Since many claimants are denied at the Application and Reconsideration levels of the disability process, it is important to know what the administrative law judge (ALJ) is looking for when making a decision at the Hearing level. The claimant’s efforts throughout the process to get better and the medical treatment the claimant has undergone, and
How to Request a Hearing by an ALJ In order to request a hearing by an ALJ, the amount remaining in controversy must meet the threshold requirement. This amount may change each year. For calendar year 2021, the amount in controversy is $180.
The absence of deadlines also applies to disability hearings and administrative law judges. ALJs do not have processing deadlines that determine how long they may take to arrive at a decision.
ALJ’s decide hundreds of cases each year and are very busy. The backlog of cases to be decided is substantial. Sometimes, even after conducting an ALJ hearing, instead of issuing a decision, the ALJ will decide he needs more evidence and will conduct a supplemental hearing.
If you are approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI or SSD) only, your file will go to a payment processing center. As long as the judge placed your onset date more than five months before you were approved, you should begin to receive payments within a month.
The only way to overturn a decision made by an ALJ is to file an appeal with the Appeals Council. You can file an appeal to the Appeals Council by sending the SSA a letter or submitting Form HA-520.
At most disability hearings, you can also expect the ALJ to ask detailed questions about your condition and how it affects your work and relationships with loved ones. If the ALJ does not ask a lot of questions, this may be a good indicator that the ALJ has sufficient medical evidence to make a favorable decision.
If you have been approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you may be wondering, can a fully favorable decision be reversed? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.
You may appeal an unfavorable decision to the Appeals Council. Many cases that were initially ruled as unfavorable by an ALJ have been overturned either by the Appeals Council, a Federal Court, or by another ALJ.
Typically, claimants can expect to receive Social Security disability award letters within one to two months from the date they're approved, but in many instances, the wait may be significantly shorter, or longer. The timing of award letters depends on what stage of the process you're at—initial application or appeal.
Because there are so many applications that are filed each year, it takes time for the SSA to process and review each one. This review time can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months on average. Most people have their initial application denied. It doesn't mean that your case is over and that you should give up.
two to three monthsGenerally, within two to three months after your hearing, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will make a decision on your claim. If you are approved, you should expect another two to three months for the decision to be processed before you start receiving your checks.
0:052:31How to Describe Your Daily Activities at Your Disability Hearing - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThey ask how you spend a usual day. They use your description to figure out whether or not yourMoreThey ask how you spend a usual day. They use your description to figure out whether or not your daily activities are consistent with the symptoms. And limitations you describe.
A “fully favorable” decision is rendered by an administrative law judge (ALJ) after evaluating a second appeal filed by a SSDI claimant. This means the ALJ has essentially overturned the denial handed down during the first appeal (reconsideration) and the claimant will now begin receiving monthly disability benefits.
By law SSDI benefits have a five-month waiting period — they start the sixth full month after the onset date — so you're entitled to 10 months of past-due benefits. Social Security typically pays past-due SSDI in a lump sum within 60 days of the claim being approved.
Calculating SSDI Back Payments Count the months between your EOD and application date to determine retroactive months. The number of months between the EOD and approval date, minus the five-month waiting period, plus the retroactive months, times your monthly payment equals the total amount of back pay due.
Sometimes (rarely) an ALJ will announce a favorable decision at the hearing. Usually, however, it takes 2-3 months to get a decision. Sometimes it can take six months or longer. (In our experience, the longer it takes for the ALJ to make a decision, the more likely it is that the decision will be unfavorable.)
Sometimes, even after conducting an ALJ hearing, instead of issuing a decision, the ALJ will decide he needs more evidence and will conduct a supplemental hearing. This of course will delay the case several more months. Even though waiting for a decision is extremely frustrating, claimants should be patient. After all, there is nothing they can do ...
