YOUR DISABILITY HEARING JUDGE

There's a great deal of inconsistency in the Social Security decision making process when it comes to disability claims.  One judge may look at your case and approve it while another judge might look at the same case and deny it.

Also, judges handle their hearings slightly differently.  I try to prepare my cases for the specific traits and personality of the presiding judge.  

Now, do we get to choose the judge who will preside over our hearing?  The answer is, no, we do not.  Judges are assigned randomly.  In my opinion, the advantage of using a local attorney or advocate is that he or she will know the judge.  We appear before the same judges day after day, year after year.  

If you live in Madison county, the odds are you will get a judge out of the Florence, AL hearing office.  If you live in Limestone or Morgan county, you may get a judge from the Franklin, TN hearing office.  If you live in Marshal or Jackson County, you may draw a judge from the Birmingham hearing office.  

No matter who the judge is, your case should be prepared diligently and thoroughly.  Your representative should pay a lot of attention to....

1)  your medical records - making sure they are complete and up to date.

2)  the legal theory of your case - which simply means being able to explain why the evidence meets Social Security's rules and regulations for payment of benefits. Do you meet a Listing?  Does a Medical-Vocational Guideline direct a finding of disability based on your age, education, past work and residual functional capacity?  Are you unable to perform all of your past relevant work?  Are you unable to perform all other jobs which exist in significant numbers in the US economy?

3)  problems that may occur at your hearing:  proving the alleged onset date so you get maximum back pay; work you may have done since the alleged onset date; failure to get recent medical treatment; drug or alcohol issues...  The list goes on and on. 

A good representative or advocate will look at your case in great detail, analyze it and take it to trial based on the facts and circumstances involved.  He or she will know the judge who is presiding and have a good idea of what the judge is going to need to approve the case.

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