Linda Haack, administrative law judge

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The mood at a Linda Haack hearing; like going to a funeral.  You're afraid that you'll drop something on the floor and suffer Her royal displeasure.  You're afraid that your anxious breathing is too loud and might offend Her.

All is silent, till Linda Haack looks up from her desk and speaks down at you! 

***Warning*** Always tell the truth at your hearing. If a judge finds one slight error or lie the judge will use that one error and say that EVERYTHING ELSE you said, including your pain and inability to do things is ALSO a lie.
Judge Haack however, has many techniques to "cook the books" to maneuver your case so you will lose.  Here are some of the tricks she will play to get you to talk yourself into an UNFAVORABLE decision on your disability case;

Standard questions of administrative law judge Linda Haack

Haack will start the hearing by telling claimant that the vocation expert is not there to find a job for claimant and that he is there merely to give advise to the judge.  This is a big waste of everyone's time to tell you this.

Linda Haack will then ask the attorney 'what is the onset date'.  If the attorney can't answer then she will try to find a way to punish him making him leave the room with the file or some other type of attempted humiliation.  She has many other techniques in attempts to intimidate your lawyer including having him rearrange her file, explain why some medical record has been submitted twice and many other irrelevant things that waste time and contribute to the deadly social security disability backlog of cases.  Stand up to her; she is merely another clerk at Social Security (in-house DDS) and when she doesn't follow the rules, she is easily overruled by the Appeals Council or District Court.

she will ask the lawyer if he has "any medical records or evidence that is adverse to the claimant's case".

• is your address and phone number the same
   
• what is your alleged onset date
   
• what happened on that date for you to pick that date
   
• (Haack will then go into ABSOLUTELY every job you did in the last 15 years from the time you became disabled and ask you what you did there, how much you lifted, how much you stood, etc.  This is the hardest part of her hearings 
  MAKE SURE THAT YOU TELL HER THE HARDEST THINGS ABOUT THAT JOB; YOU HAD TO LIFT OVER 50 POUNDS ALL DAY, YOU HAD TO BE ON YOUR FEET MOST OF THE DAY, YOU HAD TO STOOP, CROUCH, CRAWL...always tell the truth but don't forget to tell her THE HARDEST PARTS OF ALL YOUR OLD JOBS!
   
• how did you get down here to the hearing  (TIP, have someone else drive you to the hearing-otherwise it looks like you are really NOT disabled)
   
• how much do you drive each week
   
• when did you drive last
   
• are you married
   
• is your husband supporting you
   
• what is your education (tell her THE LAST GRADE THAT YOU COMPLETED-not the last grade you attended)
   
• did you get a GED
   
• can you read a newspaper  (this is a trick question.  If you can "read" a newspaper then you can read at an 8th grade level.  BUT if you have to re-read a paragraph over and over again to make sense of it then you CAN'T READ A NEWSPAPER.  don't let her browbeat you.  You deserve social security money-you paid your premiums for it and you are disabled.  DON'T LET HER LEAD YOU INTO SAYING SOMETHING THAT ISN'T TRUE.  If you can't understand the newspaper without re-reading sentences or paragraphs and don't know some of the words ANSWER "no" when she ask "can you read a newspaper"  if you are below average in reading and writing THIS WILL GREATLY HELP YOUR CHANCES-so don't give up this fact because she is tryinng to pressure you into saying something that isn't so)
   
• (if you say you cannot read a newspaper she will then try to get you to 'admit' that you can "read and write";
  
  DON'T BE PRESSURED BY HER TO SAY SOMETHING THAT ISN'T TRUE)
  
  she will then ask you a trick question that is also a leading question (not proper by her but she will do it anyway)  
• 'YOU CAN READ A NOTE THAT SAYS BACK IN FIVE MINUTES, can't you!!"   THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS  "NO, I can't understand a note that says that.  I'd have to take some time to read it over and over again to make sense of it". 
  
  You gotta stand up to Haack or you will lose on the issue that you cannot read or write at an 8th grade level if that is the case!  Always tell the truth at a social security hearing!
   
• Linda Haack will then ask an improper leading question AGAIN;  stand up to her!
  Linda Haack will say "you can write a letter, can't you"   This is another trick question by Haack and she says it almost casually but it will be devastating to your case if you really CAN'T do a job where reading and writing are necessary.  therefore,
  
  YOUR ANSWER MUST BE "no',  I make too many mistakes, I don't know where the periods and commas go, I spell lots of words wrong and it takes me a very long time if I can do it at all."
   
