DISABILITY HEARINGS: NOT WHAT THEY SEEM TO BE

"Don't be one of the claimants who is

really disabled but loses because he can't meet the burden proof."

When you are denied disability benefits and file and appeal, you are scheduled to go before an administrative law judge for a hearing.  These hearings are quit different from what most people think they are. 

Hearings are technical and legal proceedings where you, the claimant, has a burden of proof.  If you fail to meet your burden of proof you will not get your disability benefits.

Here are some components of a Social Security disability hearing that you must understand and deal with in order to meet your burden of proof--and win your benefits.  Failure to do so will result in another denial-- and gone is your best chance to get paid.

1.  Establishing when you stopped working at "substantial gainful activity" or SGA.  This is vital to the date your back pay will begin.

2.  Proving that you have a severe medically determinable impairment AND how the impairment prevents your ability to perform any work listed in the U.S. economy according to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. 

3.  If your impairment meets one of the Listings in Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix I, you must provide evidence of this.

4.  You have the burden to prove that you cannot perform any of the jobs you have performed in the past 15 years.

5.  You have the burden to prove, in most cases, that there is not a single job (other work) in the US economy that you could perform, regardless of whether you can find the job, whether anyone will hire you, or whether you could live on the wages paid by that job.

6.  It is almost a guarantee that the Vocational Expert called by Social Security will provide the judge with a list of jobs that you should be able to do, despite your impairment.  This is headed toward a Step-5 Denial.  You must be able to head this off.  A good disability advocate or attorney may be able to mitigate this testimony and save your case.  Most claimants will not know how to do this.

7.  You must convince the judge that not all of your past jobs qualify as "past relevant work."  The question is:  How many past jobs threaten you with a denial because you could perform the work associated with one of the past jobs.  The more past jobs on the list, the more likely you will be denied.  Not all past jobs are legally "past relevant work."  Do you know which jobs are and which jobs are not?  Most people depend on their advocate to do this in the hearing.

8.  What if you are advised to amend your Alleged Onset Date (AOD)?  How much will that cost you?  And it will cost you money!  It will also probably delay the date you qualify for Medicare coverage!  Is agreeing to the amended AOD acceptable?  What are your options?  Here again, a good representative is your best bet.

9.  When is your Date Last Insured (DLI)?  Did you know that your right to file a new Social Security disability claim expires?  Do you know when your DLI is?  For example, if you claim you became disabled on 6/1/17 but your Date Last Insured was 12/31/15, you have a big problem.  Turns out, you became disabled AFTER your Social Security coverage expired.  There may be a solution to this problem, but do you know what it is?  If not, the judge may find that you became disabled when you no longer had Social Security coverage; therefore, you win your medical claim but cannot be paid.

Sure, you can theoretically save 25 percent of your back pay by walking into a hearing alone.  But I promise you, it's never a good idea.  100 percent of zero is still zero.

There is a reason 90 percent of Social Security claimants are represented.  Don't be one of the unfortunate 10 percent who are really disabled but can't meet the burden of proof.   

CALL US HERE AT THE FORSYTHE FIRM
(256) 799-0297

 SOCIAL SECURITY JUSTICE - WEBSITE