disability benefits often face a lengthy process, even when they have serious disabilities that prevent them from working. At the initial stage, many viable disability benefits claims are denied. However, there is a process that applicants can follow to have their claim reconsidered and move forward in the process. The first step after an initial denial is the reconsideration appeal phase.

When an application for SSD benefits is denied, the applicant can go to the Social Security Administration website to file the reconsideration appeal online. If the applicant is represented by counsel, the attorney can submit the necessary paperwork to the local SSA office. The attorney will mail a copy of the appeal to the applicant, helping to provide a clear record that it was filed in a timely fashion. In addition, unrepresented people can contact a local office to have the appeal paperwork sent to their home addresses.

After the denial of a disability claim, applicants have 60 days to file their appeal. The denial notice itself will have a date in the upper right corner on the first page, which marks the beginning of the 60-day period. If the appeal paperwork is not received in a timely fashion, the applicant may have to show some kind of emergency or good cause for the lateness, prove that he or she did not receive the notice of denial or show that the Social Security Administration office did actually receive the paperwork in time.

If a late appeal is not considered to have a good cause, the applicant may have to start the Social Security Disability application process again, from the beginning. Throughout the process and beginning at any stage, a disability lawyer can help applicants to present the right materials and ensure that all of their filings are timely, complete and accurate.