How to Win an SSI Appeal in Salinas

Do You Wish You Had Another Chance to Get Disability Benefits?

If you could still get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits—even after they denied you—what a relief it would be.

You’d have more money to pay for your basic needs, and less worry.

Is there a way past a denial?

Yes, there is.

You can appeal the decision and still get benefits that will make your life easier when you’re dealing with health problems and you can’t work.

Most people who apply for benefits get denied. Appealing is an expected part of the process.

But you’ve got to do it right. Appealing a denial is complicated. You’ll want to get a disability attorney who’s experienced in this process—like Angelina Valle.

Angelina Valle & Associates has been helping people in Salinas, San Jose, and across Northern California for over 35 years.

What You Need to Appeal a Denial of SSI Benefits

These are some of the key ingredients to fighting a denial of SSI benefits:

Moving QuicklyYou have 60 days from the time you received your denial notice to file your intention to appeal.
Analyzing what Happened: You need to identify why Social Security denied your benefits, so you can correct those points in your appeal.
Providing more Evidence: Your appeal is an opportunity to provide more and updated medical evidence about your health—possibly showing how your conditions have gotten more severe since you first applied for benefits.
Continuing to get Medical Treatment: A record of your ongoing efforts to cope with your health problems as you wait on your appeal can be important for Social Security to see.
Filling out more Forms: Just like when you applied for benefits, you have to fill out forms, and you now want to be extra careful to avoid mistakes.
Cooperating with Social Security: You may be frustrated about getting denied, but you need to promptly and politely respond to requests for information from Social Security.
Possibly Testifying for a Disability Judge: A crucial moment in your disability benefits appeal can be speaking to an administrative law judge in a hearing, which you need to prepare for thoroughly.
Getting a Professional to Help: If you didn’t work with a disability lawyer on your initial application, we strongly recommend getting one now because appealing is a much more complicated process.

Do you want to know what else you can expect from the process? You can get our disability law firm to provide a complimentary review of your case.
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What Are the Steps to Appealing an SSI Disability Benefits Denial

Every Social Security Disability appeal goes through several steps:

1. 1. Asking for a Reconsideration: First, you ask Social Security to re-look at your case. You can and should add more medical evidence to your file. Even with that, though, relatively few people are awarded benefits on reconsideration.
  2. Disability Hearing: This may be the most important step. You get the chance to tell a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) in person how your health impairments interfere with your life. People have more success winning benefits at this level, but it’s still a challenge.
  3. Appeals Council Review: If you disagree with the disability judge’s decision, you can ask Social Security’s Appeals Council to check the judge’s work. You need to identify for Social Security ways that the judge made legal and technical errors in deciding your claim.
  4. Federal Court: If you’re not satisfied with the result of your Appeals Council review, now you have to go outside Social Security—to federal court. You need an experienced lawyer for this.

At that crucial step—your administrative law judge hearing—having a disability attorney by your side can really make a difference.

One government study found your chances of winning benefits are almost triple when you bring a
representative with you to your hearing instead of going in alone.

If you were denied Supplemental Security Income benefits in Northern California, talk to Angelina Valle & Associates.

Let us help you turn around your disability claim and get the peace that comes with financial assistance from SSI.

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