Federal Court Appeals for Social Security Disability in Houston, TX
When Should You Take Your Disability Claim to a High Court?
You can’t work due to your mental or physical condition, and you were counting on Social Security Disability benefits to see you through. Your application was denied, so you filed an appeal—and were denied again! Where do you go from here?
Have you already completed these steps?
- Asking Social Security to reconsider
- Talking to an administrative law judge (ALJ)
- And asking the Social Security Appeals Council to review the judge’s decision
If so, your ultimate move is taking your case to federal court.
Federal court is your last chance to win the disability income that could make a difference in your life. It might sound intimidating, but keeping your case alive by going to federal court—instead of starting over with a new application—is a way to preserve your original application date and possibly win more back benefits based on how much time has passed since you applied.
When you take this step, you need a lawyer who’s admitted to practice law in federal court and has experience in federal court cases, like the lawyers at Makris Law Firm, serving people in Houston and around Texas.
Our dedicated attorneys can examine your case and help you make the most of your appeal.
We offer same-day and next-day consultations to get started.
Contact us today for a FREE evaluation.
What Happens in a Social Security Disability Federal Court Appeal?
The federal appeals court has the power to reverse the decision to deny you Social Security Disability benefits, or deny your claim again.
At this level of appeal, your attorney will file a lawsuit against Social Security. Your lawsuit will go to the United States District Court that oversees the area where you live in Texas. You will name the Commissioner of Social Security as the defendant in your case.
You can’t enter any new evidence or information about your health problems and work status at this stage. The purpose of this appeal is to show there was an error in the earlier decisions to deny your benefits.
You need an attorney who knows the rules and regulations of the Social Security Disability system, someone who can find problems in the way Social Security handled your claim and knows how to present those issues to a federal judge.
You won’t actually see the judge in person. The entire process unfolds through filing documents.
Makris Law Firm has been doing this kind of work in federal court—and all levels of appeal—for more than 40 years.
Should I Appeal to Federal Court, or Should I Reapply?
A lot goes into deciding whether you should file an appeal in federal court or reapply for benefits.
If your health problems have significantly changed for the worse, for example, you might want to start a new application because you can’t introduce updated information to the federal judge—only information about the past decisions you’ve received.
Starting over, however, resets your original application date, erasing possible credit you could get for all the time you’ve been waiting on your claim.
So you may want to pursue a federal court Social Security Disability appeal if there was an error in the way Social Security decided your claim and you could potentially win a larger payment for past-due benefits.
But every case is different, and you need an individual assessment of your situation.
Makris Law Firm can help you determine your best option. Our lawyers will fight for your future financial stability. And you will pay no legal fee until you win benefits.
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