Not Being Prepared For Your Social Security Disability or SSI Hearing is a Mistake

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Editorial Board

It is taking most people nearly a year, or even over a year to get their Social Security Disability or SSI hearing.  It is a real shame that some people, even with all that time to prepare, show up unprepared for the hearing.

Social Security hearings are conducted by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs).  The ALJ who conducts your hearing will expect you to have some understanding of what the disability adjudication process will be.  This means the ALJ will expect you to understand how it is that he or she will make their decision, and the process that the hearing will take to come to their conclusion.

Understanding the 5 Step Evaluation Process

It is critical that you have a basic understanding of the 5 step process that is used in every Social Security Disability case to determine if someone is disabled or not.  We have an article on our site that explains the 5 step process.  Each hearing will go through each of the five steps, and you need to be prepared to deal with any issues at each step.

For example, if you are still working, then you need to understand step 1 issues about working below substantial gainful activity (SGA), or the factors that determine an unsuccessful work attempt (UWA) after your onset date if your earnings were above SGA.  Each step will have issues that could arise depending on the facts of your case, and you need to be prepared for all possibilities.

Disability Lawyers Can Help You Get Prepared for Your Hearing

At my law firm, we do a prep interview with every client before each hearing.  This gets the attorney and client comfortable working together, allows the client to practice answering the types of questions in advance of the real hearing, and allows the attorney to dig deeper into the facts of the case with the claimant to be better prepared to make arguments to the ALJ at the hearing.

Claimants who go unrepresented to hearings should take their hearing seriously and get prepared.  It is a pretty overwhelming task, so much so that most ALJs will give you a warning before the hearing begins suggesting that you should obtain an attorney.  Even though the hearings are informal, the process and rules are not; they are rigid and must be followed for you to win.  Get prepared on your own if you are confidant you can do it, or get help from an experienced disability attorney.

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Missing Your Social Security Disability Hearing Is a Mistake

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Editorial Board

To get a Social Security Disability hearing scheduled in most parts of the country takes between 6 months and 2 years.  But even though people often wait over a year for their hearing, and the hearing is going to decide a serious matter that affects their ability to take care of themselves or their family, people often fail to appear for their hearings.

Of course some people will miss the hearing through no fault of their own.  Things like being hospitalized, homeless without access to mail or telephone, unable to get to the hearing site due to weather, or caring for a sick child are all reasonable reasons for missing a hearing.  Without such a good reason, you never want to miss your disability hearing.

Your Hearing Is Your Chance to Be Heard

Your initial application and reconsidered application have all been the basis for deciding your case before you get to the hearing level.  In the initial levels they are really just reviewing your forms and medical evidence.  The hearing is your chance to speak to the judge in person, and allow him or her to ask you questions regarding your limitations that keep you from working.  Your testimony, what you say in the hearing, amounts to new evidence that could help you win your benefits.

Not being present at your hearing could take away your right to be heard by the judge, and turn the hearing into another paper file review.  To be eligible for a hearing your case has had to have been denied twice already in paper file reviews, so why would you want a hearing to occur without you present when it will be just another paper file review?

You need to get to your hearing on time, be prepared for it, and be confident that you can talk with the judge about exactly how your medical problems keep you from working to make your hearing your best shot at winning your benefits.

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Not Getting Status Updates Of Your Social Security Disability or SSI Case is a Mistake

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Editorial Board

The Social Security Administration (SSA) and state Disability Determination Service (DDS) agencies that handle your Social Security Disability application are understaffed and cannot keep up with all the work they have.  This is the reason for the delays in getting a decision in disability cases.  Although much of the delay is due to the under staffing of these agencies, part of the delay is due to claimants, or people who file for disability benefits.

If you file for disability and then move and don’t update your address with the SSA or DDS that is evaluating your case, you could have just caused a delay in your decision that could add months to your case.  These overworked people will make minimal attempts to locate you, and then your case will just sit in a pile of cases that are not moving forward towards a decision, or even worse, they could deny you for lack of information.

Everyone Needs To Do Their Part to Keep Their Case Moving Forward

Not only do you need to share any new contact information with the SSA or DDS that has your disability file, you also need to go to any scheduled interviews or doctor exams (consultative examinations) that they set for you.  If you do not do these things your case could stall out, and take longer to get a decision.

Requesting Status Helps Keep Your Case Moving Forward

When you have a disability lawyer they can usually tell you the DDS or SSA status on your case because they get periodic updates from the agencies.  They will know if your case is moving forward as planned, or if it is stalled due to something being due that isn’t complete.

When you handle your case on your own you should make calls to DDS or SSA (based on who has your application), and ask them the status of your case.  They should be able to tell you if that is a normal status, or if it indicates you owe them something to keep the case moving closer towards a decision.  Do not let 60 days go by without inquiring about your case, either with the disability agency or your disability attorney.

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Spinal Stenosis Can Be a Disabling Medical Condition

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Editorial Board

Spinal stenosis refers to a medical condition that is characterized by narrowing of the spine in the neck or the back region which compresses the spinal cord or any of the spinal nerves. Individuals suffering from spinal stenosis are often noted to suffer from symptoms such as numbness or pain in the back, thighs, buttocks, neck, arms or shoulders and weakness in a leg or an arm (depending upon the nerve that gets compressed).

In some cases, affected individuals may have severe symptoms. Spinal stenosis can often be a debilitating condition that makes it difficult for the affected individual to work or perform certain daily activities. Therefore the Social Security Administration (SSA) has a provision for individuals suffering from spinal stenosis to claim for disability insurance.

Disability claims

A disability claim for spinal stenosis is often made under the musculoskeletal impairments category of SSA’s blue book of listed impairments.  Under listing 1.04 you can review the specific terms that must be present to meet this listing on disorders of the spine. A disability claim can be alleged to meet this listing when the spinal disorder results in the compromise of a nerve root or the spinal cord.

Specific criteria for claims

In order to demonstrate a listing level impairment under the disorders of the spine listing, an individual suffering from spinal stenosis needs to fulfill certain condition specific criteria mentioned in the listing, in addition to the basic eligibility criteria for the Social Security Disability program.

Spinal disorders that cause compression of the spinal cord as a whole, or a part of the spinal nerves, can apply for disability benefits. Spinal stenoses, or a lumbar spinal stenosis, are listed conditions mentioned under the spinal disorder listing 1.04 of the SSA’s blue book. To meet this listing the affected individuals’ condition must meet the following condition.

  • The spinal compression should have caused sufficient injury or compression of the spinal nerves that would result in a condition called pseudoclaudication. This condition is characterized by pain and weakness in the lower back, buttocks, thighs or legs and impaired ability to walk or move around.
  • The spinal compression should be established on the imaging tests such as CT scan, MRI or other medical imaging tests.

The phrase ‘inability to ambulate effectively’ refers to the presence of conditions that severely limit an individual’s ability to walk or perform daily activities independently.

A case of spinal stenosis that has resulted in pseudoclaudication, and includes physical evidence of inability to move around independently, and also includes verifiable imaging exams like MRIs or CT scans is a strong case where the claimant should expect to win their disability benefits.  If you do not have all of this evidence you may not meet this listing, but you still may be able to be found disabled if you cannot work.  Contact a professional to help you evaluate your case to see if there may be another legal theory (other than meeting this listing) that could entitle you to win disability benefits.

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