The Federal Court Decision. In its opinion, the Seventh Circuit essentially rejected the claimant's first argument that the ALJ had improperly disregarded the opinions of the claimant's treating physician, Dr. Delo. The court found that Dr. Delo's opinion that the claimant could work only four-hour shifts was not supported by any objective medical ...
Administrative law judges are generally given wide latitude to determine a disability claimant's credibility. The theory is that the ALJ who speaks with the claimant face-to-face is in a much better position than a federal appeals court to evaluate the claimant's truthfulness.
Administrative law judges are generally given wide latitude to determine a disability claimant's credibility. The theory is that the ALJ who speaks with the claimant face-to-face is in a much better position than a federal appeals court to evaluate the claimant's truthfulness. While significant discretion for the ALJ is the general rule, ...
The claimant, Debora Ghiselli, applied for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) in 2010 based on a combination of impairments, including degenerative disk disease, obesity, and asthma. She alleged that a 2007 workplace accident in which she was struck in the back by a shopping cart had left her unable to perform a full-time job.
In its opinion, the Seventh Circuit essentially rejected the claimant's first argument that the ALJ had improperly disregarded the opinions of the claimant's treating physician, Dr. Delo. The court found that Dr. Delo's opinion that the claimant could work only four-hour shifts was not supported by any objective medical evidence. Rather, this restriction seemed to be based entirely on the claimant's subjective complaints. As a result, the ALJ was not required to give controlling weight to Dr. Delo's opinion.
As to the second argument, the Seventh Circuit found that the ALJ's credibility analysis was indeed flawed. The ALJ had found the claimant less than fully credible based on a number of purportedly inconsistent statements, including that the claimant expressed a desire to work even while applying for disability benefits.
Generally speaking, ALJs look for: Credible claimant testimony. Sufficient medical records.
The first step to obtaining benefits after a denial is to appeal the decision and ask for a reconsideration. However, reconsideration efforts are not always successful.
Judges expect effort from the claimant. They expect a claimant to cooperate with the system. Seeking disability is a long and difficult process, but a claimant’s failure to cooperate (e.g., does not fill out necessary paperwork or does not go to a consultative examination), can cause problems for the claimant.
The primary source of evidence in a disability claim is the claimant’s medical records. The Social Security Administration (SSA) orders a claimant’s medical records at the Application and Reconsideration levels. The claimant and her social security disability attorney develop the medical record at the Hearing level.
It is important for a claimant to build a good relationship with her medical provider (s) so hopefully, the provider will support the claimant in her disability claim.
According to information from the Social Security Administration, you are entitled to an appeal. However, the SSA says that you have 60 days after receiving a notice of a denial decision to ask for any type of appeal.
Opinion evidence is very important in a disability case. Medical records provide information regarding the claimant’s symptom complaints, examination findings, treatments, and recommendations for future treatment, but they typically do not include a doctor’s opinion regarding a claimant’s functional limitations.
Your ALJ must consider the dosage, effectiveness, frequency, and side effects of all of your medications and treatments when making a disability decision. Discounted opinions.
Mistakes Judges Make at a Social Security Disability Hearing. You should know that judges are not infallible when it comes to ruling on a Social Security case. There are plenty of errors they can make, especially if they fail to properly consider all of the evidence. Here are just a few ways valid claims may be denied by an administrative law judge ...
If you were denied benefits in a disability hearing, you should have a Social Security attorney examine the decision for legal or procedural mistakes.
Your ALJ must give proper weight to the observations of physicians and psychologists who have treated you, but also from other opinions from your nurses, physicians' assistants, physical therapist, and any other professional who has intimate knowledge of your condition.
In some cases, an ALJ will give weight to only one half of a story, but not the other. For example, if you need a wheelchair and transportation to attend your grandson’s soccer games, your judge may take this to mean that you regularly attend sporting events.
Of course, any claimant who was represented at a disability hearing should have their social security lawyer contact the hearing office to make the status call. For one thing, it is their job to do this.
