One thing I often hear from claimants is that they hired an attorney to help “speed up” their disability case. Unfortunately, that is much easier said than done as attorneys do not have the ability to single-handedly speed up the process. There are several options to speed up the case, but they are not available in every instance. When to use each tool – and whether a particular tool is even a possibility in your case – is where a lawyer’s skills and expertise can come into play.
The first way you may be able to expedite your case is to request an on-the-record review and decision. This can sometimes eliminate the need for a hearing, but is only used if the attorney believes that the medical evidence supporting your case is very strong. This is most typically used if your condition has significantly worsened since the previous denial at the reconsideration level or if your claim was improperly denied at the reconsideration level due to erroneous handling or a misinterpretation of your medical evidence.
Another way to speed up the processing time is to request that the hearing be expedited based on dire need. Unfortunately, the parameters for this are very strict and are often only granted if you are in danger of an eviction or foreclosure, or are losing access to medical treatment or prescriptions. For a dire needs request to be processed, you need to present evidence of the dire need, including an eviction or foreclosure notice, if applicable. Due to the high level of backlogged cases at hearing offices around the country, Social Security is very selective as to which cases they allow to be expedited.
The last way a case can occasionally be expedited is through a congressional inquiry. This is often done by the claimant reaching out to their Congressional representative (the one in Washington, DC) and asking their office to put out a formal inquiry to Social Security, asking why the case is taking so long.
While none of these methods are guaranteed to work (and not all of them are available in every situation), it may be worth speaking to an attorney about your options with respect to getting your case processed quicker. The worst thing they can say is “we can’t do that with this case,” and at least you will know you tried.