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U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on SSDI appeals process

On Behalf of | May 5, 2021 | Social Security Disability Insurance

Residents of Illinois and Indiana are hard workers, but sometimes due to a severe illness or injury, working a nine-to-five job or even a part-time job becomes impossible. When this happens, they may decide to pursue Social Security disability benefits (SSDI).

The SSDI appeals process

The road towards approval of SSDI benefits is a long one. Many times, a person’s initial application is denied. When that happens, the next step in the appeals process is reconsideration. However, many applications are denied at that level as well. After that is a hearing before an administrative law judge, and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court could impact the outcome of some of these hearings.

The Supreme Court’s ruling

In a unanimous ruling in Carr v. Saul, No. 19–1442, April 22, 2021the Supreme Court weighed in on the constitutional authority of administrative law judges in the Social Security Administration. The argument made by the plaintiffs was that exhaustion of the issue of constitutional appointment would not be appropriate because there was no statutory mandate of exhaustion. For a judge to require it would break historical precedent. The government argued that exhaustion was necessary for institutional efficiency. The Supreme Court ruled that applicants for SSDI benefits need not administratively exhaust their constitutional claims before seeking judicial review.

Learn more about SSDI claims

This ruling may benefit some of those seeking SSDI benefits, but points to the complexity of this program. People seeking SSDI benefits still have a high hill to climb.

This post is for educational purposes only and does not contain legal advice. Our firm’s website on SSDI appeals may be of interest to those who want to learn more about this topic.