It can be very hard to wait patiently when you are expecting important news. This is true of the time after you see the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who will decide your Social Security disability case and when the decision finally arrives. It is tempting to try to find out what is happening, but there is no good way to do so.
Nothing Is Final Until It Is Final
After your hearing is concluded, you should probably have a pretty good idea of your chances. An experienced, local attorney who knows the ALJ well can likely predict if you have won your case. But, until the ALJ’s decision is on paper, nothing is certain. So, how to find out what is going to happen?
Don’t Ever Call This Number
While there is no good way to divine what the ALJ is up to, there are a couple of bad ways. One would be to call Social Security’s national toll-free number. As I have written before, you should never call this number. The people who answer these calls hand out more bad information that a psychic after a three-day binge.
Online Is No Better
You should also avoid going online to mysocialsecurity.com for news. While I love that site for a lot of reasons, getting an update on what the ALJ is doing is not one of them. If you inquire, you will get a response along the lines of:
Your hearing was held. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) is reviewing your case, and we are developing for any additional evidence before the ALJ issues a decision. A Social Security Representative may contact you or your appointed representative if we need any additional documents or information.
As you can see, this is just a stock answer that contains no real information. That is okay, but trouble can follow if you think you have already won your case. The ALJ might have said at the hearing that she was going to find in your favor. Then you go online and get a response that suggests no such decision has been made. This can make you quite anxious.
Nope, Your Lawyer Can’t Tell You
Your lawyer also cannot provide any news. When a case is being written up, the ALJ does not give any updates. Like you, your lawyer just has to wait.
Time Is On Your Side
Though no one likes to wait for big news, sometimes there is no alternative. While you await the ALJ’s decision in your case, try to not think about it. The answer will arrive in time and worrying about it won’t help a bit.
