If denied benefits, a claimant can proceed with the following steps: ~ The claimant may ask to be reconsidered. This is called the reconsideration step. This process is similar to the initial filing except that a different adjudicator and a different doctor make the determination. ~ If a claimant is denied a second time, he/she may appeal to a Federal Social Security Administrative Law Judge; ~ If the Administrative Law Judge denies the case, the claimant may appeal to the Social Security Appeals Council; ~ If the claimant exhausts all administrative appeals but wishes to continue pursuing the case, he/she may file a civil suit in Federal District Court and eventually appeal all the way to the United States Supreme Court.