IS YOUR SSDI DENIAL CORRECT?

Social Security will deny about 70 percent of all disability applications filed in 2017. But can you assume that those denials are correct? No, you cannot. In fact, there is a 50/50 chance that your denial is an error of law.

When those same denied claims come before an administrative law judge (ALJ) on appeal, almost half of them will be approved and paid. Why are so many initial claims falsely denied?

One reason is that Social Security decision makers never meet the claimant. They review a paper file and make a decision based on what the paper says.

Another reason: Social Security's mindset. They are not trying to be certain that everyone who deserves disability benefits gets them. They are trying to be sure that no one who isn't eligible ever gets a benefit. Therefore, when in doubt, they deny, deny, deny.

Finally, claims are often wrongly denied because Social Security didn't get all of the medical evidence. Or, if they did get all the evidence, they reached the wrong conclusion about the claimant's "residual functional capacity"--what type of activities the claimant can still perform.

So, with a margin of error of about 50 percent, how do you protect yourself when your claim is denied? The answer is: appeal. By filing an appeal your case gets moved up the ladder for review by an administrative law judge (ALJ). The ALJ will meet with you personally, weigh all the evidence, including new evidence, and give you a totally new decision.

Once a denial letter has been written, you have 60 days to appeal the denial and move into a better position to get paid. Appeal right away.