What are the chances of winning disability or ssi benefits ?

The chances of winning social security disability or SSI disability benefits will depend on several factors. The first is simply the level your claim is at. If your disability case is at the initial claim level (meaning you have filed an application), you stand about a thirty percent chance of being approved for benefits and about a seventy percent chance of being turned down for benefits. If your disability case is at the first appeal level (known as a reconsideration or review), then your chance of being approved for benefits is only about 15-20 percent. At the third step in the social security disability and SSI process, the disability hearing, a claimant has roughly a one in two chance of being approved for benefits (40% of applicants without representation at hearings win their cases and a little over 60% of applicants with representation at hearings win their cases).

A thirty percent chance of winning disability benefits after you've filed a claim may not sound good at all. And it's certainly not, especially since if you are denied at the initial claim, or application, level, you will probably have to go through the lengthy SSA (social security administration) disability appeal process. How long does this process take? It can, in many cases, take a total of two to three years to get to a disability hearing in front of an administrative law judge and receive a decision following such a hearing. Without any question, most social security disability and SSI disability claimants who are forced to go through the appeals process endure substantial financial hardship.

Can you improve your chances of winning social security disability or SSI benefits? This next page deals with this question: Improving the odds of winning SSD or SSI benefits