How many times can I apply for disability in NC?

by Tim Moore. Free Case Evaluation here.

There is no limit as to how many times you can apply for disability in North Carolina, or any state. As a former disability examiner in North Carolina, and as a Disability Representative who handles cases for claimants, I have found that too many people make this mistake: they file new applications after being denied instead of filing an appeal.

In fact, as a disability examiner, I have seen individuals file more than a dozen times. Of course, this meant that they were also turned down a dozen times.

Note: if you need help with a disability claim, contact us at 919-890-8519.

If those individuals had, after being denied the first time, chosen to file a request for reconsideration appeal instead of filing a new claim, they would have put themselves in a far better position. Reconsideration appeals are also denied at a high rate. But, if you are denied on a reconsideration, you are then permitted to to request a disability hearing before a Social Security Judge. And you cannot do this without having gone through the reconsideration phase first.

Hearings before Administrative Law Judges in North Carolina will represent a person’s best chance of being approved. There are several reasons for this.

1. You get to meet your decision maker, the judge.
2. You are allowed to have a disability representative present at the hearing and to speak for you.
3. Your representative will have gathered additional medical evidence to support your case including statements from your doctors.
4. Your representative will put together a legal argument for why you should be approved under Social Security law.

So, while you can apply for disability as many times as you want in North Carolina, the best strategy is to file for disability once, and then start filing appeals if you are denied on your case.