Posts Tagged ‘Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)’

The “Social Security Hot Topics” Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program provided quite a bit of information about the state of Social Security.
More judges on the way:

150 new judges already hired in 2009.
20-30 additional judges to be hired before end of 2009
~200 more judges to be hired in 2010.

Applications on the rise:
With the poor economy, 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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Under Social Security regulations, it is not enough to have a disability (a diagnosed medical condition). Your condition has to be severe enough to be prevent you from being able to engage in a “substantial gainful activity;” typically full time, competitive, employment.  If you cannot show that your condition keeps you from being able to [...]

If you are denied at your Social Security hearing by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), you have the right to appeal the judge’s decision to the Social Security Appeals Council.  
To do this, you need to file form HA-520-U5 “Request for Review of Hearing Decision/Order.”  You only have 60 + 5 days to get the [...]

Here is a useful exercise you can do to prepare for your hearing:  keep a journal of everything you do from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, including every time you take a break.  
Don’t worry.  You do not have to turn this in to anyone, not to your lawyer [...]

Nate Craig of Truth of the Matter Asserted has a great article about what it means if a judge wants you to change the date you became disabled, or in Social Security parlance “amend your alleged onset date (AOD).”
Often, by the time the claimant’s hearing comes to be scheduled, the ALJ will review the file [...]

You are finally at your hearing.  The judge, wearing black robes, turns to you and asks:
“You last worked in 2003, right?”
It’s the “Dirty Harry” moment! You try to remember.  
Was it 2003?  Maybe it was 2004?  Or 2005?  Well, if the judge thinks it was 2003, it must have been 2003.
“Yes, judge. I last worked [...]

In my experience with Colorado Social Security cases, hearings are usually scheduled approximately 12-14 months after the appeal is filed.   That is the most common time frame that I see for having a hearing scheduled.
However,  I occasionally see cases scheduled as early as six months after the appeal (this is pretty rare), and sometimes as late [...]

I enjoyed attorney Gordon Gates‘ article about knowing who your judge is in your Social Security case:
The first thing I want to know when I receive a hearing notice for a Social Security disability claim is the name of the administrative law judge (ALJ) who will hear the case and decide the claim. It probably [...]