The SSA with the help of the Disability Determination Service (DDS) in your state manages to deny close to 70% of all initial applications. If you live in a state that requires you to file for Reconsideration, the SSA denies close to 90% of Reconsideration requests. On the other hand, over 50% of claims that go to a hearing are approved by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Why are the numbers so far apart you might ask? The SSA would like you to believe that the system is non-adversarial and neutral, but the numbers suggest something else. The rules governing Social Security disability cases are the same in every state because SSDI and SSI are federal programs, but the disability determinations are made by people – either claims examiners at DDS or ALJs at hearing offices. Decision making is sadly a subjective process. With 50 different states and over 1,500 ALJs nationwide, you will always have a wide disparity with approval rates.
Let DAWA DISABILITY Advocates greatly improve you changes of winning your claim. Hiring a DAWA DISABILITY Advocate could increase your chances of winning by 50% or more.