Best Disability Attorneys in New York, NY

How Do I Appeal a Denial From the Appeals Council? In the Social Security Administration there are several levels of appeal once an application has been denied: reconsideration, the administrative law judge hearing level, and the appeals council. If the appeals council denies your claim you have 3 options: give up; file a new claim; or file a federal court action suing the social security administration. For many people, suing the social security administration in federal court is the best thing to do because it allows them to retain all the back pay potentially payable in connection with their initial application. As an example of what sort of case can win, consider Lockwood v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, 914 F.3d 87 (2d Cir. 2019), There, the court held that it was wrong to find Mr. Lockwood capable of doing jobs that required frequent reaching when the ALJ himself agreed that Lockwood could only reach overhead infrequently. Perhaps more often, the ALJ decision involved may simply leave out a well documented limitation - such as the ability to reach, or to stoop -- and this omission will infect the entire analysis. When errors like this occur, it is possible to make a case in federal court to get another hearing, which is called a "remand."...