You walk into to a room for a Social Security disability hearing with your representative. A person called an administrative law judge begins the hearing. These hearings are supposed to be fact finding, nonadversarial and non-confrontational. Unfortunately, not all are. In fact, some judges may treat you more like you're a criminal than someone who is merely trying to collect on a legitimate insurance claim.
The judge swears you in. The questioning begins, perhaps pretty calmly.
"Tell me why you think you are unable to work." You explain.
"Have you tried to find any other work that you might be able to do?" No, you say.
"Why not." You say you don't think you're able to work.
"Have you been to the state rehabilitation service to see if they can help you get a job you CAN do?" You say no.
"Why not?"
Then, your representative introduces a detailed medical source opinion from your doctor. In it, your doctor says you have severe medical conditions. The doctor lists a number of specific reductions in function that would not permit you to hold a full-time job.
The judge begins to abuse the doctor's statement:
Did the doctor do any tests to determine these limitations or did he just make them up?
Were you present when the doctor filled out this form?
Did you tell him what to write down?
Did you tell the doctor how much you can lift or how long you can sit or walk?
Then how does he know?
Where is there any objective evidence to support these limitations?
It says here that you "may" need extra time to complete your work, it doesn't say you WILL.
The medical record says that you were able to walk into the doctor's office without any assistive device, could sit in the chair while he talked to you with no signs of pain or discomfort, and could climb on and off the exam table without assistance."
As you try to explain your symptoms, the judge just keeps reciting reasons why he/she is going to deny your claim:
It says you have a 4 year-old daughter; can you lift your daughter?
Well, how much does your daughter weigh?
Are you able to take care of your child? Who prepares her meals?
You can you can't drive very far, do you drive to the doctor's office?
When you get a hearing like this, it really means one thing. The judge has probably made up his/her mind to deny your claim and nothing you or anyone else says is going to change it. This judge has a bias, probably against all claimants, not just you. He or she will keep questioning until they find some reason to deny your benefits. You never had a chance.
Fortunately, not all judges conduct their hearings this way. But if you get one who does, you may as well pack up and go home because your claim isn't going to get paid.
It's ironic that in the same building, one judge pays 70 claimants out of 100 claimants who appear over a period of time; another judge may only pay 12 or 13. They like to talk about "uniformity," but in reality there is none. It depends on the judge you get.
In reality, Social Security judges use a two-step system to adjudicate claims:
1. Can we pay this claim?
2. Do we want to?
Congress needs to overhaul the Social Security disability system. It should not take 12 to 36 months to get your claim decided. And most claimants should not need attorneys or advocates to get their benefits. The fact that they do indicates a serious problem in the system.
By the way---Never, Ever go before any judge without representation. Never, Ever.
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