Disability Based on Mental Impairment

Disability claims based on psychological/emotional disorders succeed or fail based on whether the claimant’s mental impairment either meets or equals Social Security’s listing criteria for psychological/emotional disorders. The listings, which are a set of requirements for particular impairments which Social Security recognizes as automatically qualifying a claimant if met or equaled, are different for different mental disorders, e.g. depression, bi-polar disorder, etc. Generally, however, they use the following criteria:

What Happens at an Administrative Law Judge Hearing?

Most people who have to go to an Administrative Law Judge hearing are nervous and uncertain of what will happen. The hearing is actually pretty informal. The participants include the judge, a reporter who types up what is said, often a vocational expert (someone versed in what kinds of jobs exist in the national and regional economy, how many there are of each kind of job, and what each job involves physically and mentally), the claimant and his/her representative.
The star of the show of course is the claimant. Many times a judge needs to see and hear from the claimant to make his/her mind up.

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