Your right echoes there millions of SS law firms in the US, so with only a little over 100,000 lawsuits being filed at the AC level the chances of one law firm getting more than 10 cases is rare. The only reason I got two was word of mouth. I base my findings on reading case law. There are hundreds of SS cases and I have no idea how many I have read but, most cases were sent back to the lower tribune. It's usually an error made by the ALJ. That is why there are appeals at that level, and why the agency has to offer this process or the entire system would be considered unconstitutional, they have to give everyone due process of the law.

I don't consider wikipedia a reliable source, when it comes to certain subjects. Almost all articles can be edited by anyone.

Wikipedia (play /ˌwɪkɪˈpiːdi.ə/ or /ˌwɪkiˈpiːdi.ə/ WIK-i-PEE-dee-ə) is a free,[3] web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 17 million articles (over 3.5 million in English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site.[4] Wikipedia was launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger[5] and has become the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet,[2][6][7][8] ranking seventh among all websites on Alexa and having 365 million readers.[9][10]

Although the policies of Wikipedia strongly espouse verifiability and a neutral point of view, critics of Wikipedia accuse it of systemic bias and inconsistencies (including undue weight given to popular culture),[12] and allege that it favors consensus over credentials in its editorial processes.[13] Its reliability and accuracy are also targeted.[14] Other criticisms center on its susceptibility to vandalism and the addition of spurious or unverified information,[15] though scholarly work suggests that vandalism is generally short-lived,

I know, which is why I wrote that it was from Wiki. It is difficult to find official statistics on the AC approval rate.....very possibly because rather than approve or deny an application, the AC action is often to send it back to the ALJ. With the conflicting figures of 98% denial rate AND 98% approval rate by the AC being mentioned in this thread, I thought another perspective might be appreciated by OP. Obviously, AT LEAST one of the opposing 98% approval/denail ratings are wrong, but which one ? Instead of making up an answer based on what I want or believe to be correct, I posted a third party source on the matter.

I consider that a better tactic than adding my own subjective thoughts and not sharing with other posters what you based those thoughts on, like......

"I have read certain firms claim to have a 98% success rate when it comes to appeals"

"I've heard people win who have less disabilities than you."

"I haven't found anything submitted by the SS agency saying that your chances of winning are low, especially as low as 2%. I have read that millions are on SSI and SSDI so that is a lot of people who won somehow. Anyone on here who is at the AC level don't think your chances are low, if you have a good case and a experienced attorney your chances are excellent."

Whoever wrote that Wiki post wrote it wrong, it states there are no further appeals after the AC, Federal Court. It should say the next step is to file a lawsuit with the Federal Court. The 98% was written by a poster with no supporting evidence and I knew that was incorrect by my experience. After doing legal research through Westlaw, lexis nexis , Cornell University, findlaw.com, SS site and spending hours at the law library at the courthouse. I knew that figure could not be accurate. Also giving people hope by saying that their chances are excellent IMO is not cruel, but I find that writing down 98% chance of winning with no factual basis, is giving the posters unwarranted negative hope. Your chances of winning at the AC level are as good as when you file your first application, so anyone at the AC level take it from a experienced poster who has won cases at this level, if you are disabled according to SS standards, with a good attorney or even paralegal, I have even seen people pro se win, your chances of winning are EXCELLENT.

Federal Court

If you disagree with the Appeals Council’s decision or if the Appeals Council decides not to review your case, you may file a lawsuit in a federal district court.

Its good to see a representative for their client, who cannot work, with passion for their profession. Too often you read about the ones who have nothing but a lust for the money, who drop their client the first moment they have to do any real work leaving that person feeling hopeless and broken.

This is dedicated to all the people out there who think they are alone-
You are not.


--------------
Now playing: Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone
via FoxyTunes

Straight to video.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/michael-j...alone--2160009

No, they wrote it . There are no further appeals with the Social Security Administration after the AC level. The next recourse is Federal Court....as it says. The problem seems to be with your reading comprehension.

Also, you mention...."but I find that writing down 98% chance of winning with no factual basis, is giving the posters unwarranted negative hope." A 98% chance of winning would actually be pretty GOOD NEWS, so it would have NOTHING to do with giving people "unwarranted negative hope" If you meant to say 98% chance of DENIAL, the person to bring that up was Christian, the OP. Not sure how he could give himself "unwarranted negative hope."

Christian......after 7 denials in 6 years.....if only one was from the ALJ who was so negative about this being a prior WC case, I would go back through your medical documentaion to look for possible areas of weakness. I know that you specifically mentioned the ALJ being more impressed by an eval by a SSA doc than your IME from 6 years ago......that the IME was 6 years old might be part of the problem. I know that you are without insurance now, so paying for an updated eval could be an issue....What does your lawyer have to say about it ?

I wish you luck. Never give up hope.

I know what I've accomplished in my life and you are usually wrong when quoting me, If you read post 26 and 28 you will see where the 98% came from. You only stated
Originally Posted by finz View Post
Wikipedia says

Level Approval % % of denials appealed
Initial 36 33
Reconsideration 14 > 90
ALJ 63 43
AC 33 no further appeals, Federal Court

It says nothing about further recourse. I have won many motions and briefs pro se. I've been everywhere from small claims to district court to the 17th district, to the 4th district of appeals, to the Federal Court, and of course SS application to appeal council. In real courtrooms in front of judges. I am a professional poster at websleuths.com you have to submit your credentials to be listed. You don't have to register on the left under navigation in blue just click all forums and go to up to the minute professional poster, paralegal ,legalmania. Websleuths has been awarded by many major media sources as a top site and they have actually used facts from the posters there. We have all been involved in the Casey Anthony and Caylee and Haleigh case and my research was noticed by some people very close to the case. So when I see your name there, I may take some of what you have to say seriously.

"It says nothing about further recourse"

AC 33 no further appeals, Federal Court


Prettys sure that says FEDERAL COURT pretty clearly

The way the post was worded was a little confusing IMO so just to clarify.


The legal definition of appeal is:

Appeal - A complaint to a higher tribunal of an error or injustice committed by a lower tribunal, in which the error or injustice is sought to be corrected or reversed. The low tribune would be the Appeals Council and the higher tribune would be the Federal Court.
If you did file a lawsuit in the Federal Court you would be appealing the Appeals Councils ( lower tribune) decision. So good luck Chaddiwicker, please let us know how your doing. Hopefully you will win at the AC level and won't have to be bothered with the Federal Court.