Could Your Disability Claim Get Hung Up in the Hearings Backlog?

If you are about to file a first-time application for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, perhaps it would be wise to know something about the hearings backlog of disability claims that are currently pending decisions. These are claims that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has initially denied and are hung up within the appeals cycle to wait for a review by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).

There are just under 700,000 cases waiting for hearings, which is actually at its lowest level since 2005. SSA is working to improve the hearings backlog by opening up more hearings offices across the country and hiring more judges.  In fact, in 2009, SSA did shave off 72 days from the average waiting time to about 442 days. That may not sound very impressive, but it is a reduction of two and a half months, which could mean a lot to someone hoping to receive much-needed disability income.

Proving You Qualify for Disability Benefits

Perhaps the hearings backlog is not a concern to you if you think you can clearly prove that your disability meets SSA’s definition of disability. SSA has identified 88 medical impairments that meet that definition. SSA, through an initiative called Compassionate Allowance, speeds up the approval process for these cases. But, if your condition is not so clearly defined, the application process can become much longer, much more complicated, and your claim could end up hanging in “backlog limbo.”

Before you get started on your application, you should know that SSA needs strong, supportive medical evidence from you that explains why you have been unable to work and pay into Social Security through FICA taxes for a year or more.  In fact, your medical history and your work history are the determining factors for getting approved for disability benefits. The better you detail your documentation about your medical condition and the jobs you have had in the past, the stronger your case will be.

Perhaps your first-time application will get through SSA’s strict approval process and you will avoid a lengthy appeal that ends up in the hearings backlog altogether.   However, SSA denies over 60 percent of first-time applications because of incomplete information. You must make sure that your application fully supports SSA’s criteria for proving your eligibility for disability benefits.

Save Your Disability Claim from the Backlog Heap

It may make sense for you to get the help of a representative who understands the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application process. Finding a good advocate or disability lawyer who can expertly build a strong SSDI application for you could save your claim from falling into the backlog heap and save you months of waiting to get approved for disability benefits.