If your initial application for Social Security Disability benefits is denied, the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides a claimant sixty days to file an appeal. In filing the appeal, a claimant can either request a reconsideration of their claim or to request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). If a claimant misses the sixty day deadline, they may have their claim dismissed and be forced to file another application for benefits and restart the entire process. Fortunately for some, the SSA has issued a policy ruling setting out certain exceptions to the sixty day deadline rule.