Individuals who have applied or will be applying for social security disability benefits in the state of Georgia will need to be able to present sufficient evidence that supports the claim that they have suffered an injury which keeps them out of the workforce for at least a year. The Social Security Administration renders decisions on disability cases based on stringent eligibility criteria. More than 70% of the time, initial Georgia social security disability claims are denied for one reason or another and that is typical. Across the nation, only 32.1% of initial SSD cases are approved. Cases that are denied can be brought back before the SSA for reconsideration. Still, only 11.3% of appeals are approved both in the state of Georgia and nationally. For many disability applicants, the willingness to request a second appeal called a hearing is the key to their ultimate victory. Disability hearings are usually sent before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in one of six hearing offices in the state.
The process for getting your case heard by an ALJ is neither simple nor quick. Nationwide, the average time it takes to process a hearing request is 349 days. In the state of Georgia, that time stretches to 361 days. After nearly of year of waiting for your SSD case, you have a 61.7% chance of having your case awarded in Georgia. The average approval rate is 58.3% nationally. The approval rates vary from hearing office to hearing office and depending on which ALJ is deciding your case.
| Hearing Office | Approval Rate | Processing Time in Days |
| Augusta | 44.7% | 324 |
| Savannah | 49.0% | 332 |
| Atlanta Downtown | 57.8% | 375 |
| Macon | 44.3% | 443 |
| Atlanta North | 54.0% | 332 |
| Covington | 56.0% | 359 |
As of second quarter 2012, there are 66 ALJs making decisions on Georgia social security disability cases. The judges are dispersed accordingly: Atlanta Downtown has 16 judges, Atlanta North has 13 judges, the Augusta and Covington hearing offices have 10 judges each, Macon has 9 judges and Savannah has 8 judges. It is often the case that Georgia disability lawyers will regularly attend disability hearings at one or more of these offices. When that is the case, the attorney has a better chance of presenting a strong case before an ALJ because the attorney has become familiar with the judge’s respective preferences.
Click on the city nearest to you for information about hiring a social security disability attorney in Georgia:
- Albany, GA
- Athens, GA
- Augusta, GA
- Atlanta, GA
- Columbus, GA
- Macon, GA
- Roswell, GA
- Savannah, GA
- Sandy Springs, GA
- Warner Robbins, GA
Fill out the evaluation form that is available on this site to schedule your free initial consultation with a Georgia social security attorney. You are not required to pay any attorney’s fees unless your disability lawyer wins your case.
