ALJ Disability Hearings

ALJ Disability Hearings

The second level of the Social Security appeals process is ALJ disability hearings. It is the first time that you get a chance to speak in support of your claim in the form of testimony as you respond to questions posed by an administrative law judge.

Disability hearings have a 51% success rate for claimants, which is the highest of all levels of the appeals process. Representation by an experienced disability hearing attorney can make a difference. A report by the Government Accountability Office, a federal agency, shows that claimants represented during the appeals process have a success rate three times greater than unrepresented claimants.

James Mitchell Brown is a hearing attorney with more than 50 years of experience providing superior representation and reliable advice to individuals seeking Social Security disability benefits. Contact him today for a free consultation to learn how he can make a difference in your life.

What is an ALJ Hearing?

A disability hearing is the second level of the Social Security appeals process. The four levels to appeal an unfavorable decision or determination by the Social Security Administration include:

• Reconsideration
• ALJ hearing
• Appeals Council review
• Federal district court civil lawsuit

Reconsiderations, disability hearings, and Appeals Council reviews all occur within the SSA. If you disagree with an Appeals Council decision, the appeal occurs outside of the SSA in the form of a civil action filed in a federal district court.

If the initial review of your application for benefits under the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income programs does not get approved, you may challenge it by requesting reconsideration. An appeal of an unfavorable outcome after reconsideration takes you to the second level of appeal: An administrative law judge hearing.

An administrative law judge, or simply ALJ, is employed by the federal government. ALJs preside over disability hearings and impartially decide cases after hearing testimony from witnesses and reviewing all the evidence.

ALJ disability hearings are official proceedings that follow federal rules and regulations. A skilled disability hearing attorney serves as your guide and legal representative.

What Happens During the Hearing?

Hearings are held in offices or conference rooms rather than large courtrooms. Although they are official proceedings, administrative law judges generally take an informal approach when conducting hearings.

ALJs typically require in-person attendance of applicants and witnesses, but hearings can be held by telephone or online live video conferencing. Those attending an SSA judge hearing, whether in person, by phone, or through video conferencing, include:

• An SSA judge
• The claimant
• Claimant’s hearing attorney
• Medical expert
• Vocational expert

The medical and vocational experts are present as witnesses. Their testimony can help an ALJ by providing evidence about the applicant’s medical condition and the availability of work for a person with the limitations proven by the medical evidence.

Your disability hearing attorney has the opportunity to question the medical and vocational experts as well as other witnesses, and can present witnesses on behalf of your claim. An attorney may present a closing statement to summarize and highlight the strengths of the evidence and the case.

Questions the Judge May Ask

The SSA judge hearing provides you with an opportunity to testify in support of your claim for disability benefits. The answers claimants give in response to questions posed by the ALJ and their disability hearing attorney can be crucial to the judge’s decision.

As your hearing attorney, James Mitchell Brown understands that you may be nervous about the hearing process and answering questions. That is why he devotes time in advance of the hearing date to prepare you for the types of questions a judge may ask, including:

• Information about yourself, including your age, marital status, Social Security number, address, and whether you live in a household with other people.
• Your education, military service, work history, and vocational training, if any.
• Details about the severity and nature of symptoms you experience from the medical condition or conditions, treatment and medications prescribed by your doctors, and assistive devices, such as canes or wheelchairs, used by you.
• The daily activities you currently engage in, including cooking, cleaning, driving, and shopping.
• Daily activities that you did before your disability and either no longer do or do with limitations.

Depending on the ALJ conducting the hearing and questioning, the questions may focus on activities you perform around the home rather than your workplace. Some judges use the answers to indicate an individual’s ability to perform work activities. For instance, lifting bags of groceries out of your car and carrying them into your home may prove an ability to lift and carry objects in the workplace.

Vocational Expert Testimony Explained

Vocational experts typically have experience in vocational counseling with knowledge of current occupational trends and conditions in local labor markets. The role of a vocational expert at an SSA judge hearing is to use their experience and knowledge to provide testimony of assistance to ALJs in the following areas:

• Physical and mental demands of occupations and the skill levels they require.
• Work setting characteristics.
• Availability of specific jobs.
• An analysis of transferable skills.

Either the ALJ or your hearing attorney may request testimony from a vocational expert at ALJ disability hearings.

Vocational experts testify in response to hypothetical questions about the work available to someone with specific limitations. Although they do not evaluate a claimant’s medical condition, they may respond to questions based on the claimant’s actual work history.

A disability attorney may cross-examine a vocational expert to challenge the testimony about available jobs matching a claimant’s past relevant work. The attorney can challenge opinions about transferable skills and the ability of a claimant to adjust to other types of available work. This challenge to the expert’s testimony by a hearing attorney can be crucial to the case’s outcome.

How a Lawyer Prepares You for the Hearing

The time your hearing attorney spends preparing you for the hearing helps build your confidence about testifying and relieves any nervousness you may have about the hearing process in general. After James Mitchell Brown reviews the Social Security case file, he decides on the evidence needed to strengthen any weaknesses, gathers the evidence, and prepares you for the hearing.

Hearing preparation generally includes:

• Explaining how the testimony you give helps your case.
• Reviewing the areas of questioning you can expect from the judge.
• Explaining how to respond to questions with concise yet detailed answers.
• Going over the physical and mental limitations you currently experience and include them in your testimony.

Your hearing lawyer stresses the importance of remaining calm and giving honest answers to questions.

What to Expect After the Hearing?

Judges generally do not announce their decision at ALJ disability hearings. Instead, the time needed to review the evidence in the case file, the evidence presented by your hearing attorney, and the testimony of a vocational expert and other witnesses.

You and your disability hearing lawyer receive copies of the ALJ’s decision. A decision favorable to you ends the appeals process, but an unfavorable one may be appealed with a request for review by the Appeals Council, which is the third level in the appeals process.

Learn how representation by James Mitchell Brown can make a difference as your ALJ disability hearings lawyer. Contact him for a free consultation and case evaluation.