The day you’ve been waiting two years for is finally here. It’s time for your Social Security hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). You are happy the day has finally arrived, but also nervous because you don’t know what to expect.
At Greeman Toomey we ask that our clients arrive at our office 90 minutes prior to their hearing’s scheduled time. Our office is conveniently located in the same building as the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), the location of hearings for Twin Cities’ metro area residents.
When you show-up to our office you can be confident that your hearing attorney has reviewed your file and is prepared. The first step is to discuss what will happen at the hearing with a Greeman Toomey attorney. During this time the attorney will go over any questions he or she has about your medical conditions and treatment, as well as answer any questions you may have a bout the process.
After the preparation is complete it will be time to go to ODAR for the hearing. You will then wait in the ODAR lobby until your case is called before the assigned ALJ. Once this happens you will proceed to the hearing with your attorney.
At the hearing there many be a few other people in the room with you besides your attorney and the ALJ. Almost every hearing includes the presence of a vocational expert. This independent expert will testify about what types of jobs you may or may not be able to perform. The ALJ might also appoint an independent medical expert to testify about your disabilities and how they might affect your ability to work and a court reporter is assigned to document the hearing. After testimony from the experts your attorney does a thorough job of proving the facts of your case to the ALJ.
The entire process takes about 45 minutes and is a lot more informal than a typical hearing you might see in a different type of courtroom. Typically you will not know the decision the judge is going to make the day of the hearing and have to wait until the presiding judge writes the official decision, which can take up to 90 days to receive.
