Has anyone been through the appeals?

Has anyone ever won a social security disability case at the appeals council level?

• Does anyone know anyone that has and if so how long did it take for the appeals council to make a decision and how long did it take to get back pay. I have already submitted an appeal to the appeals council, I was wondering if I should just start over again with a new application. Thank you so much, any info would be greatly appreciated.

• Answer:

  It will be at the Appeals Council level for about a year. If you were to file a new claim it would simply be forwarded to be associated with the claim you have already pending. Approvals at the Appeals Council level are few and far between although sometimes they do return cases to the ALJ to reconsider. The Appeals Council decision is the last decision to be made by the Social Security Administration on a claim. To appeal it further you will have to file an appeal with the US Federal District Court. If that is denied, you can start all over again. Eventually, Social Security stops making medical decisions and will automatically deny a claim. That happens when a medical decision has been made after your date last insured. You will find your date last insured on your hearing decision. The reason claims are automatically denied is because no evidence after date last insured is considered in determining a disability. You must be disabled by date last insured. If you were to become disabled after date last insured you would not be entitled to Social Security benefits (but maybe SSI which is the federal welfare program for the disabled).