I have a few questions for the forum in general, I have been pursuing my benefits since 2003, which covers seven consecutive denials, including two at the ALJ level. I have multiple issues including but not restricted to all of the following, chronic severe degenerative disc disease(cervical spine), knees, bilateral elbows, all greatly amplified due to a major workplace injury resulting from an unrestricted fall from a catwalk around my machine. Toss into the mix, two angioplasties for a chronic renal problem, and a diagnosis of stage-2 bladder carcinoma, which after nine year hiatus has just made a return appearance.

Just today, I have learned that my district court action has resulted in a remand, though the attorney(my 4th) never contacted me as promised, I only discovered the remand by happenstance, specifically speaking, I just happened to call them! I have no other information then that. I might also add that in the wait for the district court decision, it was discovered that the attorney(#3)failed to perform his duties as contracted, it was discovered that he had negligently failed to prepare my case by failing to obtain just over half of all my medical records, the really, really important half!

Please, no offers of keep up the fight, I have lost everything except my life, and that is very likely to be anted up somewhere in the near future, I'm not being smug, just pragmatic, so please no hyperbole, or talk of God or whatever, there is none.

Here's my main question, are my odds of prevailing the same, or have they been amplified due to the intervention of the "real" court? In other words, will the ALJ just move on to the next technicality and deny it again, or do these remands from the "real" court carry "real" weight forcing them to actually follow some semblance of the law? I might add, the last ALJ in writing, stated that the neurologist, orthopedist, and my longtime treating(ten years)internist who had all of them filled out those lengthy functional capacities that the lying bloodsuckers claim so crucial to success, were simply lying on my behalf(he literally wrote such in his decision), and then assigned the greater professional weight to the SSA doctor who had not so much as ever even looked upon me, let alone performed an examination of some kind....

Thank you for any genuine insight on what's to come....

How many ALJ's have you had? Have you looked up their approval statistics?

Getting additional documentation from specialists or having more tests done might be something to consider. Even if you get a new ALJ, having new proof would be highly recommended.

You should receive written notice of the remand. To catch this with a phone call beforehand isn't surprising.

Call your local SS office 30 days prior to your ALJ hearing and make an appointment (it will likely be at the hearing location) to review your file. They will let you take copies if you wish (bring someone if you're physically unable). You can submit missing and/or new evidence up to the day of the hearing.

What did the last Voc Counselor claim as far as your ability to perform prior work or any work?

Why did you not see the SS doc in person?

Do you have an active or settled WC or LTD claim? In my experience, an ALJ can confuse reports written by the insurance company's hired guns to deny benefits--which is an uphill battle and very frustrating. It is possible to overcome such "evidence" though.

Additional documents? I had been treating with the orthapod and neurologist for five years! My records are as thick as a Mlps phone book. I've had two ALJ denials, none due to lack of evidence. I no longer make doctors appointments, money ran out several years ago. I've been turned away at the ER a dozen times, including a flat refusal to conduct any type of advanced testing regarding the return of the bladder cancer! How exactly is it, that the SSA doctor gets around to actually examining someone? I had dozens of consultations, and IME's, both ALJ's cherrypicked amongst the insurance companies consults, the last(Gaffney turn down rate 9/10)used them along with the SSA hack exclusively at the expense of my treating doctors to discredit me. Oh, and yes I almost forgot, he wrote in his decision that because I had been forced to pursue workers comp that I had no credibility, that I was attempting to graft the system! I no longer recall what the voc expert had to offer, but no matter, it was carefully coordinated with Gaffney's corruption, it was all BS!

All I can say is that in some ways my experience was similar to yours. All of my medical evidence was via my WC case, which meant that I had an uphill battle since every month for years WC docs supplied reports misrepresenting my injury so as to deny me benefits.

Many SSDI attorneys spend relatively no prep work on their cases. I became so frustrated with my attorney (after receiving a Partially Favorable Decision) that I chose to handle my subsequent appeal and new claim pro se. It was not the easiest approach, and it did lengthen the process, but I did receive a Fully Favorable decision eventually.

I was allowed to ask the VE questions prior to my hearing and can not stress how significant his/her testimony is. I was beyond frustrated when by the end my VE claimed I could work as a Surveillance System Monitor, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveil...system_monitor
which is a completely bogus job and no longer exists as written in the DOT in 1986. Had the ALJ not believed my credibility, he would have had a small if questionable way to deny me of benefits. If your last VE claimed your physical capacity would allow you to perform medium or light levels of work, than you have a harder battle. If he/she claimed you could perform only sedentary work, than you're not far from proving you're unable to perform any work. You can request a CD of your ALJ hearing/s btw.

If the Appeals Council ruled your doctors should have been given greater weight than the SS doc, than you'll be in good shape going into the new hearing, if this wasn't addressed, than I'd worry. While it maybe difficult to get additional documentation, it might be what you need. Is your WC claim still open or did you close your case? Do you have ongoing medical benefits?

Appeals council refused to even review his decision, it took a "real courtroom" to produce a result, aside from that, every single stage of the SSDI ladder was shuttered, also I was 50 at the time of the last ALJ hearing, but they forced me by some subterfuge into being 49! This was significant, that's because at 50 the onus is on them, and not you, my date of last insured has long since expired.

Why should I worry about Appeals council anyway, they didn't do a thing but rubber stamp Gaffney's totally corrupt decision. How can they do anything other then what the federal judge commands? SSA has not a single neurologist on staff as far as I know, how can it even be legal for a thug such as Gaffney to simply call your board certified experts liars, while elevating the testimony of some drug addicted hack, who likely cannot obtain a license to practice anyway?

I'd like that explained, I had three doctors, two of them specialists, all of whom had seen me for at least five years or more, but the SSA hack who did nothing but skim charts gets the nod?

That's profound corruption, its not even a debatable thing, lets see his credentials compared to the doctors I treated with?

In order to compute 'odds' someone would have to have a large sample from which to extrapolate. I have no such sample.

Yes, the ALJ can make his/her own decision since the court sent it back down the line and did not make a finding of it's own that you are disabled.