You have applied for Social Security disability benefits. You should know who the key players are in the decision making process.
The first key player is at the state level. A state disability examiner will make the first determination on whether you are disabled. This person will work for the state Disability Determination Service (DDS) under contract with Social Security.
If your initial claim is denied, which happens to just over 70 percent in Alabama, your case will go to Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). There are ODAR offices in different cities across the region. Region 4 services AL, TN, GA, SC, NC, KY, MS, and FL. There are 37 ODAR offices in Region 4 and one satellite office.
At the ODAR office, your case will have a folder prepared containing all of the evidence that has been or will be submitted. The case will be assigned to a US administrative law judge for a hearing. The law judge may become a primary player in your case - but not just yet. The file will be reviewed by an assistant, often a senior attorney in the ODAR office, to determine if a fully favorable decision may be rendered without a hearing. So for now the attorney adviser is a key player in your case. I recently had a case favorably decided by an attorney adviser less than thirty days after I appealed it. (That's not usual but it does happen now and then). If the case is approved prior to the hearing, the claimant gets paid much quicker and saves money on the representative's fee, since the fee is a percentage of back pay.
Another key player in a disability claim will be the "vocational expert" (VE). The VE's job is to advise the judge on the type of work the claimant has done and the type of jobs that the claimant may still be able to perform. The VEs testimony can certainly hinder a case or help a case, depending on the testimony given. A good representative will be prepared to cross examine the Vocational Expert and convert her testimony if it was damaging to the case.
The final "key player" in a Social Security disability case is the attorney or non-attorney representative. The representative has worked on your case longer than anyone else involved. He or she will know your medical and vocational evidence, including your work history, health impairments and functional limitations. He/she will have prepared the case, using a theory that is believed capable of getting you the best award possible. The representative cannot charge a fee for services until your case has been won, paid, and the fee has been approved by the Social Security Administration. Many representatives are members of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR), a national association of professionals who practice Social Security law or represent claimants in Social Security matters. More about Social Security disability - and how to get it.
The first key player is at the state level. A state disability examiner will make the first determination on whether you are disabled. This person will work for the state Disability Determination Service (DDS) under contract with Social Security.
If your initial claim is denied, which happens to just over 70 percent in Alabama, your case will go to Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). There are ODAR offices in different cities across the region. Region 4 services AL, TN, GA, SC, NC, KY, MS, and FL. There are 37 ODAR offices in Region 4 and one satellite office.
At the ODAR office, your case will have a folder prepared containing all of the evidence that has been or will be submitted. The case will be assigned to a US administrative law judge for a hearing. The law judge may become a primary player in your case - but not just yet. The file will be reviewed by an assistant, often a senior attorney in the ODAR office, to determine if a fully favorable decision may be rendered without a hearing. So for now the attorney adviser is a key player in your case. I recently had a case favorably decided by an attorney adviser less than thirty days after I appealed it. (That's not usual but it does happen now and then). If the case is approved prior to the hearing, the claimant gets paid much quicker and saves money on the representative's fee, since the fee is a percentage of back pay.
Another key player in a disability claim will be the "vocational expert" (VE). The VE's job is to advise the judge on the type of work the claimant has done and the type of jobs that the claimant may still be able to perform. The VEs testimony can certainly hinder a case or help a case, depending on the testimony given. A good representative will be prepared to cross examine the Vocational Expert and convert her testimony if it was damaging to the case.
The final "key player" in a Social Security disability case is the attorney or non-attorney representative. The representative has worked on your case longer than anyone else involved. He or she will know your medical and vocational evidence, including your work history, health impairments and functional limitations. He/she will have prepared the case, using a theory that is believed capable of getting you the best award possible. The representative cannot charge a fee for services until your case has been won, paid, and the fee has been approved by the Social Security Administration. Many representatives are members of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR), a national association of professionals who practice Social Security law or represent claimants in Social Security matters. More about Social Security disability - and how to get it.
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