SSDI Denied? Here Is What to Do Next.

Most Approvals Come on Appeal, Not at Initial Review

SSA denies more than 60 percent of initial SSDI applications in New York. If your claim is denied, federal regulations under 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.900 et seq. give you four levels of administrative appeal before you can sue in federal court. Level 1 is Reconsideration — a fresh review by a different DDS examiner. Reconsideration approval rates are low (roughly 10-15 percent), but the step is mandatory before you can request a hearing. You have 60 days from the denial notice (plus 5 days for mailing) to file at each level. Missing any deadline without good cause generally forces you to start over.

Level 2 is the ALJ Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. This is where most SSDI claims are won. National approval rates at the ALJ stage have historically run 45-55 percent, and claimants with attorneys win significantly more often than those without. The judge reviews your complete record, hears your testimony, and questions a vocational expert about jobs you might still be able to do. Level 3, the Appeals Council, reviews ALJ decisions for legal error but rarely overturns on the merits — it remands flawed decisions back to a new ALJ. Level 4 is a civil action in U.S. District Court under 42 U.S.C. §405(g), where a federal judge reviews the administrative record for substantial evidence.

Every level of appeal has strict rules about what new evidence you can introduce and what legal arguments survive. An attorney who tracks SSR rulings, Circuit Court precedent, and the current Grid Rules gives you a structural advantage at every stage. Our team has represented claimants through all four levels, including federal district court petitions in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. We charge no fee unless we win — 25 percent of back pay, capped at $7,200 by federal law.