If you have been denied Social Security disability benefits and are debating on filing an appeal of that decision you may need to act right away. After notice of a denial, a claimant has only 60 days to get a notice of appeal in writing to the Social Security Administration. There are certain exceptions, but for the most part you have just 60 days to appeal the denial of benefits.

If you are considering an appeal, remember that upon examination of the statistics of past cases, we can clearly see that claimants represented by an attorney or disability advocate have had a much higher success rate than people without any representation.

There Are Three Levels Of Appeals

Your appeal may be handled at any of three levels

1. a hearing before an administrative law judge
2. a review by the Appeals Council
3. a review by a federal court

When the Social Security Administration notifies you of a decision on your claim, they will tell you how to appeal the decision and at what level your appeal will be heard.

My next post will focus on an explanation for each of the levels.