How I Prepare for a Social Security Disability Hearing

Preparing for a disability hearing is hard work but vital to the case.  The judge will likely give you about 30 minutes to make your case. Those minutes are precious and must not be wasted.

I try to get to know the claimant first.  I want to meet him/her, listen to their story, know how they are limited, what they can do and can't do.  Every case is similar, yet each case is different, too.

Next, I try to read all of the medical records.  I want to digest what the doctors have said about my client.  Then, I take a look at the vocational evidence.  What kind of work has this person performed in the past?  What skill level was involved?  How was each past job classified as far as the exertion level?

When I feel that I know the claimant and the case pretty well, I will sit down to write the legal brief.  The brief is a precise framework that walks the administrative law judge through the medical and vocational files--and leads to a logical conclusion.  A good brief will cite Social Security Listings, rulings, laws or grid rules that apply to the case.  It will give the judge several reasons to find the claimant disabled.  

Often, I don't see a way to prove disability until I write the brief.  That's when the "light dawns," so to speak.  Sometimes, I literally jump up from my computer, reach toward the ceiling and say, "That's it!  That's how we prove disability!"  It's the defining moment.  Once I see the legal logic, then I know I can make the judge see it, too.

Finally, I go over my checklist.  Did I overlook anything?  What are potential problems that may occur?  Is there a contingency plan if "this" happens or "that" happens?  If there are vocational or medical experts scheduled to testify, I want to anticipate their testimony and be prepared to answer them.  At this point I also meet again with the claimant to explain what's going to take place at the hearing.  I lay out the "road map" of the case for the claimant to see.  "Here's where we need to go and here's how we're going to get there."
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Charles W. Forsythe is a founding member of the Forsythe Firm, a Social Security disability advocacy firm in Huntsville, AL.  The firm practices solely in the field of Social Security disability and represents clients in northern Alabama and Middle Tennessee.  (We also have advocates in the Nashville and Franklin, TN. areas). There is no charge unless you win your case and are granted back pay.  Contact us at:  (256) 799-0297.  Click here to visit our web page for more information.