What Is Good Cause for Missing My Disability Hearing?

If you missed a scheduled Social Security disability hearing, your claim is not automatically denied. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing your claim may decide that you had good cause for missing your disability hearing. Depending on the judge’s decision, your hearing process can continue, and the hearing will be rescheduled or your request will be dismissed. 

A disability hearing dismissal is different from the judge reviewing your disability claim and deciding that you don’t meet Social Security Administration (SSA) disability requirements for benefits. That’s a denial, which is not the focus of this article.

This article discusses what a judge may deem “good cause” for missing a disability hearing and your next steps after a dismissal.

Good Cause for Missing a Disability Hearing

Missing an ALJ hearing can definitely be cause for concern. It typically takes six months to over a year to get a hearing scheduled depending on the hearing office’s backlog. The hearing follows two previous denials, one after the initial claim, and the second after the first appeal, called reconsideration. Learn more about the disability appeals process.

If you can’t attend as scheduled, you’re supposed to ask to have your disability hearing rescheduled within 30 days of receiving your hearing notice. SSA rules say you must request a new ALJ hearing date no later than five days before the hearing.

Yet, things can happen that cause you to miss an ALJ hearing. Before dismissing your ALJ hearing request, the judge will look at what happened and why you weren’t able to attend. Did you have a  reasonable explanation or “good cause” for not showing up? The judge will consider physical, mental, educational, and language limitations that may have affected your ability to attend the hearing.

Reasons That Support Good Cause

• You didn’t receive proper notice of the scheduled hearing.
• An unforeseeable medical emergency prevented you from attending and contacting the hearing office beforehand.
• An unexpected event caused transportation or communication problems that prevented you from appearing or contacting the hearing office before the hearing.
• Your representative stopped representing you close to the hearing and you didn’t know they had stopped or wouldn’t attend the hearing.
• Other circumstances like a family emergency prevented you from appearing or contacting the hearing office in time.

None of these situations proves you had good cause. The judge weighs what happened, how it kept you from attending, and why you couldn’t contact the hearing office at least five days before the hearing.

If you can prove that you didn’t get the hearing notice, SSA’s rules say the hearing should be rescheduled.

Explaining Why You Missed the Hearing

If the SSA needs more information about why you missed an ALJ hearing, the hearing office may send you Form HA-L90, Request to Show Cause for Failure to Appear, where you can explain what happened. You’ll have 10 days to complete and return this form.

In your good cause explanation, describe what happened in detail, including when it happened and how it kept you from attending. Also explain why you didn’t contact the hearing office.

You won’t get this form if the judge already has enough information to decide that you had good cause for missing your disability hearing. 

Supporting Information and Documentation

Records can help you explain why you missed the hearing. Although they don’t prove that you had good cause, they support your explanation of what happened.

Depending on what happened, helpful records include:

• Hospital, emergency room, or urgent care paperwork
• A tow or repair receipt if your car broke down
• A public transportation cancellation or delay notice
• A hearing notice sent to an old or incorrect address
• Records related to an unexpected family emergency

What a Good Cause Decision Means for Your Hearing

If the judge finds that you had good cause for missing the hearing, the hearing office will reschedule your disability hearing and send you a new notice. When you get the notice, make sure that the date and time works for you and ask for help if you need it. It’s crucial that you make every effort to attend a rescheduled hearing. Don’t mistake good cause for an approval. It only means your hearing process will continue.

You will likely have to wait months for the new hearing because of the backlog of hearings at offices around the country. You can use this time to prepare for your ALJ hearing and/or hire a disability representative if you don’t have one.

If the judge finds that you didn’t have a good reason to miss your hearing, they will dismiss your hearing request. We discuss your options after an ALJ hearing dismissal next.

Your Next Steps After a Dismissal

If you receive a disability hearing dismissal, the notice will explain why and what you can do next. Read it closely and check the deadline.

One option is a request to vacate the dismissal, which means asking the judge to undo it and reopen your hearing request. The other is asking the Appeals Council to review the dismissal. You cannot do both.

In your request to vacate the dismissal, explain why the dismissal was wrong or why you had good cause for not attending. If the judge agrees, the dismissal is removed, and the hearing process continues with a rescheduled hearing.

If you opt for an Appeals Council review, you can file online through the SSA’s website. The online process lets you submit the request and explain why you disagree with the judge’s dismissal.

You can also explain why you disagree with the dismissal by completing Form HA-520, Request for Review of Hearing Decision/Order, and mailing or faxing it to the SSA. Either way you file the Appeals Council review, it’s due within 60 days of the dismissal notice date.

The Appeals Council will review the dismissal and decide if it should stand or if your case should be sent back to the ALJ for a hearing.

How Advocate Can Help

Advocate can support your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claim or concurrent SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claim. Our disability specialists can help you apply, gather strong evidence, complete SSA forms, answer SSA questions, appeal a denial, and prepare for an ALJ hearing. We can also represent you at the hearing.

If you got a dismissal notice and need help deciding how to respond or explaining what happened, talk to us.