I am new here, hope this is the right place. I have RSD/CRPS in my left hand/arm. I was injured in Feb. 2011 and had surgery April 25. The last day I worked was April 22, 2011. I had filed and was denied earlier this year and I just found out my hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17. Can anyone tell me what usuallly happens?? Truthfully I am a little scared of the w hole process.

After an initial denial, you can file for a Reconsideration. If you are denied Reconsideration, you can appeal for an ALJ hearing. Is this the hearing you are having Oct. 17th? Never heard of anyone who skipped the Reconsideration process to jump right into the ALJ hearing.

If you have an attorney, have you discussed your concerns with him/her? The attorney is the one that should prepare you for your ALJ hearing.
Each case is different.

This article may be of some interest to you: My Social Security Disability/SSI ALJ Hearing Was Scheduled, Now What?

Note that the article is "basic" information. What actually goes on at the hearing is different for each person.

there are a number of states where the reconsideration stage has been eliminated. new york is one of them.

anne if you do a search you can find this topic has come up a number of times. i have posted on it in the past.

I better learn to keep up! SSDI rules sure has changed since 2005. Thanks for the "heads up."

Well i can tell u this, i was hurt oct 31 of 2007. after major back surgery in july of o8 (rods screws and hardware 50+ yrs old) i apllied for ssi in jan 09, of couse they said no, apealed that went in front of the alj in september of 2010 and in dec of 2010 was denied again, my lawyer immediately appealed it. the apeeals council rec'd it (falls church va) in jan 2011. i finally heard from the apeeals council august 20 of 2012, YES JAN of 2011 to august of 2012 (yes u are reading this right ! 19 months TO HEAR FROM THE APEEALS COUNCIL AGAIN I SAY AGAIN 19 MONTHS AND YES IT WAS REMANED BACK TO THE ALJ. AND to top it off i got hurt while working and the workers comp board found me completly disabled in dec 2008. and the alj still disappoved me. so the key to it is be patient. so good luck i have 4+ years trying to get it and i am going to see this though. good luck to you....

This is news to me too !

Thanks ELA for educating all of us on that point....good to know !

I had posted earlier about my ssdi hearing and now have a few complications. My attorney has been of no help. I just spent a week in the hospital (infected gall bladder) came home with a drain and limits as to what I am allowed to do. Earlier this week I got a letter that I must now have a neuro exam chosen by ss. Attorney first advised me to cancel and reschedule. After doing so, I received a call (at 6:50am) from SS rep stating i must go to appt..then judge had also ordered more xrays along with eval. Called attorney back and was told I must go..he didn't know the judge had ordered this. So now I have had to cancel surgeon and surgery. Surgeon is not happy because drain must not be left in longer. Anyone ever heard of something like this---any suggestions??? I really don't want to end up in the ER again and needing emergency surgery..

Wow, you are going through a lot of trouble with this.

Couple of things: (1) Judges usually do not schedule these medical evaluations, so when they DO happen, I tend to take them very seriously. However, your own well-being and health should always trump everything, and these things CAN be rescheduled. You should definitely talk to your attorney some more. Does your attorney realize you are rescheduling your own surgery for this? (2) Originally, you had some apprehension about the hearing itself. There is a fabulous video on youtube that another attorney made. It shows EXACTLY what a hearing is like. It can really help ease the nerves. I'm new to this message board, so it won't let me paste a link - just go to youtube and search SSDI Hearing Video.

Good luck to you with everything!

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The hearings are nerve wracking as so much is on the line. do you have a representive with you, advocate or lawyer? As long as all your documentation is good, and you have all the evidence submitted, it is less stress. I got a personal letter from my PCP made out to the judge. This was the document that helped me the most. Your rep is usually with you, the person on the bench, and they also had two reps. that represented the state. They are there to see if there is any kind of work you can do. The ones in the court with me, didn't say anything at all. My lawyer stated my case, the judge read my PCP's letter, and for me, I was granted the disability then and there. He didn't make me wait. However, getting the money, and start of benefits took a little time. I wish you all the best. It isn't fun going through it, but just tell the truth when the judge asks you a question. I think I was asked two questions. ginnie (this was for the state of florida)

There are quite a few on YouTube. Unknown which one bethshurtleff was talking about. You can view them all yourself:

SSDI Hearing Videos