Once you are approved for benefits, you will receive a letter from the judge explaining her decision. Your local Social Security Administration (“SSA”) office should receive the same letter. Then you will receive a letter or a series of letters stating how much your monthly…
What is a Partially Favorable Decision for Disability Benefits?
What is a partially favorable decision?
- At each level, usually, you either get turned down, or you get a full award of disability all the way back to when you stopped working.
- But sometimes the Social Security Administration will give you a “partially favorable” decision.
Partially favorable decisions come in two types:
- Where the Social Security Administration says that your used to be disabled for a period of time, and pays you a check covering all the months during which it admits you were disabled, or
- Where the Social Security Administration says that you are now disabled, and starts paying you monthly checks, but says you only became disabled recently, and does not pay you your full back-time benefit.
What should you do if you get a partially favorable decision?
The answer is always the same: Go down to the Social Security Administration and ask them for all of your records, and Go to an experienced Social Security lawyer and ask him whether or not it is a good idea to appeal.
Why should I talk to a lawyer before I decide whether to appeal?
- Because, if it is a close case, where you were lucky to get any benefits, on appeal the judge might say you never should have gotten anything, and cut you off.
- Because, on the other hand, if it is a strong case, and you don’t appeal, you might get a smaller monthly check, or no check at all.
- Because there is no way for you to tell, without talking to an experienced Social Security lawyer, whether is best to appeal, or best not to appeal.
When is it smarter to appeal?
- For example, if you stop working, to get Social Security disability benefits, you have to prove you became disabled during a time period of only a few years after you stopped working.
- If the Social Security Administration says you became disabled after that time period, and you don’t appeal, you might never be able to get Social Security disability, even though the decision is “partially favorable.” For some people the “partially favorable” benefit is a $15/month SSI check, and the potential benefit, if you appeal, would be a $1,800/month Social Security disability check.
When is it smarter not to appeal?
- For example, the Social Security Administration might give you almost all the benefits to you that you asked for, except for a few months of benefits.
- And, if you appeal, if the evidence is weak, the judge might cut off your check.
There are hundreds of other possibilities, and you shouldn’t gamble with your future by guessing.
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