40 Year Old with Benefits Terminated
N/AOUTCOME: Fully Favorable Decision
The claimant was a female in her 40s who had been sent a continuing disability determination letter in early 2017, but because of her mental illnesses she was unable to complete the paperwork and she w ... as subsequently denied for failure to cooperate. Her benefits terminated in June of 2017. She filed a new application in January of 2019. Her application was denied in July of 2019. She came to me in October of 2019. When she hired me, she was out of time to file a timely appeal. We filed the appeal for reconsideration with a good cause statement. I was able to secure a letter from her case manager at the mental health clinic about the severity of her mental health conditions and how they prevented her from filing a timely appeal. The request for reconsideration was denied, then we requested her hearing on 6/4/2020. At the hearing we requested the judge reopen the prior determination for failure to cooperate with the disability continuation review for good cause as she had severe mental health diagnosis (including PTSD, anxiety, and depression) that precluded her from being able to timely fill out paperwork and return them to SSA. Evidence from the recent application denial was used to support this argument. The Administrative Law Judge agreed and found her disabled with an onset date of 6/19/2017 granting her all her past due benefits.
