A disability claim refers to the request you can make for income assistance filed with the Social Security Administration. This is usually filed when a person believes that a case of physical or mental disability leads to his or her inability to find a job or live a normal life. This is also referred to as employment & disability claims in various quarters.

It’s possible to file a disability claim depending on your financial and medical history. There are normally 5 stages involved in the filing process. It begins with the initial reconsideration stage and then proceeds to the hearing and later on to appeals council hearing and the federal district court appeal. The initial reconsideration involves the filing out of an SSI or SSDI application for the claim. However, this application can be approved or denied by the Social Security claims representative within a space of 3 to 5 months.

Now, if it happens that your disability claim is denied, you still have up to 60 days to file for reconsideration. You don’t need to take the denial personal since almost over 60% of disability claims are usually denied. You can always do something about the denied claim.

A number of reasons can lead to the denial. It may be because that the claim is not legitimate or because you filled wrong details in the application form. You can file for reconsideration in order to correct the errors if you discover that’s the reason for the denial. While re-filing the claim, you need to present better information in the details you give. You can add additional documents and medical records to support the claim.

Normally, your request for reconsideration can take up to 2 weeks to 6 months before it can be approved. It all depends on how many pending cases, the Social Security Administration is handling as at the time you filed the claim again. It also depends on the quality of the new details you’re presenting. You have to make sure you find out the actual reason why the claim was denied. You can make proper inquiries from experts in the field. You have up to 60 days to file for the claim again; otherwise the case will be thrown out.

Meanwhile, if your request for reconsideration is also denied, you can then proceed to the next appeal. When you do this, your case will be brought before an appeal judge. You’ll stand in front of the judge while your case is argued verbally. In order to succeed in this, you need to engage the services of a disability lawyer to help you out. If for any reason your disability claim is denied at this level, you can take it to the Social Security Administration Appeals Council. If it’s denied again, you have to proceed to the Federal District Court. You may win the case at this stage. However, if the claim is denied at this final stage, you have to forget about it. The most important thing is for you never to lose hope. You have to fight for the disability claim to the last point. In order to win the case, always make sure you have enough evidence to support your claim.