This information may help claimants with representation, as well as claimants who are not represented by an attorney or non attorney representative. Understanding how the Social Security Disability system works can make the difference between winning or not winning the continuing disability benefits and backpay to which a person is entitled. To win a claim for ongoing and past due benefits, claimants should learn about the disability process to improve their chances of winning. |
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How long can a judge take to make a decision on a disability case? Similar to a case at Disability Determination Services where a disability examiner may take as long as he or she requires to adjudicate a case (but, despite appearances to the contrary, really is encouraged to move as fast as possible), an Administrative Law Judge may take as long as is deemed necessary to render a decision on a disability claim. How long is this usually? It would be difficult to cite an average length of time since each hearing office is subject to its own backlog situation. Also, some judges tend to move cases somewhat faster or slower than others. Generally, though, an ALJ can render a decision much faster than an examiner at DDS simply because the medical development of a case has, for the most part, been completed by the time of a hearing. What do we mean by medical development? Essentially, this refers to the gathering of medical records. Claimants, of course, who are not represented at a hearing will typically have been unaware that their most recent medical records should have been submitted to the ALJ while a representative in almost every case will have performed this function for the benefit of their client. In situations where not all the records requested by a representative will have arrived by the time of a hearing, a judge will usually acquiesce to holding the record open to allow for the receipt of these records. A judge may also hold a case open if it is decided that a claimant should be sent to a consultative examination. Even in such instances, though, by the time a hearing has taken place, most of the development needed to decide a case has usually been done, making the adjudication process for an ALJ a relatively simple affair. Regarding the question with which we began, however, an ALJ can, on occasion, get a decision out to a claimant in as little as 6 weeks, though waits of 12 weeks or longer are hardly uncommon. Disability Advocates Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation |
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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY ATTORNEY, REPRESENTATIVE LAWYER LIST ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 3 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 4 |
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If you suffer from a medical disability such as hip, neck, shoulder, ankle, wrist, back, or other joint problems, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rsi or repetetive stress injury, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, dysthymia, depression or other mood disorders, congestive or chronic heart failure, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high blood pressure (hypertension), seizure disorder, stroke, copd, emphysema, hearing loss or poor hearing, statutory blindness, peripheral field problems or other vision loss, clinical obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity or, simply, adhd, bipolar disorder or manic depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, autism, head trauma, memory loss, low iq, mental retardation, learning disability, epilepsy, cancer, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, lupus, anxiety, inner ear problems, meniere's, vertigo or dizziness, kidney failure requiring dialysis or other renal problems, cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other liver disease, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, rsd or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, peripheral vascular disease, lyme disease, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hiv, aids, anemia, sickle cell, thyroid problems including hypothyroidism, esrd or end stage renal disease, reflux, gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease), cfids, muscular dystrophy, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or tachycardia, bradycardia or other arrhythmia and have initiated or been denied on a social security disability, or ssi, claim for benefits, this site may assist you with your case. Social Security Disability benefits are often difficult to win; however many claims for social security disability are lost simply because a claimant did not know enough about the disability process to their social security or ssi claim. For information re: representation on a social security disability or ssi claim (attorney or non attorney representative), see the "questions" & "how" pages. |
| Social Security Disability What if social security wants me to go one of their doctors ? |