SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY LAW BLOG
December 18, 2011
Common disability hearing questions re: work history and educational background
If you have a Social Security disability hearing coming up, you are probably anticipating a great number of questions about your impairment, your symptoms, and your daily activities. You should also be prepared to answer questions about your work history and your educational background. You must be able to explain why, given your education and work history, you can no longer do the easiest job you have held in the past 15 years. If you cannot do this, your claim for disability benefits may be denied.
I advise my Detroit disability clients to be prepared to answer questions similar to the following:
Q: Tell me all the significant jobs you’ve held in the past 15 years. For each job:
Q: Describe your job duties.
Q: How much weight were you required to lift on the job?
Q: How many hours each workday did you spend sitting, standing and walking?
Q: Did you have any difficulties performing your duties in any past job because of your health? Tell me about that.
Q: Why did you leave each of your former jobs?
Q: Describe your job skills. [Caution: It is very easy to exaggerate in response to this question and to “puff up your resume,” so to speak. Avoid that common pitfall. Describe your skills accurately and honestly.]
Q: How long do you think it would take an average person to learn to do each of your previous jobs? [If the judge asks this question, he is trying to get a sense of the degree of skill involved in a particular job.]
Q: What is the highest grade you completed in school?
Q: Did you receive any training in the military?
Q: Have you had any formal vocational training or on-the-job training? [Note: If you have recently completed schooling or training that might qualify you for a skilled job, this is an important piece of information. Make sure your Detroit disability lawyer is aware of this fact.]
If you would like to talk about your upcoming hearing, and you are not currently represented by a Detroit disability attorney, please contact me.
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY LAW BLOG
December 16, 2011
Avoid these common pitfalls when you testify at your Social Security disability hearing
In anticipation of your Social Security disability hearing, your Detroit disability lawyer will explain to you some common guidelines for giving strong testimony, including: tell the truth; try not to exaggerate or minimize your symptoms; give specific examples of the impact of your impairment on your daily activities. Here are a few additional guidelines that will help you avoid common pitfalls during your testimony:
1. Don’t argue your case or decide your case for the judge. Your role at the hearing is that of witness. Your job is to describe the facts of your situation – your physical and/or mental condition, and the effects of that condition on your day-to-day life. It is not your job to argue the case or draw legal conclusions from the evidence. Thus, you should try to avoid saying things like, “I worked all my life . . . .” or “There is no way I can do any kind of work with my condition.”
2. Don’t bring up other people or other cases. Though it may be tempting to compare your case to the disability case of a family member or a friend or some other third-party, don’t do it. Other cases are wholly irrelevant to your case. Talking about them simply wastes valuable hearing time. Thus, try to avoid saying things like, “I know this woman who has nothing wrong with her, but she gets disability benefits,” or “I know lots of people who are way less disabled than I am who get disability benefits.”
3. Don’t try to win the judge’s sympathy. Social Security disability judges have seen and heard it all. Manufactured tears and other histrionics won’t work. Moreover, the judge’s job is to apply the facts of your case to the law, and the law is only concerned with your ability to work. Everything else – your dire financial situation; the fact that your car was repossessed or that you were evicted – is irrelevant to the disability determination.
If you are not currently represented by a Detroit disability attorney, please contact me if you would like to talk about your upcoming hearing or another aspect of your disability case.
