How long after my case is assigned to a Judge does it take to get a hearing?
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 hearing date, now that your case has been assigned to a Judge. So, how long after your case is assigned to a judge will it take to get a hearing?
Things to watch out for if your case is moved to a new hearing office
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 are not careful, you could delay the decision in your case, or even reduce your chances of winning.
Social Security won’t talk to me BECAUSE I have a lawyer!?!
Once you hire an attorney to represent you on your Social Security case, you may find that Social Security does not want to release any more information to you. This is especially true at the Social Security ODAR (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review) offices.
Don’t worry, there is nothing nefarious going on.
It is just a general rule that once you are represented by counsel, all communication goes through your attorney. This prevents Social Security telling you one thing and your attorney being told another, or nothing at all.
However, in my experience representing claimants in Colorado, Social Security will often release information to claimants (people applying for Social Security benefits) if they ask. If you need to know the status of your case, or which Judge your case is assigned to, ODAR will give you this information.
But there is a bigger concern here:
Avoid bad information, call the right Social Security office!
Every once in a while I get a panicked call from a client:
I called Social Security about my case.
They don’t show an appeal was filed. What happened?!
I ask which Social Security office they called: the local Social Security office, the appeals office (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review – ODAR), or the toll free Social Security 800 number?
Even though all Social Security information about a case should be available to any person you speak to at Social Security, in practice, this does not always work. Even though Social Security does not mean to panic you, misleading or just plane wrong information is sometimes given out.
My case was moved to another Social Security hearing office! What’s going on?
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 Wisconsin you may have noticed that the hearing has been scheduled before a judge in California. In my practice in northeastern Wisconsin, most of my cases would ordinarily be heard by judges from the Milwaukee Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). However, since March 2008 the Social Security Administration has shifted responsibility for cases normally heard by Milwaukee judges at the Green Bay and Oskhosh hearing offices to other ODAR branches. For instance, cases heard at the Green Bay hearing office are being sent to the Oakland, CA ODAR.
For many people, having their case moved to another state causes a lot of stress and worry.
Why was my case moved?
What does it mean for my case?
How much of a delay is THIS going to cause?
Does Social Security think I can travel out of state for my hearing?
Often, there is a good reason for moving the case and it can actually help you!
How to review your Social Security file before your hearing
My last article talked about why it is so important to review your Social Security exhibit file.
But how do I get a copy of my Social Security file?
If you already have a hearing scheduled, Social Security will tell you in the Notice of Hearing that you should arrive thirty minutes before your hearing and you will then have a chance to review your file.
However, 30 minutes is NOT enough time to review your file. If you are like most people, you have never seen a Social Security file. If you simply start at the beginning of your file, your case may be called before you even get to your medical records.
