EXPERIENCE IS A GREAT TEACHER!

I always meet with my clients before a Social Security disability hearing.  I try to advise them to expect certain questions from the judge.  I try to tell them why these questions may be asked.

I recently met one of my clients and told him that questions may be designed to sound like polite conversational chatter--but with the intention of getting the claimant to admit activities that deny disability.  I went through 5 or 6 typical questions that I hear judges ask at hearings.

When we got to the hearing, the judge was very casual and amiable.  Sure enough, during the questioning of the claimant, the judge asked 3 of the questions I had used as examples.  My client did a good job answering the questions--truthfully--but in a way that gave a good picture of his limitations.

My point is, experience is the best teacher.  A Social Security disability advocate is a great asset.  Perhaps the greatest value is the advocate's experience.  He or she knows the system, the procedures, the judges.  We can use our experience to guide our clients around the "rapids" in the Social Security disability system. 

I cannot imagine a claimant walking into a Social Security disability hearing for the very first time and expecting a good outcome.  Judges may try very hard to be fair and objective, as I believe most do.  However, they will not be your advocate.  They are not dedicated to presenting your side of the case and the reasons why you should be found disabled.  That is the job of your advocate.  If you don't have one, it's worse than being "asleep at the switch."  Nobody is at the switch.


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