Want to Win Your Disability Case? Be Specific.

Has your application for Social Security Disability benefits been turned down?

If your case was denied at the initial application and reconsideration stages of the process, you are entitled to an in-person appeal hearing.

The hearing will be conducted by a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) who had no part in the original decision or reconsideration of your case.

Your hearing will be your best opportunity to qualify for disability benefits. And yes, you will be required to testify before an ALJ to answer questions about the symptoms of your disabilities and how those symptoms prevent you from being able to maintain substantial gainful employment.

Unfortunately, all too often, we see claimants with real disabilities make mistakes that cost them the benefits they deserve. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not precisely describing your impairment, how it affects your life every day, and how it prevents you from being able to hold a job.

During your disability hearing, the ALJ will ask you questions about what you are physically capable of doing.

He or she will ask questions like:

• “How long can you stand and walk?”
• “How do you spend a typical day?”
• “Can you do the dishes?”

The ALJ is attempting to determine your “residual functional capacity” (RFC); that is, what you can still do despite your impairments. The ALJ is trying to get a handle on what you can do during a workday and work week.

“Oftentimes we will ask our client a question and they will give a vague answer in response,” notes disability attorney Bob Godnik of Nash Disability Law. “It’s not that the client necessarily intends on hiding something or being vague. But they need to know that it’s specific answers that will win their disability case.

“For example, if we ask how often they get panic attacks or how often their back bothers them, we may get an answer such as ‘every now and then’ or ‘every blue moon.’ In preparing for the hearing, we work with our clients to obtain specific answers that will help show how they are limited by their health problems. For example, if the judge asks how long the client can stand or how far they can walk, the right answer is a certain number of blocks or length of time. Three blocks, 30 minutes, etc. ‘I don’t know, I never timed it’ or ‘not that long at all’ means nothing to the judge.”

A good way to answer the judge’s questions and improve your odds of being awarded the benefits you are eligible to receive is to keep a disability journal, which is a log you keep that tracks how your disability affects your day-to-day living and what you do to manage it.

Aim to add journal entries every day, or at least several times a week, and be specific. You can bring your journal to doctor visits so the doctor documents your symptoms and treats them accordingly.

This journal will also help reinforce the medical records, tests, and statements from your health care providers, and may help prove to Social Security how, due to the limitations of your condition, you are unable to perform any job in the national economy, considering your age, education and past work.

The goal is for your journal to present a clear and vivid picture of how your disability affects your life.

At Nash Disability Law in Chicago, we have a team of skilled and knowledgeable disability lawyers and staff members who will be working on your case and preparing you for your hearing. That team becomes even stronger when you do your part.

Our disability lawyers are your Chicagoland go-to experts on Social Security Disability law.

Contact us for a free evaluation of your disability case and to learn more strategies to help you win the disability benefits you have rightfully earned.