A disability attorney like those from the Law Offices of Nancy L. Cavey can help you win your case by submitting medical evidence to the SSA and filing the correct forms. They will also prepare you for your hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. They will cross-examine the experts hired by SSA and elicit testimony most favorable to their client. They will also ensure the ALJ has all the relevant evidence in your file.
Cross-Examining Witnesses
A disability lawyer knows how to cross-examine witnesses in a way that will advance your case. They will know the ALJ presiding over your hearing and have a good idea of what kind of testimony and evidence they expect to hear from vocational experts and medical advisors. The SSA hires vocational experts to testify at disability hearings about the types of work they think you can do based on your symptoms and how they relate to different jobs. A skilled attorney can coax the VE into saying things that support your disability claim, which is essential since the VE’s testimony often carries significant weight during a hearing. A skilled disability lawyer can also destroy the witness’s credibility in ways that support your case. They will focus on specific facts and ask multiple questions in a short period to prevent the witness from having a chance to escape by referring back to their earlier testimony or admissible evidence.
Preparing You for Your Hearing
In addition to requesting updated medical records, obtaining questionnaires and statements from third parties, and preparing the client for testifying, disability attorneys also submit legal briefs that summarize the case facts as they apply to Social Security disability law. This helps the judge focus on the most compelling arguments for approving the claim. During the hearing, the judge will ask the client questions under oath about their work history, medical conditions, and how those limitations impact daily activities. A disability attorney can help clients prepare for these questions, providing examples illustrating how their impairments make specific tasks challenging or impossible. Experienced disability lawyers often know the Administrative Law Judges who handle these cases and how they tend to approach these claims. They can spot mistakes in the judge’s previous decisions, such as errors in determining whether your condition meets the SSA definition of “disability.” They also know how to challenge damaging testimony from a vocational expert, including showing that the expert improperly used the applicant’s past work history when deciding which jobs the applicant could still perform.
Obtaining More Information
A disability lawyer will be familiar with the SSA’s grid rules and how to use them best to show you cannot do any work. They can ask questions that will give the SSA representative information, like whether you can stand for long periods or lift objects, and they can prepare hypothetical scenarios to rule out various types of work. A lawyer can also prepare supplementary documents called “on-the-record briefs” to summarize years of medical records into a few pages that can encourage an Administrative Law Judge to grant your disability benefits without requiring a hearing. Under SSA rules, an attorney can receive 25 percent or less of your back disability payments as their fee. A disability attorney specializing in Social Security disability cases understands how to build a strong enough case that persuades an ALJ to issue a ruling that gets you approved for financial assistance. They can help you at any stage in the disability process, including the initial application and the appeal for reconsideration.
Getting an On-the-Record Decision
If you file a disability appeal and receive a denial from the SSA, you may be eligible for an on-the-record review (OTR) before your hearing. Your disability attorney will ensure that your medical evidence is sufficient for a favorable OTR decision. An OTR decision can help you avoid a hearing, which can be physically and mentally stressful. It also prevents the need to call witnesses and provide new medical evidence. Experienced disability attorneys know which pieces of evidence are important and how to obtain the correct medical information. They also understand which arguments will be compelling in your case and which will be detrimental. A disability attorney can help you win your case by showing that your medical conditions and functional limitations are severe enough to disqualify you from any jobs in the national occupational classification system. They will use the grid rules to prove that you cannot perform your prior work or that you cannot do any light or sedentary jobs.