• Can you add and subtract?  trick question tell Haack   "No.  I get shortchanged at the store, I can't figure out how much money I am getting back.  I can't balance a checkbook"  If that is the truth.  (remember you always gotta tell the truth)
   
•  why did you leave (this or that) job?  trick question.  She wants you to say that you QUIT.  If your bosses were telling you that they were unhappy with your performance and that they were about to fire you, or if you got laid off but other people who WEREN'T HURTING LIKE YOU were kept on after a lay off then you weren't laid off; you were FIRED so the more productive people would stay.  Avoid saying you quit or were laid off; Linda Haack will try to use that against you.  (always tell the truth)
   
• Can you do that job now?  NO
   
• Why not? this is the "big" question. Be prepared for it;  Some people say, "I am in so much pain that I would miss more than 2 days of work a month.  I would produce less than 80% of the typical worker, etc., etc."  BE PREPARED TO TELL HER IN ABOUT 25 WORDS WHY YOU CAN'T WORK ANYMORE!  Don't stumble and stammer-just tell her straight out!
   
• you were disabled on 'such and such' a date, did you look for work after that date?  Trick question!!  If you were disabled, why would you look for work?  She will twist that to say that you were really not disabled because you knew you could work but you filed just to scam the system.  If you didn't look for work after you said you were disabled then answer her NO.
   
• Haack will then go into your medical record and find discrepancies and mistakes in the medical records that make it seem that you are NOT disabled.  Doctors make mistakes all the time in their medical records click here.  Print this out and hand it to her when your doctor says something in the medical records that aren't true.  BE PREPARED to stand up to Haack and tell her "that medical record is wrong-let me tell you the truth-I'm going to have the doctor correct himself or write you a letter telling you the medical records are a mistake."
  
  (I've seen socsec judge Lazuran attempt to brow beat my client by repeatedly asking  "you're saying the doctor is lying?  The doctor lied, is that what you're saying?"  (I've had to shut Judge Lazaran down by forcefully objecting "Judge Lazaran that question has been 'asked and answered.'  you can't keep asking the same question over and over again hoping you'll get a different answer-that is badgering.  Do you have any more questions or can I ask questions of claimant now?")
  
  You gotta be strong and stand up to such improper conduct by a social security judge and say 'I DON'T KNOW IF HE LIED, OR THE PERSON WHO TYPED IT GOT IT WRONG OR THE DOCTOR GOT ME CONFUSED WITH ANOTHER PATIENT BUT THAT MEDICAL RECORDS IS WRONG!" 
   
• Your future is on the line-stand up to the social security judge and say that "the medical record is WRONG judge and i don't know why. Thank you for pointing out those errors as I will now demand that the doctor correct my medical records")
   
• Tell me why you can't go back to work or why you can't work; what is your worst problem?  This is  a very important opportunity for you; don't blow it!  Tell Linda Haack exactly why you can't do any job, such as "I'm in so much pain I'd produce only 80% of the typical worker.  I would miss more than two days a month.  etc."  tell her exactly WHY you can't work any more!

Haack the "used car dealer"

Haack the deal maker;  If Linda Haack thinks you actually ARE disabled under SSA rules she will try to save the government a few thousand dollars by getting you to shave off a few years or months of your back benefits in a bargain, in return for her awarding you a Fully Favorable decision with a much later Onset to disability Date. 
I have never seen a client say NO to such a deal because they have been jacked around for so long by SSA that they just want to make SOME bank deposit and have this all behind them.

STAND UP TO HER!  She will write a partially favorable decision giving your onset date as the date she pressured you to agree to.  So you haven't lost anything at all.  You got what she offered and you get to recover that other money from your TRUE onset date.

THEN, you appeal the Partially Favorable to the Appeals Council.  Appealing to the Appeals Council is no big deal and is very easy.  Just fill out this form http://www.ssa.gov/online/ha-520.pdf and send it to address on the bottom and write in that Haack gave the wrong onset date and say this: 

"ALJ erred on the onset date and I appeal that issue only.  The decision regarding the onset date is legal error and is not based on substantial evidence.

Pretty simple eh?  And you just recovered tens of thousands of dollars that Haack wanted to deprive you of, plus you are getting monthly disability payments.

Daniel Bernath, attorney at law

www.disabilitypaycheck.com