MAINTAINING YOUR CREDIBILITY

I have appeared before about 35 different federal administrative law judges from Alabama to Minneapolis. These judges are all different, yet they are all much alike. All of them are smart, well trained and savvy. All of them are trained to spot untrue or contradictory statements by claimants. The best thing a claimant can do in a hearing before one of these judges is to tell the truth. The worst thing he can do is lie or exaggerate. I guarantee that if you do that, you will nearly always get caught.

Judges will often ask questions that they already know the answer to. This is to see if the claimant will tell the truth or not. Here are some of my favorite examples, gleaned from years of hearings:

* Do you smoke?

* Are you still going to the casino?

* Have you ever used any Marijuana or other recreational or street drugs?

*Have you ever been arrested?

*Have you received any unemployment checks since you stopped working?

*Do you help take care of the kids or any pets at home?

*Can you ride in a car for more than an hour without stopping? Next question: How was your vacation in Colorado this year?

You would be amazed at the kind of things that appear in your medical records. You may not remember telling your doctor about winning $800 at the casino or riding out to Colorado on vacation 2 years ago--but chances are the doctor made a quick note in your medical file. And if your doctor has advised you to stop smoking, it will be all over your medical file. I just finished reading a medical file where "smoking cessation counseling" was literally copied and pasted onto all 670 pages of the medical record. A judge would have to be blind not to see it. Another claimant's medical record repeatedly says "Smokes 1 pack per day."

Incidentally, smoking probably has absolutely no bearing on your Social Security disability claim. It doesn't matter one way or the other. But if you get nervous, start looking for an answer the judge wants to hear, and say, "I have stopped smoking," this can be fatal if untrue. The judge's next question will be, "When was the last time you smoked a cigarette?" His next question will be, "Do you Remember Dr. Roberts warning you to stop smoking during your visit on April 17th this year? "

Here's my best advice. Quit worrying about what the judge wants to hear. Tell the simple, plain honest to goodness truth without exaggeration or embellishment. An honest answer is ALWAYS better than a fabricated or misleading answer. If the judge gets the idea you are exaggerating or lying, he/she will take the attitude that "I can't believe anything I'm hearing."

I give my clients the following advice before we go into a hearing:

1). Tell the truth. Give an accurate picture of your symptoms without exaggerating.

2) Never try to answer a question you don't understand. Get the question clarified so you understand it. (Sometimes, claimants give an untruthful answer because they misunderstood the question).

3) Look the judge in the eye and admit to the truth, even if you think it may hurt your case. It won't hurt as much as being dishonest.