How to Prepare for Your Disability Hearing - resources and preparation
Most individuals who file for disability will face a seventy percent likelihood of being denied. And those for file their first disability appeal, the request for reconsideration, will face an even higher chance of being denied again (depending on the state you live in, 80-85 percent). Luckily, however, of those claimants who appeal again, this time to get their case heard by an administrative law judge at a disability hearing, the odds of winning will be much higher. In fact, the majority of claimants who go to hearings are approved for social security disability or SSI disability benefits (up to 62 percent).
An important issue, if you have requested a disability hearing, or know that, at some point, you will have to request a hearing is how to prepare for your disability hearing.
Preparation for a hearing begins with getting qualified representation. Your representative can be either a non-attorney representative, or a disability attorney. However, whichever type of representative you choose to handle your case, you should make sure that A) your chosen representation has experience working with the social security disability system and B) that this individual specializes in handling primarily disability cases. Reason: you want someone who regularly represents SSD and SSI cases because such an individual will be more likely to have an indepth knowledge of the disability application and disability appeals system versus someone who only occasionally represents cases, or someone who divides his or her practice between various legal specialties.
Can you go to a hearing without representation? Yes, you are not required to have representation and you can represent yourself. But...this is a terrible idea simply because few claimants will have any idea as to how a case should be prepared for hearing, or even what to do during the holding of the hearing. There are, of course, instances in which self-represented claimants have won their cases; however, there are probably many times that number of cases that have been lost because a claimant chose to go to a hearing using themselves as their own disability representative.
Preparation for a disability hearing begins with getting a good representative. However, getting a rep does not mean turning over complete responsibility for the case to the representative. What do I mean by this? Simply that even a represented claimant may need to assist with the development of his or her own case. Sometimes this may be limited to simply providing one's lawyer with a complete employment history, and updates regarding one's recent medical treatment. However, there are times when a claimant's lawyer will need assistance from the claimant in obtaining medical records. How can this be done? Sometimes, when a physician's office has been particularly slow in responding to a request for medical records from an attorney's office, a simple call or visit from a claimant/patient can have the effect of speeding things along considerably. Very often, a patient will be successful in being able to pick up records from their doctor's office, which can then be mailed to the attorney's office.
How else can you prepare for your disability hearing? Here's a short list of ways to prepare, in addition to what has already been mentioned.
1. Be familiar with your own medical history, i.e. your diagnosed conditions, and when and where you've received treatment. This way, if you are questioned at the hearing by the judge, you may be more ready to respond.
2. For the same, be familiar with your own work history, including your various jobs and when these were done.
3. Make sure you know where the hearing location is prior to the hearing date. The last thing you want is to be late to your hearing. In some cases, being late more than 10 minutes may mean having to be rescheduled. And rescheduling can sometimes mean adding months more to your case. To avoid being late, particularly if the hearing site is in an area you've never been to, consider making a "dry run" to the address a day or two before the hearing is held. This way, you can guarantee that you know where the social security disability hearing will be held, and you can also get an idea of what traffic may look like on that particular road.
4. Meet with your disability attorney prior to the hearing to ask any questions that you have regarding the hearing.
Return to:
Social Security Disability Secrets
Social Security Disability Benefit Questions
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An important issue, if you have requested a disability hearing, or know that, at some point, you will have to request a hearing is how to prepare for your disability hearing.
Preparation for a hearing begins with getting qualified representation. Your representative can be either a non-attorney representative, or a disability attorney. However, whichever type of representative you choose to handle your case, you should make sure that A) your chosen representation has experience working with the social security disability system and B) that this individual specializes in handling primarily disability cases. Reason: you want someone who regularly represents SSD and SSI cases because such an individual will be more likely to have an indepth knowledge of the disability application and disability appeals system versus someone who only occasionally represents cases, or someone who divides his or her practice between various legal specialties.
Can you go to a hearing without representation? Yes, you are not required to have representation and you can represent yourself. But...this is a terrible idea simply because few claimants will have any idea as to how a case should be prepared for hearing, or even what to do during the holding of the hearing. There are, of course, instances in which self-represented claimants have won their cases; however, there are probably many times that number of cases that have been lost because a claimant chose to go to a hearing using themselves as their own disability representative.
Preparation for a disability hearing begins with getting a good representative. However, getting a rep does not mean turning over complete responsibility for the case to the representative. What do I mean by this? Simply that even a represented claimant may need to assist with the development of his or her own case. Sometimes this may be limited to simply providing one's lawyer with a complete employment history, and updates regarding one's recent medical treatment. However, there are times when a claimant's lawyer will need assistance from the claimant in obtaining medical records. How can this be done? Sometimes, when a physician's office has been particularly slow in responding to a request for medical records from an attorney's office, a simple call or visit from a claimant/patient can have the effect of speeding things along considerably. Very often, a patient will be successful in being able to pick up records from their doctor's office, which can then be mailed to the attorney's office.
How else can you prepare for your disability hearing? Here's a short list of ways to prepare, in addition to what has already been mentioned.
1. Be familiar with your own medical history, i.e. your diagnosed conditions, and when and where you've received treatment. This way, if you are questioned at the hearing by the judge, you may be more ready to respond.
2. For the same, be familiar with your own work history, including your various jobs and when these were done.
3. Make sure you know where the hearing location is prior to the hearing date. The last thing you want is to be late to your hearing. In some cases, being late more than 10 minutes may mean having to be rescheduled. And rescheduling can sometimes mean adding months more to your case. To avoid being late, particularly if the hearing site is in an area you've never been to, consider making a "dry run" to the address a day or two before the hearing is held. This way, you can guarantee that you know where the social security disability hearing will be held, and you can also get an idea of what traffic may look like on that particular road.
4. Meet with your disability attorney prior to the hearing to ask any questions that you have regarding the hearing.
Return to:
Other Posts
Back pay, how far back will social security pay me?
Will the Disability Back pay be in Installments?
What Can I Get in SS Back Pay?
How long after your first disability check do you get your back pay?
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