When it comes to being awarded social security disability benefits in the state of Colorado, there are a few things applicants should consider before beginning the application process. On a national scale, SSD benefits are not easy to get. Only 32.1% of initial disability claims are awarded; that percentage is the same for the state of Colorado. Not only that, but applicants whose claims are denied, and who submit a Request for Reconsideration often find that their initial appeal is denied as well. In fact, only 18.9% of reconsiderations are awarded. While that award rate is higher than the national average of 11.3%, it still supports the fact that currently less than 1 in 5 CO disability appeals are awarded.
If you have applied for social security disability benefits in Colorado and both your initial claim and your appeal were denied, you can ask to have your case heard by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at a local hearing office. There are two hearing offices in the state of Colorado. The first is in Colorado Springs and the second is the Denver office.
On average, the time it takes to have an SSD hearing processed in the state of Colorado is 368 days compared to 349 days nationally. At the hearing level, Colorado social security disability claims are awarded 59.2% of the time, which is only slightly higher than the national average of 58.3%. Between the Denver hearing office and the Colorado Springs hearing office, there is only a slight variance in the approval rates for SSD cases that go before ALJs.
| Hearing Office | Approval Rate | Processing Time in Days |
| Colorado Springs | 47.3% | 380 |
| Denver | 46.7% | 356 |
Between the two hearing offices, there are 18 Administrative Law Judges who render decisions on disability cases in the state of Colorado – 5 ALJS work in Colorado Springs; the other 13 work in Denver. If you secure the services of a Colorado SSD attorney who regularly attends disability hearings, there is a good chance the attorney will be able to offer you the advantage of knowing the best way to present your disability case in order to meet specific preferences and criteria for each judge.
For more info the benefits of having a Colorado disability attorney at your side, click on the the city closest to you:
- Arvada, CO
- Boulder, CO
- Centennial, CO
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Denver, CO
- Greeley, CO
- Lakewood, CO
- Longmont, CO
- Loveland, CO
- Pueblo, CO
- Westminster, CO
You can feel free to schedule an initial consultation with a local Colorado social security disability attorney. Complete the free evaluation form on this site. There is no cost for an initial consultation and disability attorneys are not paid unless they win your case.
