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ALJ hearings

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Last week I objected to two video hearings that were scheduled for August. I continue to be ambivalent about video hearings.

I have done dozens of video hearings. I think the technology works great. And in a case with very strong medical evidence, a video hearing can be fine. But in a case where the medical evidence alone…

 

I like to submit a current medications list prior to a Social Security disablity hearing. Although a claimant's medications can usually be found in the medical records, it is very handy to have the meds listed in one place. 

Filing a medications list is a nice final update to the disability claim file, and it is a gesture…

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One of the items an administrative law judge may consider when deciding your disability case is your prior work record. A judge will look to see whether or not you were steadlily employed prior to applying for disability, and how much you were earning. A disability claimant with a twenty year work record with good earnings tends to be looked at more favorably than a person who has been chronically underemployed.

I had a recent Social Security disability hearing in Manchester, NH for a claimant with an outstanding prior work record. 40 years of earnings. 20+ years making over $80,000. I just marvelled at it.

This case had everything that a properly prepared disability claim file should have, including up-to-date medical records and a medical source statement from each of the claimant's medical providers. There was a clear medical diagnosis and unrebutted medical opinion regarding the claimant's resulting functional limitations. Despite all that, it was the claimant's prior work record that provided the most persuasive piece of evidence in the claim file.  Continue Reading An Outstanding Prior Work Record

I asked one of our Portland, Maine judges this question: How far in advance of a Social Security disability hearing should the hearing brief be submitted?

The answer: 7 days ahead of the hearing.

The deadline for submitting new evidence is 5 business days (which equals 7 calendar days) ahead of the hearing. After the…

I have an upcoming hearing for a client suffering from chronic severe back pain.

When evaluating a claim involving subjective symptoms such as pain, a Social Security Administrative Law Judge must consider the credibility of the claimant's statements regarding pain and the functional limitations that result.

The judge must determine if the pain is as bad…

Judge Joseph Shortill is being transferred to the Portland Maine hearing office. His first day of hearings will be Easter Monday, April 13th.

Judge Shortill has been a Social Security administrative law judge in the Springfield, Massachusetts hearing office. I have had several hearings with him there, and in Worcester. He will be a terrific addition…

The publication of the ALJ database has been on my mind over the New Year's holiday weekend. It has been a unique opportunity for us Social Security disability lawyers to compare our impressions of the ALJs we see against an objective standard.

For example, I learned that a judge whom I consider to be a tough judge had the same claim allowance rate as a judge from another state whom I considered to be a more claimant-friendly judge. I am still thinking about that.

As I explored the database, I was shocked to learn that there were Social Security administrative law judges with approval rates as low as 11%. {update: This was in 2007, which is the most recent year for which complete statistics are available.}

I am very troubled by that statistic. Somewhere there is a judge, deciding hundreds of Social Security claims a year, who made fully or partially favorable decisions in just 11 claims out of a hundred. 11 out of 100! Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of this judge's colleagues have claim approval rates somewhere well north of 50%.

So I have been thinking: what sort of a person grants just 11 claims out of a hundred?  Continue Reading The 11 Percent ALJ

I have added a link the The Oregonian's searchable ALJ database to the sidebar of this blog. You can find it under "Resources of Note." I shall maintain the link for as long The Oregonian keeps the database available.

Knowing a judge's stats is just one factor. It is also important to know how a…