If your claim has been denied on paper by claims workers at the Application and Reconsideration levels, the Administrative Law Judge Hearing is your opportunity to explain in your own words how your feel, and why you are unable to work. Request a hearing online (you need a my Social Security account to file the Request. )
The right to this hearing is especially important in cases where the symptoms of the illness or disability are not obvious, such as when the claimant is suffering from disabling pain. Social Security Administrative Law Judges conducted more than 180,000 hearings by telephone during 2020. A better alternative is the Video Hearing that can be scheduled to hear your case.
To appeal your claim to an ALJ, we can file SSA Form 501, and prepare you and your case for your hearing.
One of the first things I do to get your case ready is to prepare a Chronology of your medical treatment so the people working on your case can easily find what’s important in your records. I call this Chronology your Health Care Treatment Tracking Sheet (HCTT). You will have online access to your HCTT whenever you want to check on it. You can see where the medical evidence in your claim file stands. The HCTT shows every event in your medical and vocational history. You can review summaries of what your doctors are saying. You can tell me if any treatment records are missing or incomplete, so we get them updated and over to Social Security. Date by date, the events are listed in order. The case worker or Administrative Law Judge can more clearly understand your pain, symptoms, limitations, and all the effects of your disability.
After filing for a hearing in Springfield or Hartford you may wait 10 or 11 months for hearing. During this time it is important that you continue to get medical treatment. We use the months of waiting time to obtain complete medical reports from your physicians. If your physicians are willing to help, we can obtain statements from them explaining how your conditions make it impossible to keep working.
It may be possible to obtain an “on the record” (OTR) decision, meaning that the claim is decided favorably before a hearing, based on the strength of the medical records in your file. If the medical evidence doesn’t direct a decision on paper, I will prepare a Pre Hearing Brief for the Administrative Law Judge, explaining how the evidence in your case fits within Social Security Disability regulations.
Check on the current wait time at the OpenGov website:
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How often has your ALJ awarded benefits? Many disabled workers who take their claims to a hearing are found to be medically disabled, so they are eligible for disability benefits. This rate of allowances is possible because the judge is able to see you, and hear you explain why you cannot work. Check on your Social Security ALJ allowance rates at the OpenGov website:
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Sprin
gfield Hearing Office: The hearing office for people who live in Western Massachusetts (processing cases filed in District Offices in Springfield, Holyoke and Greenfield) is located at: Suite 450 – 1441 Main Street, Springfield, Massachusetts 01103. Telephone: (866) 964-5058. The office is closed to the public, but services are available online.
Hartford Hearing Office. The Hartford hearing office processes cases for people who live in Northern Connecticut including Enfield and Somers residents, and is located at: William R. Cotter Federal Building, 135 High Street, Room 331, Hartford, Connecticut 06103-1193 Telephone: (866) 931-2878. The office is closed to the public, but services are available online.
I will ask you whether family members or another person knows about how your disability has affected everyday life, and your ability to work. I will help you and your witnesses prepare the important testimony about your symptoms and activities of daily living. What happens during a hearing?
We go over your work experience and your education to prepare for your hearing, along with your testimony about your daily life, your medical history, and your physical and mental abilities. All of this information is carefully prepared, so that when we get to the hearing room, the Judge can clearly see how your case fits in with Social Security regulations
Social Security may hire a vocational expert to come to your hearing. The vocational expert listens to all of this testimony, and then gives an opinion about whether a disability makes it too difficult for a person to go to work. Vocational Experts provide important evidence in the case that must fit with what you can or cannot do.
The total time from the day you file for the ALJ hearing in Hartford or Springfield until the day we receive the judge’s decision can be 1 year or more:
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The goal is to obtain a Fully Favorable Decision on your claim. It’s important to start preparing now. Preparing for your hearing involves a full review of how you feel, and how your disability has affected you. Many people who suffer from pain and chronic illness have trouble explaining how they feel. It is not unusual for disabled people to have difficulty or even reluctance in describing their symptoms. I can help you prepare for the hearing, and explain how the Social Security law and regulations apply to your specific case. Call me today for a free case evaluation: (413) 567-5600.