The Social Security Disability Hearing: What Actually Happens

Who is in the room

• The administrative law judge, who asks most of the questions.
• You, and your representative.
• A vocational expert, almost always.
• A medical expert, sometimes.
• A hearing assistant recording the proceedings.

No jury, no opposing lawyer, and nobody trying to catch you out. It is an inquiry rather than a trial.

What you will be asked

Your work history, your education, your conditions and treatment, and then the practical questions: how long can you sit before you have to move, how far can you walk, how much can you lift, how are your hands, how is your concentration, how many days in a month are bad ones.

Answer specifically. “I cannot sit for long” is far weaker than “about twenty minutes, then I have to stand up.” Judges are trying to build a functional picture and vague answers produce vague findings.

Describe your worst days as well as your average ones, and say how often each occurs.

The vocational expert is the case

The judge poses hypothetical questions to the vocational expert: a person of your age, education and work history with certain limitations, are there jobs in the national economy they could do?

The outcome usually turns on which limitations are included in the hypothetical. Add a need to be off task fifteen percent of the workday, or to miss three days a month, or to elevate a leg, and the expert frequently answers that no jobs remain.

Getting those limitations supported by the medical evidence, and then put to the expert, is the single most valuable thing representation does at these hearings.

Preparation that matters

• Make sure the file is complete before the hearing. Missing recent records are a common problem.
• Have your treating physician address function specifically rather than diagnosis.
• Know your own work history and dates.
• Be ready to describe a typical day honestly, including what you have stopped doing.

Afterwards

Decisions arrive in writing, usually weeks later. A favorable decision then goes for payment processing, which adds further time. If it is unfavorable there are 60 days to seek Appeals Council review.