Many Social Security disability claims are denied and go for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). If the judge denies the claim, the next appeal is before the Appeals Council (AC).
The Appeals Council is a group of administrative law judges within the Social Security Administration, headquartered at Falls Church, Virginia.
Review by the Appeals Council will be a paper review; no hearing will be held. The AC will decide whether the Administrative Law Judge's decision was correct. If so, the decision will stand and the case remains denied.
If the AC concludes that the ALJ's decision was not correct, it has two options:
1. It remands the decision, returning it to the judge for further action, probably a second hearing. This occurs in less than 15 percent of cases before the AC.
2. The Appeals Council can overturn the judge's decision and award benefits on its own. This happens in less than 5 percent of cases before the AC.
In greater than 80 percent of Appeals Council cases, the judge's decision is considered proper and the AC leaves the decision standing without any change.
Is it worth appealing to the Appeals Council? It may be. However, you should have your denial reviewed by a competent professional. All cases should not be appealed to the AC. There should be at least one clear argument of impropriety in the Administrative Law Judge's decision or handling of the hearing. It isn't enough just to believe that you are disabled but the judge found otherwise. The AC will not reverse or remand a decision on this ground.
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