SSDI hearing judge questioned why I couldn't work

[AlleyCat]

I finally feel a bit better. I had a brain MRI on Monday and then the hearing on Tuesday. I've just been in bed mostly the rest of the week.

I was under the impression that this was my final appeal. I didn't think I could go anywhere after this judge says yes or no(pretty sure it's no). Also how do I start a new claim? Would it just be better to try to introduce new info? But, how do I do that?

The judge said my passing out was no where in my medical records, so can I have former and current employees of ours make statements to that fact that I passed out all the time at work? My attorney told him my passing out made it difficult for me to continue to work. He also said I would not have been able to stay working for someone else. (We have a family dry cleaning business.)

 

[nyanko_the_sane]

@AlleyCat

Did you have a family member you were working for complete this report?
https://www.ssa.gov/forms/SSA-3380.pdf
(Form needs to be downloaded, filled out, and printed in Abobe Acrobat Reader)
https://get.adobe.com/reader/

They should report in section B question 8 about how your condition affects your ability to work. Passing out during work would be a good thing to mention here and possibly repeated in the remarks at the end of the report.

 

[i-lava-u]

Also how do I start a new claim?

As of right now, it usually takes about 3-6 months for a decision from ALJ hearing. You cannot start a new claim until a decision has been made on your existing claim (at this stage)

After you get the decision, you can appeal it (if you get denied). You have 60 days to file the appeal

In the denial letter, the appeal paperwork will be included, with instructions of how to proceed

If you decide to appeal, it would be a good idea to have your lawyer do this for you. It can be very confusing and overwhelming. This is when you can also submit new medical evidence (like your recent MRI etc)

If you get denied by the ALJ and do not want to appeal, you just want to start over, you would just mark that you decline the appeal

Then, when you are ready, you start again, from the very beginning