WINNING YOUR DISABILITY HEARING:
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Your Administrative Law Judge Hearing will be held at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review ("ODAR"). You will receive notice of the time and place of the hearing approximately 30 days prior to the hearing. At the hearing, you will appear and testify in the court room. The court room is closed to the public and the only other people who are allowed into your hearing are the Judge, your representative, a court reporter, a Medical Expert ("ME"), and a Vocational Expert ("VE"). The Medical Expert is called by the ALJ and is there to testify about your medical records and whether or not you qualify for disability benefits under the SSA's guidelines. The Medical Expert cannot give you an examination, but they can ask you some questions in order to clarify your symptoms or past medical history. The Vocational Expert is called by the ALJ to testify about your past work and whether or not other work exists in the national economy that you could perform based upon your physical and mental impairments, any skills that you have from past work, and your education. You are the witness for your own case. We do not usually call witnesses to testify, like family members, because the ALJ will not give weight to the testimony of a family member who has an interest in you obtaining benefits.
At Cannon Disability Law, we believe the key to winning your Hearing is to fully develop your case with updated medical evidence and a medical opinion from your doctor. We present a clear theory of disability to the Judge and we document that theory with objective medical evidence. Having an experienced disability representative present your case plays a crucial role in winning benefits. There are approximately 1400 ALJ's in the United States and these ALJ's conduct approximately 750,000 Hearings per year. Some ALJ's grant a high number of cases and some grant a very low number of cases. Most ALJ's fall somewhere in the middle in terms of how many cases they grant. An experienced representative who knows the ALJ, knows his or her preferences, and can properly present your case, is the difference between you winning or losing your past and future disability benefits. |
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