For people who have gone through the first three levels of the Social Security Administration appeal process to challenge a denial of benefits, federal court appeals offer the last hope to win benefits. Getting a federal court to review a denial of benefits is not easy because it involves filing a civil lawsuit in a federal district court against the Social Security Administration.
In order to reach the final level of the disability appeal process, you would have gone through three levels of appeals with the following outcomes:
You have only 60 days from receiving notice of the action taken by the Appeals Council on your claim to file a civil action in the U.S. District Court. The federal court disability appeals process is the final level of appeal, and it is also the most complicated because it requires knowledge of federal laws and the procedures that must be followed in cases brought and heard in the federal court system.
A disability appeal lawyer at Disability Partners, PLLC, begins the federal court disability appeals process by filing a complaint with the court in the federal judicial district where you live. The clerk of the court issues a summons that begins the federal court appeal process.
The plaintiff in federal court appeals of disability benefit denials is the claimant. The defendant is the commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Once the clerk of the court issues the summons, the case follows a very specific federal court appeals timeline.
First, your federal appeals lawyer serves a copy of the summons and the complaint on the Office of the General Council of the Social Security Administration. The complaint includes the reasons why the court should overturn the denial of benefits or other adverse determination that was made on your claim for benefits.
Social Security has a limited amount of time to respond to the complaint with its answer. The answer contains the reasons why the SSA believes that the determination made on your claim was the correct one.
The lawyers by sides in the lawsuit present briefs to the federal judge assigned to hear the case containing arguments on behalf of their respective clients. The judge will either send the case back for additional action by an administrative law judge, agree with the determination made by the SSA on your claim, or overturn the determination and grant you disability benefits.
If your claim for disability benefits was denied, get help with an appeal from a disability lawyer at Disability Partners, PLLC. Contact us today for a free consultation.