QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - PART TWO

The Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL (256) 431-1599 - provides updated answers to common Social Security disability questions.  This post was updated April 2014.

What percentage of Social Security disability claims get approved without a hearing?  ANSWER:  When we last checked, 29.9 percent of claims in Alabama were being approved, while the remaining 70.1 percent were denied and required a hearing.  This remains an accurate number.

If I am denied at the initial level, won't I just be denied again at the hearing?  ANSWER:  Not necessarily.  Of all the Social Security disability claims that are awarded (approved), a majority of them are awarded at the hearing level.  You must first be denied in order to get to the hearing level.  Here are the latest statistics for Alabama:
Claims Approved at Hearing:   44 percent
Claims Denied at Hearing         36 percent
Claims Dismissed (No hearing) 20 percent

Claims may be dismissed for a number of reasons and some of the dismissed claims may have been awarded as fully favorable "on-the-record" decisions.  The point is, there is a better chance of winning at the hearing level than at the initial application level.  Therefore, all denials should be appealed.

Will I be allowed to call a witness at my hearing?  ANSWER:  Generally, claimants may present a witness to testify for them at a hearing but this requires the permission of the presiding administrative law judge.  Some judges prefer to "wait and see" whether a witness will be useful to the case before approving the witness.

I am extremely nervous about going before a judge.  Can my spouse/friend attend the hearing with me?  ANSWER:  Not unless your spouse/friend is going to testify.  Then, they would usually be called in only for their testimony, then dismissed.  Social Security hearings are "closed" and spectators are not permitted in the hearing room.  The only persons in the room would be the claimant, his/her representative, a hearing clerk, a vocational witness (if called), and the administrative law judge.  Your attorney or representative is there to help you with all matters related to the hearing.