What is a quality review?
Hi, I am Sharon Christie, your nurse attorney for Social Security Disability Benefits. Sometimes cases are decided but then are sent for what is called a quality review, and what does that mean? Well, We see this a lot at the initial stage after we filed the application and at the reconsideration stage. We will learn that a decision has been made but it has been sent for quality review. That means that the case has been sent to a higher level for review to see if the person who made the decision in your case made the correct decision.
Now I can tell you what my experiences with quality reviews are. My experience is that it happens in cases that have been approved by someone but for whatever reason Social Security has decided that decisions needs to be reviewed and sometimes we will see cases that go to quality review and come back as an approval, and sometimes we will see cases that go to quality review and come back as a denial. In those cases as we move further on in the case and it gets to the point of asking for a hearing I am able to then download the electronic file and take a look at the decision making process before we get to the hearing, and that is where I will see that a case has actually been approved by one decision maker, but then sent to quality review and that decision was changed.
So that is why I saw in my experience that is what we say quality reviews happens randomly and it does not happen to a large percentage of cases but I can tell you that recently within the last year we have seen a lot more cases going to quality review. So if that is what happens in your case you know here is what you know. A decision has been made but you are going to have to wait until the quality review process is finished and that can take 30 days or longer. before you will get your decision just keep checking in on the status until you do receive the written decision.
About Sharon Christie Law:
Sharon Christie is the owner and founder of Sharon Christie Law, and is an attorney and former nurse. Her team of professionals and paraprofessionals help people win Social Security Disability Benefits! Our Social Security Disability Law Firm serves clients in Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia, and Washington DC.