Appeals
At these stages, the focus is on whether the judge made a mistake in deciding your case - not whether you are disabled
The Appeals Council
The Appeals Council is the last resort within the Social Security administrative system. These people provide oversight of the judges and make sure the correct decisions are being made. Rarely, the Appeals Council will grant a claim immediately. It may agree with the judge and uphold the decision denying your claim. Or it may send your case back to the judge and ask the judge to fix the errors they found. In that case, you will have a new hearing just like the first one.
The Federal Courts
When a federal agency makes a mistake, the federal courts can make the agency fix it - so if the Social Security Administration won’t fix its own mistakes, you can file a lawsuit against the agency itself. This the first stage where there is a lawyer on the other side and proceedings take place in a real courtroom. Your lawyer will make legal arguments regarding the errors Social Security made when it decided your claim. If the court agrees with you, they will send your case back to the administrative law judge and you will have a new hearing just like the first one.