Status
Not open for further replies.

TipBill

Senior member
Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
224
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
03/2014
Country
US
State
None
Hi all, I have been denied twice for disability so I retained a lawyer last April. When I spoke to him at the initial meeting he told me I would be going to Peoria, Il so I could actually stand before the judge. Well I got a letter this week from my attorney stating that the hearing will be in Springfield, Il via a video conference. I asked him at the the initial meeting would I get an answer the day of the hearing and he told me no, it could take up to two months to get an answer yet when I talked to him earlier this week he said I could get an answer that day or it may take up to a month. I asked him if he was confident I would win and he said he was very confident I would win. I don't know how he would have any way of knowing that. I think a better answer would have been "you never know how these things will work out we will just have to wait and see." Based on his answer that he is very confident I will win it tends to get my hopes up so if I end up losing I will be very disappointed. I already suffer from severe depression and if I lose it will probably make it worse especially since it is so close to Christmas which is a holiday that always sends me into a deep depression. Thanks for listening and any comments are always appreciated.
 
Hi Krista,

Sounds like your lawyer is confident that your case is strong. Be happy for that. Don't worry or try to read into it any further. My lawyer also said that she thought we had a good chance of winning. I believed her.

I also had a video teleconference hearing. The judge was in San Francisco and appeared on a large-screen TV (55"?). The Vocational Expert was also remotely hooked up to the hearing and although she was not visible, she was on audio. The only people in the small conference room was me, my lawyer, and the court recorder.

It is my understanding that an "on the record" verdict given the day of the hearing is very unusual/unlikely. Most take about 2 months or so for a decision. I think it depends on how backlogged your ODAR office, how busy your judge, and also how complicated your case.

Yes, the entire SS disability approval process is very long and the wait at every step is so very challenging to deal with. All I can say is be good to yourself, and try to keep your mind on other positive and good things. Yes, I also know how difficult that can be and "easier said than done", but you can do it! :)

In these couple of months before your hearing, I suggest you make sure all your ducks are in a row. Unless you have full confidence in your lawyer (or you just physically/mentally can't do it) I think it's a good idea to request from him/her a copy of the case file (on a CD). You will want to make sure that all the pertinent medical records, RFCs, etc. are included and will be available for the judge to review. If you find anything missing, you should have the time to resend documents to SSA/ODAR via your lawyer.

I've heard sad stories of folks who go to the hearing and only then find out that important documents were not sent in to SSA, or somehow/somewhere they "got lost".

Personally, I wasn't in any shape to review the CD, so I left it in the hands of my wonderful lawyer. Fortunately things worked out even though I had left this up to chance/fate.

All the best to you!
 
i cant offer any advice Krisata but i guess the lawyer has lots of experience and must know from all the evidence if there is a good chance...no guarantees but it sounds hopeful.

rtphotos has great idea about checking everything is in the file although that should be the lawyers job. I recall you've filled in forms for the case quite recently so it sounds like the lawyer is on top of things ...I wish you good luck you've waited so long for this x
 
You have waited a long time for this. Even if your lawyer hadn't said a word ,you would of taken that as a bad omen.all you can do now is try to relax these next few weeks.
You can only tell the truth,
This is something u have wanted a long time ,try to be plds it's here at last ,and look forward to the weight of your shoulders.x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top