SSR 11-1p: can’t appeal and reapply for Social Security disability
A number of attorneys suggest that if you are denied at your Social Security disability hearing, you should do two things:
Appeal the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ’s) decision to the Social Security Appeals Council, and
File a new claim for Social Security disability benefits.
The idea was that the new claim would be evaluated by Social Security until it got to the hearing level, the the old claim was pending on appeal. There were pros and cons to this approach.
Since cases often take in excess of 18 months at the Appeals Council, some advised to start the ball rolling on a new claim (which might get approved sooner).
The problem was that a denial on the new claim might reinforced the correctness of the prior hearing denial which is being appealed.
Also, if the new claim got to the hearing level, it was put on hold until the Appeals Council decided on the appeal of the prior hearing decision.
If the Appeals Council denied the appeal, it might have a chilling effect on the new claim’s chances waiting to be heard at the hearing office.
Well, all this is a thing of the past.
With SSR 11-01p, Social Security now effectively makes you pick whether to appeal OR start a new claim.
Social Security Hearing Judge Approval Rates
The rates cover September 25, 2010 through July 29, 2011 and provide:
Total number of decision.
Full approvals.
Partially favorable approvals.
Denials.
The chart also lets you sort by each column. So, if you want to see how your judge stacks up to the other judges in the same hearing office, click the second column to sort by ODAR office.
Social Security Ruling: Documenting and Evaluating Disability in Young Adults
September 10, 2011 saw the second SSR issued for 2011 (effective September 12, 2011). You can also view and download the entire ruling as a PDF here.
SSR 11-2p deals with Documenting and Evaluating Disability in Young Adults. Much of the ruling is a summary of how Social Security should evaluate cases for claimants with ages between 18 and 25. However, there are several interesting items:
First, the ruling makes it clear that evidence generated during childhood (before the 18th birthday) can be relevant in an adult claim.
Social Security Judge Told Me She Approved My Disability
I was recently asked the following question:
The judge at my husband’s hearing said she was going to approve him. She said she would get his letter to him in the next 2 or 3 weeks, but NO letter yet.
Since she approved him during his hearing when will his benefits start?
Social Security cannot process benefits until a decision is entered. While judges can issue a “bench decision” by orally entering a ruling into the record at the hearing, this is fairly rare.
More commonly, when a judge tells a claimant how the s/he is going to rule, that is not the decision. It is …
