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When you get a denial letter for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), most of the time you should appeal the decision. Don’t take the rejection as the last word.
Waiting months to hear back about your SSI application, only to get denied benefits, feels devastating. You have health problems and can’t work. You can’t pay your bills.
But there is hope that you can get another chance at a better situation. Take the next steps with help from the Lachman & Gorton Binghamton disability appeal lawyers.
You’re not the only one going through this. The Social Security Administration (SSA) denies most people the first time they apply for disability benefits.
The disability attorneys at Lachman & Gorton Law Office have helped thousands of people in Upstate New York obtain the SSI benefits they need.
Each disability claim is different. We’ll approach your SSI Disability appeal with the care and personal attention it deserves.
And you won’t pay an attorney’s fee unless you win benefits.
Start by reading your denial letter from Social Security to see if you can tell why they denied you, then have our SSI disability appeal lawyers take a closer look at your case.
Contact us to file your appeal before the 60-day deadline.
Social Security sets strict deadlines for disability appeals. You have to act within 60 days.
Our Upstate NY disability attorneys can help you file the forms needed to ask for reconsideration. This prompts another examiner at Social Security to look at your SSI disability claim and determine if you should receive benefits.
Make sure you continue going to doctor’s appointments. Social Security will want to see that you’re still treating your health issues, and any new medical records about your condition could potentially boost your appeal.
At this early stage, you probably have a few questions about disability benefits appeals. One we hear often is:
“Should I appeal or start over with a new SSI application?”
An SSI disability appeal is almost always better than starting over. The back pay you’ll be awarded when you win is a major reason.
You won’t just receive monthly benefits once Social Security approves your claim. You’ll also be awarded back benefits that could date back to the first full month after you applied for SSI.
Let’s say you originally applied in December 2024, but you were rejected in July 2025. If your SSI appeal is successful, you can still receive benefits dating back to January 2025 (the first full month after your application date).
Or if Social Security decides your eligibility for SSI began at a later date, your benefits will date back to that time.
If you start your application over, however, the timer resets. In this example, even if you submitted a new application immediately, August 2025 would be the earliest month you’re eligible for SSI back pay.
That’s potentially months of disability benefits lost.
In Binghamton, Elmira, Oneonta, Rochester and across Upstate New York, talk to our disability lawyers before you abandon your original SSI claim. We help people appeal both SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) denials.
Lachman & Gorton SSI disability appeal attorneys handle initial appeals and advanced appeals. We can help you every step of the way.
Start with a FREE SSI disability appeal consultation.
Many claims are still denied at the first step of appealing, the reconsideration stage.
Familiarize yourself with the next steps of the SSI Disability appeal process:
After getting denied during reconsideration, you’ll be able to request a disability hearing. This hearing allows you to make your case to an administrative law judge (ALJ), and it’s likely your best chance to win benefits.
Having a Social Security Disability lawyer is especially important here. When you hire a big company to help with your SSI disability claim, you may get a non-lawyer advocate instead of a licensed lawyer to help with your appeal.
Appeals are complex, with new evidence, arguments and documents to file. When you’re at a hearing in front of a disability judge, a disability lawyer has the most training and experience to handle the process.
If the judge rules against you, you can then ask the Appeals Council at Social Security to review the ruling. They could reverse the decision or send you back to a fresh disability hearing.
This gets even more legally technical. You’ll need to file documents with the Appeals Council arguing why the disability judge decided in error based on the laws, requirements and procedures of Social Security Disability.
If that fails, the last option is filing a civil suit in federal court. Not all lawyers do that. But New York disability attorney Peter Gorton brings over 75 disability cases a year to U.S. District Court. He knows how to review disability cases to determine their chances of success in federal court.
Each stage of the appeals process is intimidating, but our Binghamton disability law firm can help you throughout.
It’s tough to handle an SSI disability appeal on your own. There’s a lot of paperwork. There are tight deadlines.
A Binghamton disability lawyer can support you by:
If your health problems prevent you from working and earning a living, you can’t leave your SSI disability appeal to chance. Your financial stability is too important.
Our Elmira disability lawyers have been helping people across Upstate NY with their SSI disability claims for decades. We know what the SSA looks for and how to navigate appeals.
If you’ve been denied SSI benefits, don’t delay.