You lost your Social Security Disability Claim to a judge. He may have been a bad judge. You think an appeal would overrule the judge. Should I file an appeal? An appeal from a judge’s decision goes to the Appeals Council (AC). The AC takes between 12 and 24 months to rule on this appeal.

The most likely action by the AC is to return the case or return the case to the same judge who denied the claim. This will allow the judge to correct any mistakes you made in denying the claim. This new audience takes a year. If you lose, you can appeal to the AC again. Then, if the Appeals Council finds that the judge made mistakes at the second hearing, the AC will refer you to a third hearing in front of a new judge, but you’re lucky if you succeed in three years.

It used to be that a “new claim” could be filed while the Appeals Council appeal was pending. In a new ruling, Social Security has rejected this approach. The new bug is SSR 11-1p. It says that if you are appealing an adverse judge’s decision, you will no longer be able to file a “new claim” while the appeal is pending.

So, if you think you have a good case and you just had a bad judge, you have to make a decision. Do you try the Appeals Council appeals process for two to three years or do you file a “new claim” and get a new hearing before a new judge within 18 months? (Of course, your “new claim” could end up before the same bad judge.)

If you file the “new claim,” you cannot apply for benefits before the date of the last adverse decision by a judge. Therefore, you will lose benefits even if you win on your “new claim” for benefits.

In some cases, you must appeal to the Appeals Council. This is when you have a Last Insured Date (LID) issue. If you don’t appeal, the judge’s decision could be the “final decision” in your case. You cannot file a “new claim” because your last insured date (LID) has expired. For most full-time employees, the last insurance date (LID) is five years after leaving employment.

In conclusion, due to the long delays in the QA process, it may now be better to file a “new claim” rather than appeal the decision of an adverse judge.