DISABILITY APPROVAL RATES IN ALABAMA

Did you ever wonder what your chances are of being approved for disability benefits in Alabama?  

At the initial level, the Disability Determination Service approves 29.7 percent of all claims in the state.  

Upon appeal, administrative law judges approve an average of 42 percent of claims that come before them.

This tells you a number of things:
  1. You are not very likely to get approved with the initial application (after about months).
  2. It will probably be necessary to appeal at least once.
  3. If you are denied, it will take from 18 to 24 months to have your appeal settled.
  4. You are likely going to need some professional help. 
 If you read about the Social Security disability process on the internet, you will come across something called "Reconsideration."  This process is not used in Alabama.  Reconsideration is basically having the Disability Determination Service go back and review your denial to be sure no mistakes were made.  In states that use Reconsideration, it results in a change in the decision in less than 3 percent of the time. In other words, they just confirm the denial. Thus, I consider it a waste of time.  Thankfully, Alabama and nine other states have stopped using the Reconsideration process.  If you get denied, you may appeal for a hearing immediately and ask to appear before an administrative law judge.  However, as I mentioned, it can take over 12 months to get before the judge.

 

Comments

  1. Charles W. ForsytheSeptember 4, 2016 at 8:50 PM

    As of 9/1/16, it is now taking an average of 14 months to get a hearing before an administrative law judge. This is due to the severe backlog in appeals.

    ReplyDelete

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