I'm Scott Rubin and I'm a Social Security Disability attorney. Our law firm Rubin & Badame, Attorneys at Law, P.C. handles Social Security cases all throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.
Clients often ask me the following question: If I applied before and I was denied, can I reopen that application? Am I able to receive compensation from before the last time I applied and I was denied? And the answer is, it depends. This falls under the ruling 17-3P.
Reopening a claim for SSI
If the claimant applies within one year of being denied not by a judge but by the state, he can ask that his previous application be reopened. If it's a claim for SSI only, you have two years to request that your previous application be reopened again. That means your current application must be within two years of your last denial.
Reopening a claim for SSD
But let's say you're applying for Social Security Disability, meaning that you have paid enough in taxes, and your application is within four years of your last state denial, again not a judge but a state denial. In that case, you can ask and have the previous matter reopened. This should be done professionally and correctly with the help of a Social Security attorney. By doing this, the individual could come away with a substantial sum of money.