SSA tip of the day: How drugs and alcohol may impact your SSA claim
If you have questions about how Drugs or Alcoholmay have an impact on your case, please check out my video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEtFh4RHIto
TIP: You did NOT go to Medical School
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.
Be honest; Be credible; and Be aware of your medical records
If you are wondering how your testimony at your disability hearing may help or hurt your claim, please check out the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxbPIdI026Y
Social Security Disability and the Long Wait
All Roads Are Paved With Good Intentions: Social Security Disability and the Lengthy Waiting Process
Recently, I read an article that proclaimed, “President’s record blurred by economy”. Every President is faced with the responsibility of inheriting the assets and liabilities left over from the prior administration. Obama is no different. In fact, it’s arguable that he, more than any other President in U.S. history, has inherited the worst problems. And with the economic troubles we’re facing, relief for those who are suffering will be slow, no matter how brilliant the policies his administration implements. In an interview, President Obama made it clear he is very aware of this when he stated that even if the country does see some economic improvement, the person who is still unemployed won’t share in that improvement until he/she has a job.
I understand the President’s position. Now, I am not an employee of the Social Security Administration, but I have watched them take some aggressive steps to improve the long ‘waiting process’. I’ve written a few times about the little things that you, as the claimant, can do to make sure that you don’t have to wait that long. Understandably, SSA, is working to speed things up as well.
Here are a few observations that I have seen in the last few years:
1) Electronic files – now, you can file your application and appeal online. You get a copy of your file on a CD and not a monstrous paper folder.
2) National Hearing Center – to ease up the slack of some of the hearing offices, SSA has created a National Hearing Center so judges can schedule hearings for claimants via video teleconference for the whole country.
3) Disability Determination Services – more and more cases are being handled by these agencies in areas beyond their jurisdiction.
Now, these are just a few things but I can tell you that SSA is legitimately trying to speed up the process. Unfortunately, most people applying for SSA are in the worst position of their lives. They aren’t working. They have no insurance. They have no money. Their health is in the worst shape possible. And to make matters worse, they have to WAIT for their case to go through this process to see any relief.
So despite all of these improvements and major changes that the agency has implemented, the process is still slow. For the person who is living on the couch of a friend with no ability to sustain him/herself, improvements mean nothing without any results that benefit that particular individual.
Social Security Disability tip: What your medications say about your case
If you’re wondering what your medications say about your case, please review my video: