How Long Does It Take To Get My Disability Claim Approved?

A disability claim can take days – or years – to get approved

The question we hear most often is, “How long is this process going to take?” We understand it is a critical question and, as our name Quikaid suggests, we do everything we can to get you approved as quickly as possible. But the reality of the matter is that the process does take time – due primarily to Social Security’s complex and lengthy evaluation process, their limited resources, and their substantial backlog of disability claims.

The Disability Timeline

Pursuing a disability claim is like running around a track – with hurdles. The tricky thing with a disability claim is that you do not know if you need to run all the way around the track or if the race will be won after the ¼ lap mark. But you need to keep running the race as fast as you can and clear any hurdles presented. A disability attorney or professional disability representative, such as Quikaid, has run around the track thousands of times. We have seen and overcome virtually every hurdle and we know how to get to the finish line efficiently.

High-Level Disability Claim Timeline

You should familiarize yourself with the phases of a disability claim, but an overview of the timeline is presented below.

• Initial Application Level: 1 – 4 months
• Reconsideration Level: 1 – 3 months
• Hearing Level: 9 – 24 months
• Total: 1 – 31 months

Why do some claims take 1 month, and others take 31 months?

There are several factors that determine how long your claim will take, including the following, in approximate order of significance:

1. Your disability representative (strong firms get claims approved faster);
2. The severity of your medical condition(s) (strong claims get approved faster);
3. The strength of your medical evidence (well-supported claims get approved faster);
4. The volume of your medical evidence (if there are thousands of pages of medical evidence to gather and review, this does take time);
5. Your age (the older you are, the faster we can get it approved);
6. The type of work you did (claimants with physical work history tend to get approved faster);
7. The efficiency of the local Field Office that is handling your claim;
8. The efficiency of the Disability Determination Service that is adjudicating your claim at the Initial Application and Reconsideration phases;
9. The efficiency of the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) and Administrative Law Judge who is handling your Hearing;

If you want to get your claim approved quickly, contact us now to get started. We will work hard and smart on your behalf until your benefits are received.

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