Around 2 million disabled worker claims for disability benefits are filed each year with the Social Security Administration;
About 70% of those claims are denied at the Initial Application level;
Of that 70%, only about 13% are approved at the Reconsideration level;
Of the remainder, about 47% are approved at the ALJ Hearing level;
Of the 53% of those cases that are NOT approved at the ALJ Hearing level and then appealed to the Appeals Council, 90% of the time the Appeals Council agrees with the ALJ’s denial of benefits.
Of those cases denied by the Appeals Council and then filed in Federal Court, just under half are either reversed (and benefits paid) or remanded to the ALJ level for further action.