After months (maybe even years) of waiting, you finally get your chance. It’s time for you to appear before a Social Security Judge, and let him know how bad your condition really is. Then, when the questioning starts, what happens? You sound like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy! Medical terms start flying all over the place. What are you DOING?
This may sound harsh but let me tell you something. Unless you are an actual doctor, you did not go to Medical School. I know it’s hard but let me tell you what happens. You go to the doctor all of the time so you get used to hearing the doctor using those medical terms on a regular basis. It’s so regular that you start to use those terms. It’s second nature. It’s understandable.
But let me give you a few tips that you need to know when you go into a Social Security hearing:
If you can’t tell me what it is or where it is, don’t say it! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say “I have a bulging disc at the L5-S1 with sciatica down my left lower extremity”. What? I had one client who said, “I have Schizo-affective disorder”. and tThe judge asked, “Do you know what that means?” My client answered, “No”, to which the judge responded, “Then why are you saying it?”.
The judge knows more medical information than you. You may know your case but these judges have been reviewing medical evidence for years and, trust me, you are doing nothing for your case by trying to educate the judge.
You are so much more convincing when you are using plain English. When you say “I have a burning sensation that goes down the back of my leg”, it sounds so much better than “I have sciatica down my left lower extremity”.
Don’t try to educate the judge. Some people will actually go into a hearing thinking that the judge has no clue, so they spend less time talking about their medical condition and more time trying to “school” the judge on their condition. Not a good idea.
The judge sincerely wants to know what’s wrong with you. Contrary to popular belief, the judge wants to know what’s wrong with you in layman’s terms. So just be honest and don’t try to get too technical.
Naturally you are excited about your case but it’s important that you don’t think you’re putting on a medical clinic. Just state what’s wrong with you and let everything else work itself out.
