Appeal to ALJ: How to Make Your Disability Case

Every year, across the United States, millions of people apply to receive disability. Of those who apply, 70% will be turned down at the initial applications level. Furthermore, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will refuse benefits to approximately 85% of those applicants who take their claim to the first appeal.  It is at this level of argumentation, the applicant will face and appeal to an Administrative Law Judge.

What Is An Administrative Law Judge?

An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) is a legal official who determines a dispute existing between a specified government agency and the individual affected by the agency's decision. He or she is both a maker of decisions at this appeal and the initial trier of the facts. During the process, the ALJ has the right to:

• Take testimony
• Administer oaths
• Rule on any question arising concerning evidence
• Questions witnesses on both sides including the treating source - the claimant's own psychologist, personal doctors and related professionals
• Arrive at a legal course of action and makes a final decision

While in some instances, procedures involving an ALJ may be quite formal, this is not the typical procedure adopted by the ALJ when presiding over a matter concerning the SSA as part of the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR).

Making Your Appeal Work

ODAR is one of the biggest judicial systems of its kind worldwide. If you wish to make your appeal to an ALJ work, you will have to consider the following approach:

• Ask to see your records/file that relates specifically to the current evaluation of your status. This is your legal right
• Study and see what is missing, questionable and requires further information or data
• Do not rely solely on the facts, but be sure it is accurate, applicable and correct
• Contact witnesses for your medical issues - your physician, psychologist, any specialist(s) in the various fields of medicine
• Make sure you can draw on expert testimony for any complex medical issue
• Ascertain the capability of your witnesses and experts to be able to handle any questions put to them by the ALJ

Call In An Attorney

You can prepare your appeal case on your own. Yet, hiring a lawyer skilled in disability law and the Social Security Administration legal system will remove some of the stress. A lawyer well versed in this type of law will be able to ensure your appeal to an administrative law judge contains all the required material to help it succeed.