3 Reasons Why You Need a Disability Lawyer at Your Hearing
Administrative
Law Judges (ALJs) conduct the Social Security
Disability hearings for the Social Security
Administration (SSA). If you show up unrepresented
to a Social Security hearing the ALJ must read you a
long list of warnings and disclosures. Many ALJs try
to convince the claimant to get representation. This
article explores 3 major risks that can happen to
claimants without attorneys at a disability hearing.
The ALJ could take advantage of your lack of knowledge
Some ALJs are more generous than others. Some award benefits in 80% of the hearings they hold, and others deny claimants in 80% of their hearings. You could get a judge that leans towards saying yes, or one that leans toward saying no. Not all ALJs are your friend, and some will set traps you can walk right in to. For example, some ALJs ask leading questions that make it easy for you to concede away your medical problems. If you agree with the ALJ that a particular medical problem is no longer an issue, the limitations you have from that problem may no longer help you become disabled.
You may not know your rights
If you don’t read the law, and get very prepared for your hearing you may not know what to do. For example, if the ALJ calls a Medical or Vocational expert to testify in your hearing you will have a right to cross examine these witnesses. The ALJ will let you know that you can ask the expert witnesses questions, but will not tell you what you should ask the experts.
Did you know that you could ask the ALJ to order a new consultative exam at the hearing? Did you know that you can object to the qualifications of an expert? You could be unaware of many of your legal rights if you are unrepresented, and these mistakes could hurt your case.
You may not be prepared with a legal theory that is consistent with the law, your medical records, and work history
Every case is different, and experienced legal representatives know how to evaluate a disability claim using the 5 step sequential analysis that SSA uses to determine disability. You would have to be extremely prepared to do your own hearing. There are issues that could come up in any of the 5 steps that could derail your case, and without extensive training you will not be able to instantly react and respond to those issues.
What if you went back to work at the SGA level for several months after your onset date? The ALJ could deny you at step 1 for having earnings above SGA on the onset date. If you don’t know how to argue unsuccessful work attempts, or if you don’t understand your rights to amend an onset date (to a date after the SGA earnings) then you could just get denied instead of being able to clear these steps and possibly still win your case.
Looking at all the medical evidence, the claimant’s age, education, and work history, will allow an experienced representative to formulate a theory that is consistent with the facts of the case and SSA’s regulations. The formulation of the theory of your case is one of many valuable things your attorney does for you at a disability hearing.
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How to
Get More Help
We hope
the information linked to from this page will help you
regardless of where you are in the process. If
you have a question about your disability case that
you don’t find answered in the resources linked to
above, then contact us
here or give us a call at (800) 584-3700.
For more information on our attorneys, please visit Our Attorneys page.
For more information on Social Security Disability, please see:
Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) FAQs
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) FAQs
Social Security Disability Links
Social Security Glossary
