Every year, the government releases a report listing both the percentage of applicants who were accepted to the program nationally and the numbers for individual states and cities with hearing offices. For 2012, the overall national acceptance average was 44.7 percent – less than half. And that’s counting both those who were immediately accepted and people who won their claim after “reconsideration.”
Those numbers might not seem particularly great if you’re thinking about applying, but it’s not all bad news.
Lots of People Win SSD Benefits on Reconsideration
Reconsideration is where you have to fight your denial and convince the SSA to change their mind. Nationally, just under 12 percent of recipients got their benefits from taking this route. Having to go this route isn’t ideal, but it does go to show that Social Security is at least sometimes willing to admit it when they make mistakes.
Something else that’s lost in those numbers is whether or not the applicants in question had legal representation. While no such statistics seem to be readily available, I can tell you from my many years of experience that your chances of success increase considerably when you hire a disability lawyer.
The simple truth is that disability claims are complicated and confusing, and when people decide to go the DIY route, they often make mistakes that disqualify their claim. If this has happened to you, don’t compound the problem by just giving up after your denial. You can still win on reconsideration – especially in Texas.
For a free legal consultation, call 800-562-9830
Allowance Rates for Texas Social Security Disability Beat the Average
You probably wouldn’t expect a state known for its very conservative views to award Social Security Disability benefits to a higher percentage of applicants than the national average, but that’s exactly what happened in 2012. While across the country less than 45 percent of claimants won, that number was 47.6 percent in Texas. Perhaps even more significant, 13.3 percent of those winners got their benefits because they challenged their initial denial and changed minds during reconsideration.
If you’re disabled and living in Texas, this is very important to know, because it means that you shouldn’t just give up on benefits if Social Security says no the first time around. Ensure you get the best legal team working on your case and fight to get what you know you deserve.
Want to learn more about the Social Security Disability process before diving in? Download our free disability eBook. And you can keep up with the latest news by checking back with our blog every week. Knowledge is a weapon, and this is one fight you don’t want to go into unarmed.
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