How long it takes to receive a decision from an administrative law judge may vary considerably. Some claimants will receive a notice of decision following a hearing just several weeks after the hearing has been held. In other cases, it can literally take months for a claimant to receive a decision notice. And this can occur even when the judge ...
Usually when this happens, the judge will hold the case open and allow the attorney sufficient time to obtain the records and then send them to the hearing office. This, of course, delays the decision-making process, but it helps the case. 2. Whether or not the judge determined, at the time of the hearing, that the claimant needed to be sent ...
Meaning that if you file an application for one of those benefits, the issuing agency (a department of social services) is obligated to determine your eligibility within a set number of days.
There are no deadlines for an application for SSD disability or an application for SSI disability. This, of course, makes sense since disability examiners (the individuals who make decisions on claims at the initial claim levels) do not control how long it may take a doctor or hospital to comply with a request for medical records.
The absence of deadlines also applies to disability hearings and administrative law judges. ALJs do not have processing deadlines that determine how long they may take to arrive at a decision.
Usually, consultative exams (a CE exam is performed by an independent doctor or psychologist who is paid by SSA to perform the exam and send a report of their findings to SSA) are scheduled by disability examiners when a case is being determined at the disability application or reconsideration appeal level. However, there are instances in which ...
Did you know that lawyer jokes are so old they can be found in the works of Shakespeare? These contemporary takes are worthy of the Bard himself.
I work in a courthouse, so when I served jury duty, I knew most of the staff. As I sat with other prospective jurors listening to a woman drone on about how long the process was taking, a judge and two lawyers passed by, giving me a big hello. A minute later, a few maintenance workers did the same.
If you’re interested in becoming a lawyer, you’ll need a degree. But as these court transcripts reveal, the question is, in what?
I was in juvenile court, prosecuting a teen suspected of burglary, when the judge asked everyone to stand and state his or her name and role for the court reporter. “Leah Rauch, deputy prosecutor,” I said. “Linda Jones, probation officer.” “Sam Clark, public defender.” “John,” said the teen who was on trial. “I’m the one who stole the truck.”
An investment banker decides she needs in-house counsel, so she interviews a young lawyer. “Mr. Peterson,” she says. “Would you say you’re honest?”
Justice isn’t just blind—it’s snickering at these real courtroom give-and-takes:
When my 88-year-old mother was called for jury duty, she had to submit to questioning by the opposing lawyers. “Have you ever dealt with an attorney?” asked the plaintiff’s lawyer. “Yes. I had an attorney write my living trust,” she responded. “And how did that turn out?” “I don’t know,” she said. “Ask me when I’m dead.”
The judge’s car was broken into and his briefcase was stolen. In it was the court’s case file. The lawyers for the parties had to go through their files and resubmit everything to recreate the court file. That worked for all the pleadings, briefs, and trial transcript, but the judge’s own notes and drafts were lost.
Final judgment is not entered because it is still necessary to figure out how many dollars the defendant owes the plaintiff. Related Answer.
Unlike most judicial chambers, we did not have a backlog of pendin. As long as it takes. “Best practice” is for rulings to be issued within 60 days of the date when the motion becomes decisional, but a typical federal trial judge has about 500–600 cases on their active docket at any given time, and backlogs are common.
As his first assignment of error, the plaintiff raised the fact that the judge issued his ruling less than a week after the motion became decisional. The plaintiff claimed the quick ruling indicated that the judge had not taken enough time to consider the case thoroughly.
Usually both parties move for a summary judgment in their favor, and the judge will grant one motion and deny the other.
The purpose of Summary Judgment is to avoid a useless trial. The legal principles under which a Court must consider a Motion for Summary Judgment are well settled. A Summary Judgment is a drastic remedy to be granted only in the clearest case.
Continue Reading. Some states have a 90 day rule but there is really no set time for a judge to make a decision. If he needs more time it usually means that the case is a very close call and the last thing you want to do is to try to hurry the judge up and anger him.