ALABAMA WAIT TIMES FOR HEARINGS

UPDATE....UPDATE...UPDATE...

As of 9/5/17, I am telling people to expect a wait of at least 24 months to get a hearing.  The wait times are getting longer, not shorter.  I am now getting hearings scheduled for appeals that were filed back in 2014 and 2015.  Please realize, this is not your representative's fault.  It is the fault of the Social Security Administration and their back log of cases. 

The average waiting time to get a Social Security disability hearing varies from city to city.  In Fort Smith, Arkansas the average wait for a hearing is now only 7 months.  But in Pittsburg, the wait is 20 months.

What's it like here in Alabama?  In Florence, the ODAR website says the average wait is 12.5 months (however, I think that is a very optimistic number).  In Birmingham, the wait is listed as 18 months.  Down in Mobile, people are waiting 16 months to get a hearing.  The national average is now 16.8 months.  It's an interesting anomaly but the wait time for a hearing in Huntsville or Madison County is several months longer.  I discuss this more below.

Question:  Can I cut my waiting time by agreeing to a hearing by video teleconference (VTC)?

 In my experience, no you cannot.  Social Security for several years implied that video teleconferencing would get you a quicker hearing.  I have not found that to be so.  I was looking at the Florence, AL ODAR website recently and was not surprised to find that a very high percentage of their hearings are now being done in person.  I assume this is because claimants' attorneys and representatives are opting out of video hearings and insisting on in-person hearings.  I have tried VTC hearings several times and did not feel that there was any shorter wait because of the video hearing.

HUNTSVILLE HEARING PROBLEM:  I will add that waiting times for the Huntsville, AL area are much longer than for other north Alabama locations. The reason for that is that there's only one hearing room available in Huntsville (if you can believe that).  When I file an appeal, I request the hearing to be scheduled for the first location available and waive the travel expense.  In short, the claimant and I agree to get out of Huntsville and travel to Florence or Cullman if we can get a hearing sooner in one of those towns.