When you suffer from a debilitating injury that prevents you from working, you need financial support that’s sufficient enough to pay for your medical expenses, ease your stress so that you can focus on your condition, and provide you with enough financial stability to get by. The Social Security Disability system might provide you with the relief that you seek. However, even if you’re diligent in building your disability claim, there’s a good chance that it’ll be denied upon its first review. When that happens, don’t panic.
The Social Security Disability system provides several appellate avenues, giving you multiple opportunities to pitch your case for benefits. Your first step in the appellate process is to request reconsideration of your claim denial. Here, you’ll get a second chance to present your case and any newly acquired evidence to someone who wasn’t involved with your initial claim determination. But how do you ensure that you’re putting forth the best case possible during your claim reconsideration?
How can you win your disability claim during the reconsideration phase?
There’s nothing you can do that will guarantee you a win on appeal. However, taking the following steps could put you in a better position to have your denial reversed during reconsideration:
- Filing your appeal timely: This might seem ridiculous to say, but you’d be surprised at how many people miss out on SSD benefits simply because they wait too long to file their appeal. Typically, you have 60 days from the time that you receive your denial letter to file for reconsideration. So, remember that the clock is ticking and that now is the time to gather additional evidence.
- Assessing the justification for your claim denial: When reading your claim denial letter in conjunction with the evidence you presented, you should have a strong understanding of where your claim fell short. Once you’ve figured out exactly why the government denied your claim, then you can work to gather evidence to fill in the gaps that jeopardize your disability benefits.
- Gathering and submitting your complete medical record: You want the evaluator in your case to have a complete picture of your medical condition. If you neglect to send in your most recent medical records or documentation showing your history of treatment, then you might fail to meet the government’s disability eligibility requirements for your specific condition.
- Writing a persuasive appeal letter: You’ll have the opportunity to argue why you deserve disability benefits. You’ll do this in written form. When making this argument, be sure to address the unique eligibility requirements for your condition with your strongest evidence. Also, highlight how any deficiencies that led to initial claim denial have been remedied. Your persuasiveness here could very well tip the scales in your favor, thereby allowing you to recover the benefits you need and deserve.
Don’t be scared of the disability appeals process
Getting hit with a disability claim denial can be disheartening, to say the least. But you don’t have to let it completely derail your ability to recover the benefits you need. Just educate yourself on the process so that you know what to expect and how best to build your case. If you’re uneasy with the thought of doing that, don’t worry. You can find support throughout the process so that you can have your questions answered and your case solidly prepared and presented.