Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog
Hendron v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, involved a claimant who had applied three times for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits from the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).
Claimant filed her first application in 1999, and it was denied based upon a lack of sufficient evidence that she was disabled. The legal term for this type of denial is an “on the merits” denial. Her second application was filed in 2001, and it was denied on grounds of res judicata. An experienced Boston SSDI lawyer can explain that res judicata means that a court has already made a decision on the same issue on the merits and will not review it again.
Res judicata is often called the “one bite at the apple rule,” in that a claimant only gets one chance to make a claim related to a particular set of facts, and if he or she is not successful, the claimant is precluded from bring the same or a substantially similar claim again. The theory behind this rule is that it supports judicial economy.
Claimant filed her claim again in 2009, claiming that the disability began in 1995. The SSA again denied her application based upon res judicata, and she requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ).
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