At your Social Security disability hearing, the judge will ask you a series of questions to decide whether you qualify for a benefit. Here is one question that you must answer correctly, or your case will be denied.
QUESTION: "Why did you leave your last job?" This question may be worded slightly differently, but it's a common question at all disability hearings.
PURPOSE OF THE QUESTION: The judge wants to know if you were forced to stop working by a severe medical condition (physical or mental)--therefore, you may be disabled-- OR if you stopped working for some other reason.
Other reasons individuals may stop working include, among many others:
Transportation problems
Had a fight with the boss
The plant or business closed
The recession (or COVID) caused layoffs or reduction in force
Stayed home to care for a sick family member
The problem is, none of these things are disabilities. And the Social Security Act pays no benefit for any of these things. So, if you admit you quit working for any reason other than physical and/or mental disability, you have lost your case at the get-go.
And it isn't enough to say, "I became too sick to work," or "I just couldn't do the job any more."
Be specific. What part(s) of the job could you not perform? Was it the lifting, standing, walking, sitting, bending, or something else? Was it trouble concentrating, being absent too much because of back pain, or what? Explain what it was about our job that you could not continue to do.
Hopefully, a few days before your hearing, your attorney/representative will sit down with you and go over what is expected of you and how to answer questions. Good preparation equals a good hearing.
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