What To Expect At Your Social Security Disability Hearing
If you have been denied Social Security disability benefits, a disability representative may be able to help you prepare for your hearing at the appeals stage. Here is some general information on what you can expect at your hearing.
The Administrative Law Judge who presides over the hearing might begin your hearing by restating your “case history” and describing what are issues are to be decided, such as exactly what you have to prove in order to be eligible for disability benefits. However, the explanation might not be simple or easy to understand; the judge might simply recite the legal definition of disabled, which is that one must be “unable to perform substantial gainful activity which exists in significant numbers in the economy, considering your age, education and work experience.” That might sound confusing, and you might interpret this to mean that you must be chronically bedridden and unable to move in order to qualify. However, that is not the case.
The judge may first ask questions of you and then allow your disability representative to ask you questions as well. If you are able to testify well enough on your own, your representative may not need to do any questioning. However, some judges will expect your representative to ask questions, regardless. Answer any questions posed by your representative as if a stranger asked them; don’t assume that because your representative is familiar with your case, you can shorten your answer or leave out information. The judge will not have all the information and is relying on you to provide it. While your judge may have your case file, do not assume the judge has read it or knows anything about it; it is often better to assume that you need to explain everything as thoroughly as possible for the judge’s benefit.
If you have more specific questions about what to do at your Social Security disability hearing, please contact the experienced Social Security disability representatives at GENEX Services.