Who Will Be Present at My Disability Hearing?

Claimants are often anxious about the prospects of appearing for their SSD hearing. Be assured, these hearings are not will be by your side.

Those Allowed to Be Present

Generally the list of individuals present at a disability hearing is short: the administrative law judge, his/her assistant, witnesses, your Ocala, Florida Social Security disability lawyer, and you. If you would like to have someone present as an observer, you will need to gain permission from the judge. Moreover, if you wish that a particular witness not be present during your testimony, you need to make the request to the judge; you should have no problem getting approval for such a request.

Presence of Witnesses

Not all judges allow witnesses to be present during the entire hearing. Some sequester the witnesses, by which it is meant they are asked to remain outside, and are brought in only during their testimony. The rationale is that a witness is more likely to be credible if he/she does not hear the testimony of others. Other judges have all the witnesses present during their testimony, and then released.

If yours is a mental impairment case, the judge will have you leave the room while witnesses testify. This is both for your benefit and that of witnesses who otherwise may feel uncomfortable about saying things in your presence that may be troubling. The judge also wants to prevent you from becoming further distressed over hearing this testimony.

If you are disabled to the extent you cannot work for at least 12 months, you may qualify for SSD. Call Ocala, Florida Social Security disability lawyer CJ Henry for a consultation at (352) 304-5300.