What To Do If You Miss A Social Security Disability Appeal Deadline

You may have missed the deadline for filing your Social Security disability appeal, but that doesn’t mean that your case is over. You may still be able to get Social Security disability benefits. Generally, you will need to file a new application for Social Security disability unless you can prove that you missed the appeal deadline for good cause.

What’s Good Cause?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) may consider your request to file an appeal even if the deadline has passed if you can prove that you had good cause to miss the deadline. Good cause is defined in federal regulations. The regulations allow the SSA to consider…

The circumstances that kept you from filing the appeal on time.
Whether any action of the SSA misled you.
Whether you understood the requirements for filing an appeal.
Whether you had any physical, mental, or linguistic limitations that kept you from filing the appeal on time. This may include limited English proficiency.

The regulations go on to provide examples of good cause, which include:

Being seriously ill.
The serious illness or death of a close family member.
The destruction of important records by a fire or other emergency.
The failure to get the information you needed to file the appeal, despite your diligent efforts to do so,
Your receiving incorrect information from the SSA or your request for additional information not being answered in a timely way.

This list is not all-inclusive and other unusual or unavoidable circumstances may also exist which can lead the SSA to find that you had good cause to miss the deadline and allow your appeal to move forward.

If you are appealing a Social Security disability finding, then it is important to have an attorney working on your side. Please start a live chat with us today to find out more information about protecting your rights and potential Social Security disability benefits.

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