If someone is in imminent danger of losing shelter, not being able to obtain food or medicine, imminent danger of death, or actively suicidal or homicidal as a result of their conditions, they may be eligible to have their hearing request expedited. The average wait time is around 12-15 months for a hearing, after the request. Should the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) find that your particular situation meets the guidelines for expedite, your case then gets assigned to a judge and scheduled for his or her next available hearing date and time.
Many claimants are often times surprised to see that this is still several months out. A claimant who meets the expedite guidelines in May could still not see their hearing for July. This is mostly attributable to the large amounts of claims pending at the various ODAR’s across the nation. For instance, at the ODAR in Minneapolis, MN, there are over 8,000 claimants waiting for a hearing right now.
Furthermore, many claims need to be addressed by an appropriate medical expert for that field. Thus, the Administrative Law Judge must schedule a medical expert for that hearing, or risk further delay with a supplemental hearing, or interrogatories to a medical expert if it is found one is needed at the original hearing.
If you receive a hearing that is too far out after you have been found to meet the expedite (i.e. it is scheduled for after a deadline set forth in an eviction notice), it is important to let ODAR know immediately and provide written evidence of this need. Many hearings get cancelled because a claimant withdraws, transfers to a different ODAR due to a change of address, or is granted a Fully Favorable decision On the Record. If this happens, and ODAR knows you need a sooner hearing date than that provided, it may be possible for you to get the sooner hearing date. However, this may turn on the availability of the experts necessary to adjudicate your claim.
ODAR tries to schedule expedited hearing requests in as soon as possible. This hearing may be a long time out, but this is not without reason. However, good communication during this critical time may be a claimant’s best chance to a favorable outcome from a financial or treatment access perspective. This is why if you are seeking expedite it is important to keep ODAR in the loop as to your situation.
