Creating A Great Impression In Court

If you have ever had to attend court in order to prove your innocence, you know how much your appearance and attitude can impact the proceedings. Unfortunately, all too many people misinterpret how they should dress and what they should do in court, which is why I decided to make this blog. This website is all about creating a great impression in court and understanding how to present yourself to the judge and jury. After all, you might be trying to defend your innocence to avoid potential jail time. Check out this blog for great tips that could help you to protect your freedom.

Controlling Your Credibility Can Help You Win Your SSA Disability Case

Law Blog

There are a lot of things about the Social Security disability process that are out of your control—things like how long it takes before your doctor's office gets your medical records back to the claims examiner and how long it takes before you get a decision, but there is one thing that you do control from the start: your credibility. This is how your credibility affects your case and what you can do to make it stronger.

How important is your credibility?

There is a limit to exactly how much information can be learned from objective medical evidence like lab tests and physical examinations. Many of the things that people experience as part of a disability are subjective, so the experience that one person has with a particular condition can vary greatly from the experience another person has. Your credibility is essentially how believable you are when you describe your experiences with your condition—those details that can't be found in your medical records.

What damages your credibility?

Some disability claimants are their own worst enemies. In their effort to make Social Security understand just how disabling their condition really is, they go overboard when they describe their limitations—but even a slight exaggeration can really hurt your case. What usually ends up happening is that their statements become inconsistent.

For example, if you tell Social Security that you can't sit for more than 20 minutes at a time because of your back pain, you can't later tell Social Security that you spend 2-3 hours sitting and watching TV or 1-2 hours sitting at your desktop computer online. It's important to remain consistent and never exaggerate your symptoms.

Similarly, it's important not to overstate your pain. People are commonly asked to rate their pain on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst pain imaginable. Telling the claims examiner that your pain is always a 9 or a 10 is likely to be seen as an exaggeration, since that sort of pain generally leaves people unable to speak calmly or keep from crying. