In the vast majority of Social Security disability cases, when an administrative law judge awards a case, that’s the end of it.
The claim goes through processing, and after a few weeks or months, the claimant is awarded, and they receive disability benefits indefinitely.
But in a small number of cases, things get much more complicated. In the disability system, even if an administrative law judge holds a hearing and decides you are disabled, the court above them – known as the Appeals Council – can sometimes overrule that decision.
The Appeals Council randomly selects favorable decisions on their own. While attorneys regularly appeal denials to them, they can also decide, without any prompting from attorneys or Social Security, that a favorable decision isn’t quite supported by the evidence. In these situations, they’ll send the case back for another hearing.
This is understandably an extremely frustrating situation for claimants who just want to be done with the disability process and move on with their lives, as it means waiting several more months for a new hearing and decision.
The good news at least, is that most of the time these second hearings are formalities. The Appeals Council usually makes it clear that there are one or two particular things they have an issue with. The judge addresses these things at the new hearing, and in many cases, the claimant is again awarded benefits.
Still, it’s an unusual quirk of the disability system, and another reason why it’s a good idea to have an attorney on your side when seeking disability benefits.
