The Appeals Process

The Law Office of Clark, James, Hanlin, and Hunt

Alabama SSD Federal Court of Appeals Lawyers

In certain cases, a person's application for disability benefits can be denied all the way through the administrative appeals process. When this happens, an appeal can then be filed with a Federal District Court. Here, a Federal Judge will review your case to determine if the Social Security Administration (SSA) was in error in denying your claim. The Social Security Disability attorneys at Clark, James, Hanlin, and Hunt prepare a brief on your behalf, identifying reasons related to your medical condition, the law, and procedural issues that rest in your favor. Experienced in Federal Court, our SSI disability lawyers understand what evidence and legal matters to focus on in successfully resolving your case.

If your administrative appeals have been exhausted, contact SSD Federal Court appeals lawyers at Clark, James, Hanlin, and Hunt today. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, we provide free consultations, representing clients in Shelby, Walker, Montgomery, Madison and Jefferson Counties and throughout North and Central Alabama.

Appealing Your Case – What’s Involved

By and large in Alabama, there are four steps in the appeals process:

1. Initial disability review: Your initial application will be reviewed to determine if your medical condition qualifies you for disability benefits.
2. Administrative Hearing appeal: If your initial application is denied, you have 60 days to seek an administrative hearings appeal. An Administrative Law Judge will consider medical evidence from your doctors and testimony offered by you. The judge bases his decision on the evidence before him, ignoring previous denials and the reasons for them. The hearing is informal and represents the best opportunity to have your application approved.
3. Appeals Council review: If your hearing appeal is unsuccessful, you have 60 days to ask the Social Security Administration's Appeals Council to review your case. While you can send in a written argument, new evidence will generally not be considered. The Council will review your file and documentation already submitted.
4. Federal Court review: Should your case be denied by the Appeals Council, you have 60 days to file a lawsuit in your Federal District Court. The court will not consider new evidence. Only the transcript from your administrative law hearing and medical records will be reviewed by the judge.

What the Federal Level Demands

It is essential that your case be prepared properly when entering an appeal at the Federal Court level. And, since the judge will review whether or not proper procedure was followed by the Social Security Administration, it is crucial that you have a Social Security Disability lawyer by your side capable of answering legal and procedural questions raised by the court.

Experienced and Effective

Our Social Security appeals attorneys have a great deal of experience entering appeals in Federal Court and understand how to prepare them and defend them in court. For more information regarding our practice, contact SSD Federal Court appeals attorneys at Clark, James, Hanlin, and Hunt today.

The law firm of Clark, James, Hanlin, and Hunt, located in Birmingham, Alabama, represents clients throughout Montgomery, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Hoover, Bessemer, Gadsden, Cullman, Jasper, Anniston, Pell City, Decatur, Selma, Florence, Scottsboro and Fort Payne.