SHOULD YOU HAVE A VIDEO HEARING?

Social Security judges now hold a lot of their hearings by video teleconference (VTC).  Should you choose to have a VTC?

If you have a video teleconference, you and your representative will appear at an office near your home town.  However, the judge will be in another city (Florence, Nashville, Franklin) and you will see him/her on a big TV screen.

The hearing process is identical, whether in person or by VTC.  All claimants have the right to an in-person hearing; therefore, you have the right to opt out of a VTC.  However, this opt out must occur according to a time limit specified by Social Security.  It cannot occur after the hearing has already been scheduled.

In my opinion, hearings by video teleconference have pros and cons.  Here are some of them, based on my experience:

Pros

• A VTC may be scheduled sooner.  Average waiting time to get a hearing is now over 20 months.  A VTC may be scheduled a little sooner.
• The procedure is exactly the same during a video hearing as it would be in a face-to-face hearing.  Same questions, same burden of proof, same opportunity to present your case.
• I cannot find any objective evidence that points to a different award rate for VTC hearings vs. in-person hearings.

Cons

• Rarely, technical problems can make it difficult to hear everyone well in a VTC.  This typically only happens when the vocational witness is either on the phone (not present with the judge) or in a third location (not present with the judge or claimant).  If the vocational witness is calling in from home, it is sometimes a problem.
• A VTC increases the chance that a judge in a far away city will hold the hearing, thus your representative may not be familiar with the judge.  Judges have different award rates, so this could be good or bad--just depending on the luck of the draw.
• Some would argue that the judge simply can't see or observe the claimant as well by VTC as would be possible in a live hearing.  I can see some validity to this point of view. 

Ultimately, I think the claimant and representative should have a frank and thorough discussion about a VCT hearing and a decision should be made on a case by case basis.  VCTs are probably not a good idea for all situations; however, in other situations they may be all right.

In the past, I objected to video hearings.  However, I no longer automatically object to them because of the extremely long wait now required to get before a judge.  This is, of course, another important consideration.  Can the claimant afford to wait up to 2 years to get a face-to-face hearing?  For most claimants, the answer is No.  So, the time frame may argue for a hearing by video teleconference.
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Charles W. Forsythe
The Forsythe Firm
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Huntsville, AL 35806
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