Skip to main content

WORST MISTAKE AT A SOCIAL SECRITY DISABILITY HEARING

 If you ask someone in the hearing office:  "What's the worst thing someone can do at their hearing?" the answer will be:

"Don't show up for the hearing."

In spite of the fact that you may wait 24 months for a hearing, about one-fourth of claimants fail to show for their hearings.

There is only one acceptable excuse for missing a disability hearing:  hospitalization for an emergency.  

The administrative law judge is not required to reschedule your hearing if you don't have an acceptable excuse for the no show.  If the judge dismisses you case, you must start all over with a new application and wait up to 3 years to have a new hearing scheduled.  And you lose your back pay.

 If your date late insured (DLI) expires and you miss your hearing, then you could lose out on all SSD benefits. If you apply again, then you will have to wait another two  or three years to get a  new hearing. Additionally, you will lose out on all of the benefits from your first application.

 It is extremely important not to be late for our hearing.  Plan to arrive 30 minutes early.  Bring valid photo ID, such as your driver's license or military ID.

And be prepared for testimony by a vocational expert and medical expert (doctor or psychologist).  Nearly all hearings will have a vocational expert present and some will have a medical expert.  These experts can kill your claim if you don't know how to handle their testimony.

To present the best case possible before the judge, get an experienced attorney or non-attorney representative.  They will know the law, the process and procedure--and they can handle expert testimony that let's you put your best foot forward at the hearing.

Best of all, your lawyer or representative cannot charge you any fee unless you WIN and also collect past due benefits!

____________________

By Charles W. Forsythe, M.S., at the Forsythe Firm, Huntsville, AL.

Phone (256) 799-0297


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CAN YOU WIN YOUR DISABILITY APPEAL WITHOUT A LAWYER?

The Social Security Administration does not require you to have a lawyer to file an appeal or to appear at a hearing.  However, most people heading for a disability hearing will hire a lawyer or advocate to help them.   Studies have shown that you are about twice as likely to win with a lawyer.  A recent study found that claimants with no lawyer win about 30 percent of the time while claimants with a lawyer or advocate win 60 percent of the time.   " He just cooked his own goose." These statistics cover only one aspect of a disability appear--your odds of winning. The other important aspects are time and convenience. If you prepare and adjudicate your own disability appeal, expect to spend 12 to 24 months working on the case.  You will be collecting, reading and submitting hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records.  These records are complex and often difficult to understand.  And you must know how each medical record helps (or hurts) your dis...
Post a Comment
Read more

GET YOUR APPLICATION RIGHT - GET PAID SSDI B ENEFITS

  Get your Social Security application right - get paid.   There are hundreds of ways to mess up a Social Security disability application.  One of the most common ways that I see?  Blank lines.  Questions left blank.  One way or another, these questions will get answered before a decision is made on your claim.  They may get answered 6 months later when the Social Security office calls you--but you have just wasted 6 months.   Worse yet, Social Security may assume that since you didn't answer the questions, all the answers are "no," so nobody bothers to call you. This will lead to a negative action on your claim.   The complete disability application will consist, not just of the basic application, but several forms.  Many of those forms will be mailed to you AFTER you file the claim.  The following is always required for a complete application: The basic disability application (5 pages)  Disability Report (14 p...
Post a Comment
Read more

HOW TO PASS A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY EXAM

  So, Social Security is sending you to one of their doctors for an exam.  The first thing you may ask is, How do I pass this exam?   First, I should say that Social Security exams are not "pass or fail."  The doctor or examiner cannot tell Social Security whether or not you are disabled or whether you should get a benefit.  The doctor is going to check certain facts. For example, the doctor may check the range of motion in your joints and list the measurements. They may check your grip strength. (S)he may determine if you have difficulty walking, squatting, kneeling standing from a seated position.  The examiner may answer specific questions asked by Social Security: Is the use of a cane or assistive device medically necessary? Why is it necessary? Can the claimant use his/her hands to grasp and hold objects? Is the claimant able to understand and follow simple directions?  Here is advice I give my clients for a Social Security examination:  ...
Post a Comment
Read more