Appealing Before the Appeals Council and Federal Court
An Ocala disability attorney may be able to help you appeal your case if you have applied for Social Security disability benefits and have been declined.
If you appeal your case to a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and the ALJ finds against you, you may appeal to the Appeals Council in Falls Church, Virginia. The Appeals Council may or may not take your case. If it decides not to review your case, the decision of the Administrative Law Judge becomes final, according to the Commissioner of Social Security. However, the decision may still be subject to court review. If the Appeals Council chooses to review your case, it may affirm the decision of the ALJ, reverse it, modify it, or remand it for a new hearing. There have been some cases where the Appeals Council chooses to review ALJ decisions on its own motion, whether the decision was favorable or unfavorable.
If the Appeals Council chooses to review your case, you may submit new evidence, so long as it was relevant to your case before the date of the ALJ’s decision. Otherwise, the review will mostly consist of a review of the existing record. Although there is a provision that allows you to petition to appear before the council for your review, oral argument is almost never granted.
If you are denied disability benefits by the Appeals Council, you may choose to file a civil action against the Commissioner of Social Security in the U.S. District Court for the district in which you reside. This court is empowered to affirm, modify, or reverse the Commissioner’s decision. If the U.S. District Court finds against you and affirms the decision of the Appeals Council, you may appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit where the district court serves. If the Court of Appeals denies your case, your final option is to appeal to the United States Supreme Court by filing a petition of certiorari. However, in recent years, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari to very few Social Security cases.
If you have more questions about what your options are if your claim for Social Security disability benefits has been denied on appeal, contact Ocala disability attorney Claudeth Henry today for a free initial consultation.