The Administrative Law Judge

The individual responsible for presiding over your Social Security disability hearing is called an administrative law judge (ALJ). The ALJ’s job is to decide whether or not you are entitled to disability benefits. This decision is not to be influenced or swayed in any way by the fact that your claim has already been denied at both the initial application and reconsideration phases by the time you are at a hearing. Indeed, your chances are being found disabled are over half, according to the national average of judges’ decisions, making this stage the time at which you have the greatest odds of winning.

Social Security hearings tend to be informal and are not adversarial. In other words, you will not be cross-examined by a lawyer on the other side. In fact, the only lawyer present will be your Florida disability attorney. Though the administrative law judge will question you about your claim, the goal of this questioning is fact-finding, not trying to argue against your claim.

As the term implies, you should treat the administrative law judge with as much respect as you would accord to a judge at a courtroom. At the same time, many ALJs choose not to wear judicial robes and you will not be required to stand when the ALJ enters the room. Your Tampa disability lawyer will inform you as to proper behavior at the hearing well before the day of your hearing.

Part of the respect that you should show to the judge is holding back any anger that you have at the Social Security system and its delays. By the time you make it to a hearing, you probably will be frustrated on some level. You have been denied benefits twice for reasons that you do not understand, and the application and appeals process is time-consuming and irritating at times. Recognize that the ALJ is not responsible for the way in which things are run and that he or she understands the problems with the appeals system. Therefore, do not explain the issues that you have had and do not ask the judge why it has taken so long for you to get a hearing or why you have been denied in the past.

Being well-prepared for a hearing by a qualified Florida Social Security disability lawyer can go a long way in increasing your odds of receiving a favorable decision. If you are facing a hearing, contact Tampa disability attorney Garry Miracle for a free consultation on your claim.