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DISABIITY HEARING - HOW DO YOU PREPARE?

If you are represented by counsel, preparing for a hearing is easy.  Your attorney/advocate will prepare the case for you, handling all the details.  He or she will collect all the evidence available, submit it, and brief it for the judge.  Your counsel will call you shortly before the hearing and prepare you to face the hearing.  Your representative will attend the hearing with you to handle problems or questions and generally to argue your case according to the rules and regulations of the Social Security Administration.

However, if you are unrepresented, it is quite a different matter.  You should start preparing at least 6 months before the hearing date because there is a lot to do.

Here are some of the things you need to well before your hearing date:

  • Obtain and submit to the hearing office all of your medical records--from each and every doctor, clinic, hospital, counselor, therapist or other medical provider.  These must be submitted at least 5 business days prior to the hearing.  Obtaining a full medical record may take months.
  • Read every medical record page by page and make detailed notes about what each one says.  Refer to them by the Exhibit Number used by Social Security, and note the page number.  You will need this in your hearing.  For example:  In, Exhibit 4F, page 83, Dr. ___ states that I have difficulty performing the following functions...."
  • Based on your medical records, decide what your proper Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) is.  In other words, are you limited to working at the sedentary, light, medium or heavy exertion level?  Or, can you demonstrate that you are unable to perform work even at the sedentary exertion level?  Find the evidence that proves your argument.
  • Ask your doctor to give you a Residual Functional Capacity evaluation form which outlines his/her opinion of your ability to perform specific work-like activities (walking, standing, sitting, bending, reaching, kneeling...., etc.).
  • Consult the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) to determine the following information about each job you have held in the past 15 years.
    • The title of each job in the DOT
    • The DOT code number
    • The exertion level of each job
    • The SVP for each job (Specific Vocational Preparation)
  • Consult the Listings published by Social Security to see if you meet one of the Listings.
  • If you are age 50 or over, determine whether a finding of "disabled" is directed by one of the medical-vocational guidelines, also called the "grid rules."  If so, which one? 
  • If you do not qualify under a grid rule, decide how you will prove that you cannot perform even unskilled sedentary work.  Proving involves much more than saying so or making an allegation.
  • Prepare to cross examine the vocational expert who will testify at your hearing.  In many cases, the expert will tell the judge that are several jobs in the national economy that you could perform in spite of your medical impairments.  If this testimony is permitted to stand, your claim will be denied.  So, decide which regulation or rule you may be able to use against the expert testimony.
  • Prepare a closing argument of not more than 2 minutes which concisely outlines the evidence which proves your case--taking into account your age, education, past work experience and residual functional capacity (RFC).
You may gather that preparing for a successful hearing is not simple, easy or quick.  It will probably involve hundreds of hours of work, study, organizing and research.  It is not a matter of showing up and just telling your story.

The fact that you are disabled probably means that you are not able to perform all of this work.  Even if you are, you may not want to.

But the above list is a few of the things essential to building a good Social Security appeal and preparing for a successful hearing.


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