If you have been waiting months to hear back about your Social Security Disability claim, you may need to contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to learn about your claim’s status. Although a representative from the SSA may be able to provide you with basic information about your claim, he or she will likely not be able to give you specific information about it.
If you are working with a Phoenix Social Security Disability attorney, he or she will keep you informed about the status of your claim and will handle all communications with the SSA on your behalf. He or she can also inform you of anything that may be causing a delay and if there is anything that can be done to move your claim through the process more quickly.
You can also find out the status of your claim in several different ways. The manner in which you can find out about your claim will depend on where your claim is in the application process.
Initial Application
In some cases, it may be in your best interest to check your initial application for benefits on a regular basis. Routinely checking on your application can help you determine if there is a need for further documentation to support your claim.
Your options to review the status of your claim include:
- Calling your local SSA office
- Checking your status online if you applied through the SSA website
- Contacting the disability examiner who has been assigned to your claim
Once your claim has been sent to the Disability Determination Services (DDS), a disability examiner will be assigned to your claim. Shortly after you have been assigned a claim examiner, he or she will contact you and provide paperwork regarding your claim.
However, if you do not know who your disability examiner is, you can contact your local SSA office to gather this information.
Reconsideration
If your Social Security Disability claim has been denied, you can request the SSA reconsider its decision. This is typically the first step to appealing a denied claim.
Once you have submitted your request for reconsideration, the most efficient way to find out your claim’s status is to contact the disability examiner assigned to your claim.
Appeal Hearing
If the SSA declines to reconsider its decision to deny your claim, your next step is to request a hearing before an administrative law judge.
During this stage of the appeal, the Disability Determination Services is not involved. Instead, you can check the status of your claim by contacting the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review once you have submitted the required appeals forms.
Once your hearing has been set, you will also receive a notice by mail that details your hearing date. If you have any further inquiries or need additional information about your claim or hearing, you will need to refer to the contact information provided on notice you receive.
Appeals Council Review
If your claim is denied at the appeals hearing with the administrative law judge, you can choose to request an appeal by the Appeals Council.
However, if you decide to proceed to the Appeals Council, the SSA strongly recommends that you hire an experienced Social Security Disability attorney to represent your claim.
Your attorney can check the status of your claim and relay any information to you. Additionally, you can check whether the Appeals Council has received your request for an appeal by contacting the Appeals Council directly.
Federal Court Appeal
If the SSA’s Appeals Council upholds the administrative law judge’s decision to deny your claim, your last option to change the SSA’s decision is to file an appeal in federal court.
This is the final stage of the appeals process, and you are required to have an attorney file a lawsuit against the SSA in federal court. Your Social Security Disability attorney will update you on the status of your lawsuit.
Contact a Social Security Disability Lawyer in Phoenix
Social Security Disability claims are highly complex and often require help from a lawyer at the very beginning stages of the appeals process.
If you hire a Social Security Disability lawyer, he or she can handle your claim and keep you updated on its progress. Additionally, if the SSA needs any additional information regarding your claim, your lawyer can collect and provide the SSA with this information in a timely manner.
The Social Security Disability lawyers at the Philips Law Group work on a contingency, so you only have to pay us if we help you secure the benefits you deserve.
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