Posts under ‘3 Hearings’

How do you begin to review your Social Security exhibit file? Here is a quick guide to finding the really important parts.
Start with the “F” section to review the medical records.

If you do not review anything else in the file, you need to know what medical records are there (and what records are missing).
Here is [...]

Just before your Social Security hearing, you will be given a cd and pointed at a computer. If you ask, someone may help you load up the disk and get you to a screen that looks like this:
Ok, now what?
What is all this stuff and what do I do with it?
Social Security uses electronic case [...]

Disability cases based on seizure disorders are a very special kind of disability case.
If your case goes in front of an Administrative Law Judge, you can expect to be asked these questions:

How often do you have seizures?
What happens during a seizure?
How do you feel after a seizure?  
What do you have to do after a [...]

It surprises my clients to learn that, most of the time, Social Security does not update medical records after the initial denial.
With wait times of a year or more, this can mean that by the time your case gets in front of a judge, the records in your file may be a year (or more) [...]

Even though it often takes a year or even two years to get your Social Security hearing, you may find that you are not ready when the big day finally comes.
Is there any way to continue, postpone, or delay my Social Security hearing?
Yes. You can request a continuance to postpone your hearing.
Lets look at how [...]

If you are keeping in touch with the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) which is preparing your case for hearing, you may be told that your case has finally been assigned to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  
However, ODAR may not tell you is how much longer it will take to get a [...]

Part of what any good attorney does is listen carefully.
I am always on the look out for inconsistencies. Some problems are obvious, others may seem minor. But, they always run the risk of derailing a case.

The individual with epilepsy, or other seizure disorder, who still has a drivers’ license and regularly drives. 
The PTSD or social anxiety [...]

Gordon Gates writes about how he tries to make each case different and memorable when preparing to go to hearing.
I am always concerned that a particular claim will not get the attention it deserves at the hearing level, due to the tremendous workload at the Social Security hearing offices. Each administrative law judge decides several hundred [...]

I previously wrote about how Social Security may move a case from one hearing office (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review – ODAR) to another to try to ease case congestion and speed up processing.
Usually, there is nothing to worry about when this happens. However, there is something you do need to watch out for. If you [...]

Social Security attorney Gordon Gates wrote about a Social Security Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who only approves 11 percent of cases.
In trying to find some insight in to how this ALJ could only approve 11% of cases when most other ALJs approve somewhere between 45-60% of cases, Gordon found the following post from the ALJ [...]

The long wait times in Social Security cases are prompting a backlash against Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) in Social Security cases.  
Across the country, it takes an average of 480 days to get a judge’s ruling on a Social Security disability claim — but 650 days if your case is in Portland.
The problems in Portland [...]

Would you like to know what percentage of cases the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) assigned to your Social Security disability, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) case, approves and denies?
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Oregonian, the Social Security Administration released the production numbers and approval rates for all of its administrative law [...]

We have previously discussed that an individual is not eligible to receive Social Security disability benefits while incarcerated.  This issue frequently comes up when an individual already on Social Security is incarcerated.
However, it is important to remember that the prohibition on receiving Social Security benefits may also impact your application for Social Security benefits, if you [...]

When you are waiting for your Social Security hearing, it can come as a shock to receive a letter telling you that your case has been transferred to a different hearing office in another state.  
Attorney Donald Chewning writes about this on the Wisconsin Disability Blog.
If you are awaiting a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge in [...]

The one thing people are most surprised about when they go to a hearing is that the lawyer does not do all of the talking. In fact, it is the claimant (aka “you”) who has to answer the Judge’s questions.  I hear a lot of questions and comments about this.  
I went to my hearing and [...]