If you lose your hearing, do not give up! I have observed that most cases that are lost are still good cases. Sometimes a client loses because s/he was unrepresented and did not realize that s/he needed the help of a lawyer who could have asked the right questions and acquired necessary evidence. Sometimes a client met with an ALJ who simply did not like the case or the client. Many cases can still be won after losing!

Appeals Council
Federal District Court

If you lose your hearing, the next phase is Appeals Council Review. Usually, the Appeals Council only affirms the bad ALJ decision. The Appeals Council refers to this as “Declining Review.” When you receive a bad Appeals Council decision, again do not give up. You still have a good chance of getting relief in Federal District Court, the next level of appeal.

Strict deadlines also apply to your appealing to the Appeals Council and Federal District Court. So call a lawyer right away to avoid missing a deadline and losing a winnable case. Most notices denying a claim contain a 60-day deadline from the day you received the notice.

I represent clients who have lost their hearings. If you have lost your hearing and did not have a lawyer, or if the lawyer does not take cases to the Appeals Council or to Federal District Court, please contact me at (503) 620-3171 or at slgabin@pacifier.com for a free in-person consultation.

Often, I advise my clients who have lost to go straight to Vocational Rehabilitation and to request help finding the very work the Judge found the client able to do. This assessment might help the client find work, or, more typically, through formal evaluations and testing, help show why the client cannot work.