Preparing For a Hearing

Your Social Security Disability hearing is one of the most important moments in the entire disability process. As a client, it’s the first time you are able to provide testimony in support of your claim. And while it may be one of the most important moments in the disability process, it can also be one of the most nerve-racking moments as well.

Our Advocates are trained to help you through this process. For one Binder & Binder® Advocate in particular, Mariam Sanni-Adigun from our Dallas, Texas office, preparation for a hearing is a very thorough process. As a former prosecutor, Mariam hates surprises. And, to avoid any such surprises, she makes sure to review each and every medical exhibit, page by page, taking detailed notes. Not only does she spend a lot of time preparing personally for each hearing, she spends a lot of time preparing the clients she represents. In addition to contacting clients in advance of their hearing, Mariam explains the process of the hearing to her clients. She runs them through a “mock hearing,” or rather, poses the same questions to them prior to their hearing that she plans to ask at the hearing itself. This tactic, as Mariam says “puts clients at ease at the hearings.” She also requests that her clients arrive 30 minutes prior to their scheduled hearing time, as it allows for additional review and last minute questions.

Our Advocates all have their own special hearing preparation techniques, but there is one common goal—and that it to ensure that our clients are as successful as possible when they finally reach their hearing!

What Should I Do Now?

By Stacey Laskin, an Advocate from the Chicago Binder & Binder® office

It can be a bit anti-climatic, but often, the only thing to do after a hearing has ended is wait. If I need you to gather an opinion from your doctor or track down recent medical records, I will let you know what your homework assignment is.

Our office will usually call you after your hearing to find out if you’ve seen any new doctors or returned to ones we previously contacted.

Sometimes, the Social Security Administration will contact you after a hearing and before a decision is issued. You may be asked to verify information about your finances, confirm your contact information, or provide further information, such as a doctor’s name or tax information. Sometimes, a judge will send you to an additional medical examination after a hearing. If this happens, it’s important that you attend the examination. Failure to do so could result in denial of your claim, which would be a shame after making it so far in the daunting process.

The longer you wait, the more questions you may develop. I should be able to answer any questions you have while you are waiting for a decision. I’m always happy to check on the status of a decision for a client, confirm receipt of medical records, or just listen.

Just remember me when it comes time to buy that chocolate cake.

Why Did the Expert Say I Can Work?

By Stacey Laskin, an Advocate from the Chicago Binder & Binder® office

A vocational expert testifies at many hearings. This person’s job is to be an expert on doing jobs. Some of them provide vocational counseling or rehabilitation outside of the hearing room. Others are professors who study the social science of employment.

They usually will classify your past work according to the standards used by Social Security. Then, the judge and your representative will pose hypothetical limitations based on your medical records, your doctors’ opinions, findings made by Social Security adjudicators, and your testimony. Some of these descriptions might include a hypothetical healthy you, a hypothetical you at a point when you were more able than you are now, or a hypothetical you based on one particular doctor’s findings.

It’s important not to take any one part of the expert’s testimony too seriously. I will have the opportunity to address all of the expert’s responses afterward. The judge also has the option of paying little attention to the testimony. Any questions you have about what the expert said can be addressed after the hearing—don’t interrupt the expert during his or her testimony!

Did I Say the Wrong Thing?

By Stacey Laskin, an Advocate from the Chicago Binder & Binder® office

If you say something in your hearing that is not supportive of disability, I’ll probably let you know. But I’ll also tell you what options we have now that the record reflects that you spend your afternoons deep sea diving or dirt bike racing.

Most likely, whatever you said was not “wrong.” You testified about your story, and whatever your story is, it’s not wrong as long as it’s true.

But, if you lie to the judge, the judge will know. The judge has access to a great number of official and unofficial records about your life. If you tell one lie, whether it be about your weight, your medical conditions, your embarrassing past, or your entangled love affairs, the judge can use that slip to unravel your claim by finding that you are not a believable witness. It’s not worth it.

Vocational Experts at the Hearing Level

For those who have already experienced a Social Security Disability hearing, you may have an understanding of what a Vocational Expert (VE) is, and the role they play at a hearing. For those who have been informed that a VE will be present at your hearing, or—for those who would just like to understand the process a bit more—we thought we would take a minute to blog about VEs at the hearing level.

According to the Social Security Administration, the basic function of the VE “is to provide definitive guidance in the adjudication of cases which require consideration of the vocational factors of age, education, training and work experience.” So, what exactly does this mean? Well, for nearly half a century, the SSA has been aided in their decision making process by the consultation of VEs, also known as Vocational Consultants. The VEs gather their information from different sources, including the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (a tool which uses thousands of occupational definitions to match job seekers to jobs), and use said information, in addition to personal information provided about an individual, to provide an ALJ with information regarding an individual’s ability (or inability) to work. Administrative Law Judges rely upon the experts to provide information regarding an individual’s ability to perform:

1.)    Their past work—any job an individual may have held in the fifteen years prior to their disability, and

2.)    Any other jobs that exist in substantial numbers in the national economy.

Most often, an ALJ will pose hypothetical situations to a VE in order to determine what jobs, if any, an individual may be able to do. In doing so, the ALJ is attempting to determine whether or not an individual applying for disability retains the ability to continue working. If a VE provides information that indicates an individual can either continue to perform their past work, or other professions available in the national economy, this would presumably mean they would not be disabled. Alternatively, the information provided to the VE may indicate that an individual cannot perform their past work or any other work. Different hypothetical situations may be based off of limitations provided by doctors following Consultative Examinations, or reports from an individuals own treating physician. An individual’s advocate will often, time permitting, pose their own hypothetical situations to the VEs, as well. While the VEs provide information to the ALJ to aid in their decision making process, the ultimate decision of disability is decided by the ALJ.

If you’re a client and have any questions or concerns regarding Vocational Experts and their impact on a Social Security Disability hearing, please feel free to leave a comment and let us know!