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The Spring conference of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) takes place this week in Philadelphia. I will be travelling today to attend the conference.

I will be presenting a workshop Friday morning at 8:30 AM. My workshop is titled: "Writing Effective Hearing Briefs for the ALJ."

Here is the workshop description:

Win more cases at the hearing level by writing a pre-hearing memorandum for the ALJ.  This presentation will persuade you to submit a brief in advance of every hearing, and will offer useful tips for writing a more effective memorandum.

If you will be attending the Philly NOSSCR conference, please go to the workshop! And please say hello to me while at the conference. I look forward to meeting you.

I like to get a statement from a spouse for Social Security disability claims. I think a non-medical, or "lay," statement is helpful to the claim. These statements are often quite powerful, because they describe the loss that has accompanied the inability to work, and often describe the struggles the household has undergone as a result of the claimant's disability. The statements provide good evidence in support of a claim for disability benefits.

Further, the statement is already in the claim file before the ALJ first reviews the claim, so the judge can get a good idea of a claim in advance of the hearing.

Statements are not limited to spouses, however. Anyone with knowledge of the disability applicant's situation can write a statement, and these statements must be considered by the judge. See 20 CFR 404.1513(d)(4).

I had a meeting last week, in preparation for an upcoming hearing, with a client who obtained four statements in support of her claim: her husband, her mother, her best friend, and a previous employer who is also a friend. The four statements together paint a clear picture of the client's limitations. They add quite a bit to the overall case. Each statement describes similar problems that the client is having, but describe the client's limitations in different ways. Each statement is very genuine, and together they offer persuasive evidence of disability.

Two thoughts on presentation of the statements:

  1. Sometimes handwritten statements are very hard to read. In such cases, my legal assistant types the statement, and we submit the typed version together with the original handwritten one. You want the judge to be able to read the statement, so type it if necessary.
  2. A speaker at a recent conference suggested that statements should be submitted in the form of an affidavit: typed, sworn and notarized. The speaker's thinking was that, if you end up in federal court, the affidavit format is familiar, and the statement would carry more weight. In my view, it is the authenticity and genuineness of the statements that make them such good evidence. An affidavit is a lawyer-produced document, and seems less persuasive to me. I think the statement in its original form is more effective at the hearing level.

Regardless of the format, get statements in support of your claim!

Update: Please also read Statement from a former employer can enhance credibility


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Ten steps to prepare for your Social Security disability hearing

 

For those who are enrolled in Social Security's online Representative Services, you have instant access to the ALJ's decision, on the day the decision is made and the case is closed.

Once you see on your hearing office status report that a particular case has been closed, access that claimant's electronic folder online. The ALJ's decison is not included on the exhibit list, which is the default screen for the electronic folder. But if you click on the "case documents" tab (on the top left corner, as shown above), the ALJ decision will be right there in the "A" section. You can select the decision, download it, and send it off to your client by email.

For those who are anxious about the result of their disability hearing, which is pretty much everybody, it is wonderful to obtain the actual judge's decision in near real time, rather than ten days later in the mail.

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Every other Friday, I publish links to articles of note regarding Social Security disability.

I frequently remind readers of the importance of medical source statements for Social Security disability claims.

I try to get medical source statements as early as possible in the claim process. Get them while you can,  because you may not be able to get an opinion from that treating source later. 

I recently had a conversation with a client that demonstrates the wisdom of that practice. We obtained medical source statements from her psychiatric nurse practitioner (Ruling 06-03p requires adjudicators to weigh "other source" opinions to show the severity of an individual's impairment and how it affects the individual's ability to function) and from her primary care physician early in the case.

A few months ago, the client moved to a different part of the state, and is still in the process of reestablishing medical care. The hearing is approaching. If my office had waited until the hearing was scheduled to seek treating source opinions, we would be out of luck. But since we sought them early, all is well.

Stuff happens. Clients may move. Clients may lose their insurance, and not be able to afford to go to the doctor. Sometimes the relationship with the treating doctor goes downhill. Treating doctors can move away, change practices, or retire. 

Get medical source statements as early as possible. 

I write regularly about the importance of medical opinion evidence in a Social Security disability claim. Hopefully a treating doctor’s opinion helps to persuade the judge that you are disabled.

Whether or not the administrative law judge (ALJ) is persuaded to allow your claim for disability benefits, a treating source opinion triggers certain requirements for the ALJ’s written decision.

Social Security Ruling 96-8p states:

The RFC assessment must always consider and address medical source opinions. If the RFC assessment conflicts with an opinion from a medical source, the adjudicator must explain why the opinion was not adopted.

Keep theis key provision in mind when you appeal an unfavorable ALJ decision to the Appeals Council or to federal court.

Every other Friday I highlight articles of note from the Social Security disability law blogs:

 

I had a Social Security disability hearing last week that took place five years after the claimant first applied for disability benefits. At the end of the hearing, the judge kindly announced that he would award disability benefits to my client. A fully favorable decision has already been issued.

Since the hearing, I have been thinking about what a long road it has been for this disability claimant, who has been unable to work for so long due to chronic pain.

The client came to my office after receiving an unfavorable ALJ decision in New Hampshire, and after getting no relief from the Appeals Council. I reviewed the ALJ's decision and the claim file, and accepted the case for a federal court appeal. I was able to obtain a remand back to the SSA for a new hearing, and that second hearing took place last week. Since the claimant had moved from New Hampshire to Maine to stay with a relative, there was a different judge for the second hearing. 

It can be heartbreaking to hear clients' stories of their difficulties while waiting for a favorable determination on a disability claim. Many clients have dramatically changed lives due to their health conditions (and the financial ruin that can accompany the loss of the ability to work).

As a Social Security disability lawyer, it is very gratifying when a claim is granted due to my efforts (and the efforts of my excellent staff) on the client's behalf. Personally, however, it is humbling to think about what the client has experienced during the time the disability claim has been pending. 

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Get help from a lawyer with your disability claim 

If you are considering an application for Social Security disability benefits, or have already applied and want assistance with your claim, please contact Gordon Gates for a free consultation.

 

Since December of 2011, the SSA has had a policy of not disclosing the identity of the particular ALJ assigned to conduct a hearing and decide the case. This policy is unfortunate. It is helpful to know who the judge is for a hearing, rather than preparing your case for an unknown ALJ.

For my practice, however, I really do not need to know who the ALJ is ahead of time. I know my local judges, and can adjust accordingly at the hearing.

Nevertheless, it became something of a challenge to prognosticate the assigned ALJ, given the information provided in the hearing notice. So I went to work on the problem.

I have developed an algorithm that predicts the particular ALJ assigned to a hearing from the information contained in the hearing notice. It has proven to be 94% accurate predicting the judges assigned in the Portland hearing office. 

The variables are:

  1. the day of the week of the hearing, 
  2. time of the hearing, 
  3. the hearing room, and 
  4. whether or not a vocational expert (VE) has been assigned.
  5. whether or not a medical expert (ME) has been assigned

All this information is set forth in the notice of hearing. 

Continue Reading Predicting the assigned ALJ