The knowledge and experience of an Ocala Social Security disability lawyer is invaluable when arranging for testimony from lay witnesses regarding your impairments. Your Ocala disability lawyer should discuss with you who you believe would be the best witnesses on your behalf. Your lawyer will then contact these potential witnesses to discuss their observations and select only the best one or two witnesses (in unusual cases more may be necessary). Each witness will be provided with information about the hearing and the general type of testimony expected of him or her. Your disability lawyer will also send each lay witness a letter notifying the witness of the date, time and place of the hearing.
As part of the preparation process, your Ocala disability lawyer will provide each witness with advice and information on how to answer questions and what facts the witness should testify about. At the hearing, your lawyer will question the lay witness about his or her relationship to you, how long the witness has known you, and how often the witness is able to see you. These questions are designed to establish a foundation for testimony about the witness’s observations concerning your impairments.
To help your lay witnesses feel more comfortable about testifying, your Ocala disability lawyer will describe to each lay witness the hearing process. Your lawyer will explain that a Social Security disability hearing is very different from a court hearing. It is informal, though the witnesses will be required to testify under oath. It is private. There will be no jury, audience or observers at the hearing as is often the case at court hearings.
The hearing is held in a small conference room and is presided over by an administrative law judge. It is not adversarial. Your witnesses will not be cross-examined by a lawyer on the other side and it is unlikely the administrative law judge will cross-examine your witnesses. Rather, the administrative law judge will work to find out the facts about your disability claim in order to make an independent decision about your claim for Ocala Social Security disability benefits.
The expertise and experience of an Ocala Social Security disability lawyer is invaluable in choosing and preparing lay witnesses to testify at your hearing. If you need assistance with your disability application or appeal, contact dedicated Ocala Social Security disability lawyer Claudeth J. Henry for a free initial consultation.
