The timeline for you or your attorney to submit evidence of your disability to the Social Security Administration (SSA) recently become much shorter.

In May of 2017, the SSA implemented a new rule on submitting evidence. If you want the judge to look at any new medical records, they must be submitted at least 5 business days before your hearing. If you miss the deadline, the judge can now legally ignore the new evidence, no matter how important it is.

Before this new rule, the SSA’s disability judges were required to consider all medical evidence of your disability before they could decide your case, no matter when it was submitted or where it came from. This burden was very high — the SSA was even required to try to take action to find proof on its own. Under the new 2017 rule, if your new evidence is important but wasn’t turned over at least 5 business days before the hearing, you may have to prove that there were some “unusual, unexpected, or unavoidable circumstances beyond your control [that] prevented you from informing [SSA] about or submitting the evidence earlier.”

Know your rights!  This new rule also means that Social Security has to give you at least 75-day notice before your hearing. Unfortunately, we law firm have also seen Social Security sending people forms asking them to waive their right to this notice. If you receive a form asking to waive your rights, consult with an attorney before signing anything. We are provide free consultations.

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