When an individual applies for Social Security Disability benefits, the chances of their application being denied during the initial stage of the application process are actually greater than their chances of the application being approved. In fact, it has been estimated that approximately 70 percent of the initial claims that are received by the Social Security Administration each year are denied. When an application for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income are denied, that applicant must appeal the SSA’s denial in order to obtain the benefits they may be entitled to.
A Social Security Disability appeal normally consists of two stages including a request for reconsideration and a disability hearing. Nearly 90 percent of all reconsideration requests are also denied, which means that most applicants who are perusing an appeal will have to request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge in order to overturn the SSA’s decision to deny their benefits.
In order to obtain a hearing before an administrative law judge, the Social Security Disability applicant must file a formal request with the Social Security Administration. This request is made via Form HA-501.
Form HA-501 can be downloaded from the Social Security Administration’s website. Once it has been downloaded and printed, it must be filled out, signed and mailed back to your local Social Security office. If you are working with a Social Security Disability attorney, you will not need to download or submit the form as your attorney will do this for you on your behalf. Once the SSA has received form HA-501 from you or your attorney, they can begin the process of scheduling a disability hearing for you in front of an ALJ. Finally, it is important that you prepare for you disability hearing.
