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Materials by Alan Graf
"Hippie Lawyer"
Oregon State Bar Publication "Perfecting
Your Social Security Disability Claim" author of Chapter
"by Alan Graf"
3. Areas of
Testimony
Let your client know questions will be asked of them at the hearing
concerning:
1. Work history
2. Education
3. Medical history
4. Symptoms
5. Their estimate of your work limitations
6. Their daily activities.
****
6. Examples of good and bad testimony
The wrong answer:
ALJ: How far can you walk?
Claimant: Two blocks.
A person who talks to a judge the same way he talks to a friend will
answer the question this way:
The right answer:
ALJ: How far can you walk?
Claimant: Judge, I can’t walk more than about 2 blocks without stopping
to rest. Just yesterday, I went to the store which is only about a block
and a half from my house. By the time I got there, my back felt like it
had a hot spike driven into it. I started limping. All I bought at the
store was a loaf of bread. I could barely carry it home. On the way
home, I had to stop three times because my back hurt so much. When I got
home, I sat down in my recliner chair and put my legs up before I even
put the bread away.
****
ALJ: How long can you sit?
Claimant: If I force myself, I can sit here for perhaps a whole hour;
but I’ll have to go home and lie down and I won’t be much good for the
rest of the day. When I am trying to do things around the house, like
pay bills, I only sit for about 20 minutes at a time and then I get up
and walk around for 15 or 20 minutes before I go back to sitting. If I
were on a job where I could change positions between sitting and
standing or walking, the length of time that I could sit would get
shorter as the day wore on. Sitting is really hard on my back. It’s
better, though, if I can sit in my recliner chair with my legs up. I can
sit in that chair for a long time but I find it really hard, for
example, to pay bills sitting in that chair. I usually sit at the dining
room table when I pay bills.
****
Common problems include:
1. difficulty concentrating,
2. forgetfulness,
3. nervousness,
4. a quick temper,
5. difficulty getting along with others,
6. avoiding other people,
7. crying spells, and
8. depression.
****
1. meeting deadlines,
2. completing job tasks,
3. working with others,
4. dealing with the public,
5. working quickly,
6. trying to work with precision,
7. doing complex tasks,
8. making decisions,
9. working within a schedule,
10. dealing with supervisors,
11. being criticized by supervisors,
12. simply knowing that work is supervised,
13. getting to work regularly,
14. remaining at work for a full day, and
15. fear of failure at work.
Sometimes people find routine, repetitive work stressful because of the
monotony of routine, no opportunity for learning new things, little
latitude for decision-making, lack of collaboration on the job,
underutilization of skills, or the lack of meaningful work.
****
ALJ: What do you do on a usual day?
Claimant: Nothing.
Sitting staring at a television set is doing something. Sitting staring
out the window is doing something. Sitting staring at a blank wall or at
the ceiling is doing something.
Another bad answer:
ALJ: What do you do on a usual day?
Claimant: Oh, I do some cleaning, cooking, straightening up the house,
sometimes some laundry and going to the store.
This is a truthful answer since this person does all of these things,
but it doesn’t help his case at all. He failed to mention the fact that
he only does cleaning for a few minutes at a time; he cooks only simple
meals because he can’t stand in the kitchen long enough to do anything
more elaborate; he has help doing the laundry; he never goes to the
store alone; and he always takes along his 15-year-old son to carry the
groceries. In other words, the brief description of the things that he
did during the day does not support his testimony about disability. On
the other hand, the details about how he goes about doing these things
do help his case.
****
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Copyrighted Material by
Edward E. Bush
Social Security
Disability Practice,
written by Thomas E. Bush of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Copyright 2005
Areas of
Testimony
Questions are going to be asked of you at the hearing about your::
1. Work history
2. Education
3. Medical history
4. Symptoms
5. Your estimate of your work limitations
6. Your daily activities.
Page 2-410 Sec
293.
****
You decide which testimony is best.
....
Judge: How far can you walk?
Claimant: Two blocks.
A person who talks to a judge the same way he talks to a friend as we're
advising you to do, will answer the question this way:
Judge: How far can you walk?
Claimant: Judge, I can’t walk more than about 2 blocks without stopping
to rest. Just yesterday, I went to the store which is only about a block
and a half from my house. By the time I got there, my back felt like it
had a hot spike driven into it. I started limping. All I bought at the
store was a loaf of bread. I could barely carry it home. On the way
home, I had to stop three times because my back hurt so much. When I got
home, I sat down in my recliner chair and put my legs up before I even
put the bread away.
Page 2-413 Sec 293
****
Judge: How long can you sit?
Claimant: If I force myself, I can sit here for perhaps a whole hour;
but I’ll have to go home and lie down and I won’t be much good for the
rest of the day. When I am trying to do things around the house, like
pay bills, I only sit for about 20 minutes at a time and then I get up
and walk around for 15 or 20 minutes before I go back to sitting. If I
were on a job where I could change positions between sitting and
standing or walking, the length of time that I could sit would get
shorter as the day wore on. Sitting is really hard on my back. It’s
better, though, if I can sit in my recliner chair with my legs up. I can
sit in that chair for a long time but I find it really hard, for
example, to pay bills sitting in that chair. I usually sit at the dining
room table when I pay bills.
Page 2-414 Sec
293
****
Common problems include:
. difficulty concentrating,
. forgetfulness,
. nervousness,
. a quick temper,
. difficulty getting along with others,
. avoiding other people,
. crying spells, and
. depression.
Page 2-414 Sec
293
****
meeting deadlines,
completing job tasks,
working with others,
dealing with the public,
working quickly,
trying to work with precision,
doing complex tasks,
making decisions,
working within
a schedule,
dealing with supervisors,
being criticized by supervisors,
simply knowing that work is supervised,
getting to work regularly,
remaining at work for a full day, and
fear of failure at work.
Sometimes people find routine, repetitive work stressful because of the
monotony of routine, no opportunity for learning new things, little
latitude for decision-making, lack of collaboration on the job,
underutilization of skills, or the lack of meaningful work.
Page 2-415 Sec
293
****
Judge: What do you do on a usual day?
Claimant: Nothing.
This is not a good answer. Sitting staring at a television set is doing
something. Sitting staring out the window is doing something. Sitting
staring at a blank wall or at the ceiling is doing something.
Here's another bad example.
Judge: What do you do on a usual day?
Claimant: Oh, I do some cleaning, cooking, straightening up the house,
sometimes some laundry and going to the store.
This is a truthful answer since this person does all of these things,
but it doesn’t help his case at all. He failed to mention the fact that
he only does cleaning for a few minutes at a time; he cooks only simple
meals because he can’t stand in the kitchen long enough to do anything
more elaborate; he has help doing the laundry; he never goes to the
store alone; and he always takes along his 15-year-old son to carry the
groceries. In other words, the brief description of the things that he
did during the day does not support his testimony about disability.
But, the details about how he goes about doing these things do
help his case.
Page 2-416 Sec
293
****
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