What does an Administrative Law Judge do?

During the initial disability claim, an applicant files an electronic or paper application to the Social Security Administration. If denied initially, which a significant percentage are, the applicant must then obtain a disability hearing to appeal his or her case. The disability hearing appeal will be overseen by an administrative law judge, who will evaluate the disability claim and hear additional testimony and evidence brought forth by a disability claimant. The administrative law judge, who is employed by the federal government to overhear statutory cases (such as disability claims involving the SSA), is located at the Office of Hearings and Appeals. In a given state jurisdiction, there are several Offices of Hearings and Appeals locations, with many states having several of these locations throughout the state with several judges in each location.

The reality of the disability appeals process, in many respects, is that the administrative law judge is the sole deciding entity on whether your claim is once again denied or receives approval. Furthermore, not all administrative law judges act in a uniform manner, making any appeal an entirely case-specific process, occasionally hinging on the specific administrative law judge overseeing the case. In short, any viable disability appeals case should involve a disability lawyer. Without question, going into the appeals process without a bolstered and prepared appeals case put together and represented by legal counsel will drastically decrease the likelihood of your approval of benefits.