Tips for effective hearing testimony from a Tennessee disability attorney

Most Social Security disability claimants in Chattanooga and surrounding areas will eventually have to testify at a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.  When testifying at your Social Security disability hearing it is important to (1) minimize your “medical” testimony, (2) fill your testimony with examples and anecdotes, (3) describe how your pain limits your activities, and (4) clear up ambiguities and inconsistencies in your statements.

Goals of your testimony

The goals of your testimony at your disability hearing are to convince the Administrative Law Judge that:

(1) You cannot do “past relevant work,” which means any of the jobs that you have had in the past 15 years; and

(2) You cannot do any other jobs that exist in significant numbers.

To accomplish these twin goals, you need to testify effectively about your symptoms.  Here’s how.

Minimize your “medical” testimony

If the Administrative Law Judge asks, “Why can’t you work?” stating your diagnosis (“Because I am diabetic”) is a bad answer.  Lots of people with medical conditions (diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, for example) work.  Your symptoms, which you know better than anyone else, are what prevent you from working.  Instead of mentioning your disease, you need to launch into a full description of your symptoms and limitations.

Fill your testimony with examples and anecdotes

The best way for you to convince the Administrative Law Judge that your symptoms limit your ability to function in the workplace is to provide detailed examples in your own words.  Talk to the Judge as though he or she were an old friend who wants to be brought up to date on all your problems.

If the judge asks about your daily activities, run through your usual day hour by hour.  Provide as much detail as possible. Emphasize the things that you do differently now because of your impairments. Describe how long you are active and how long you rest afterwards. Give details about resting.  Do you sit or lie down?  On the couch, the bed, or a recliner?

How long does it take you to do a project now compared to how long it used to take you?

Describe everything that you need help from other people to do.  Tell the Judge who those helpers are. Give details and examples right down to the names of the TV programs you watch.

The more specifics you can provide, the more readily the Administrative Law Judge will understand your testimony about your symptoms and limitations.

Testify effectively about pain

You do not need to be in extreme incapacitating pain to be found disabled.  So avoid exaggeration.  If you testify that you are in so much pain that you can’t get out of bed, the Judge may wonder how you managed to attend the hearing.  Yet, do not minimize your pain.

Your testimony should be about how your pain prevents you from working.  Does it mean you cannot sit, stand, or walk for prolonged periods?  Does it prevent you from getting through an eight-hour day without lying down?  Do you have good days followed by bad days during which you would need to miss work?  Are you unable to concentrate or pay attention on a consistent basis?  Does your pain make you so irritable that you can’t respond appropriately to supervisors and co-workers?

You will be testifying under oath and must tell the truth. If your description of your pain is inconsistent with what is recorded in your medical records, your disability attorney will need to understand why so he or she can clear up the ambiguity.  See Proving Your Pain and Other Symptoms.

Clear up ambiguities

Sometimes inconsistencies arise between your description of your symptoms and your medical records or the Administrative Law Judge’s observations of you.  These will need to be cleared up.  For example, the Judge may ask “How long can you sit? “  You may estimate that you can sit for no more than 10 to 15 minutes before you need to get up or lie down.  Yet you may be able to sit at your hearing for an hour.  This discrepancy can be explained by the inherent ambiguity in the question. You might be able to force yourself to sit during the hearing because you know that you will be able to go home and lie down for the rest of the day once it is over.

In estimating a sitting tolerance of 10 to 15 minutes, you correctly interpreted the question to ask how long your could sit at work. One way to avoid any misunderstanding at the hearing is to tell the judge you are estimating your sitting, lifting, standing, etc. tolerance in a work-type situation or to answer the question by adding an example of what happens to you when you overdo it and exceed your tolerance.

Assistance from a Tennessee disability attorney

As a Tennessee disability attorney, one of the most valuable ways I help applicants for Social Security benefits is by preparing them to testify before the Administrative Law Judge.

If you want my help with your Social Security disability hearing or any other aspect of your claim for benefits, and you live in Chattanooga, Southeastern Tennessee or Northern Georgia, you may provide a brief description of your claim using the form on the left or contact me.

Patrick A. Cruise
Chattanooga Social Security disability attorney

The Hamilton Firm
4608 Rossville Boulevard
Chattanooga, TN 37407

P.O. Box 158
Rossville, GA 30741