In most cases, it is essential to submit your appeal of a Social Security disability denial on time, as missing the deadline can reflect poorly on an applicant. However, sometimes various circumstances prevent an applicant from submitting the application by its due date. Following is a brief overview of acceptable circumstances that make it allowable to delay submitting your disability appeal.
Extenuating circumstances
If there are extenuating circumstances that kept you from filing your appeal on time, you can appeal after the deadline has passed. You must be able to provide proof of your issue in these instances. Examples of extenuating circumstances include:
*Â Death or serious illness in your immediate family
*Â Your own serious illness occurred at the time of the deadline and prevented you from contacting the Social Security Administration (SSA) office
*Â The records the SSA needed to process your appeal were destroyed in a fire or other accident.
The need for additional information
Ideally, you should have all if the information for your appeal before the deadline. But, that is not always possible. The following situations might entitle you to a delay in submitting your appeal:
*Â You were actively looking for evidence and failed to ask for an extension before the deadline
*Â You asked for more information about the denial and are awaiting a response
Misunderstandings
Sometimes simple misunderstandings can be the basis for delaying filing your appeal. If one of the following applies to you, you may be able to delay filing your appeal:
*Â If the SSA or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave you confusing or misleading information about your claim
* If you did not understand that you were required to adhere to an appeals deadline due to a physical or mental problem
*Â If you sent your completed appeal to the wrong government office and it was not forwarded to the SSA
Failure of notification
You may delay your appeal if you did not receive a denial notice from the SSA. However, you will likely need to prove that you did not receive proper notification.
If your appeal of a Social Security disability benefits denial falls into one of the preceding categories, you may be able to proceed with the appeal after the deadline has past. If you were denied disability in Maryland, it is important to contact an advocate or representative to help you determine if you can delay your appeal.