Post Hearing CE

 Posted on July 04, 2012 in Social Security Disability

You just had a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"). At the close of the hearing, you remember the judge saying something about having a new doctor appointment. What does this mean and how will this change the outcome of your Social Security disability benefits claim?

It is not all that uncommon for an ALJ to request for a claimant to be re-evaluated and attend another consultative examination post hearing.  This is typically the case when the medical records are not complete or it appears at the hearing that there are major discrepancies between the record and the claimant's actual medical condition.

Most claimants are terrified of going to a consultative examination.  The previous doctor evaluation was most likely not very thorough and the examiner in some instances may have failed to evaluate any of the past medical records, been rushed or even outright rude. My experience with post hearing examinations is often to the contrary.

Disability Determination Services throughout the disability process periodically schedules consultative examinations to get a better understanding of the claimant's medical conditions and resulting limitations. The examinations are often performed by non-specialists who have not reviewed the medical file.  However, post hearing examiners typically review much more of the medical file.  The examiner is often a specialist in the field. So, if you are applying for Social Security disability benefits because of back problems the post hearing examiner could very well be an orthopedic or neurologist. This is not always the case, but the likelihood of getting a specialist on a post hearing examination appears to be much higher than it would prior to the hearing level.

A number of my Social Security disability law firm's cases have been approved at the hearing level in part, due to the thorough evaluation of a specialist after a hearing has been conducted.  If you had a hearing before an ALJ and he or she mentioned that you will need to attend a post hearing examination, it is imperative that you attend.  After you are examined, the doctor will complete a report for the judge to review so that the ALJ can write a decision based on a complete and accurate record of the claimant's medical condition(s) and resulting limitations. Post hearing consultative examinations are an extremely important part of the disability process.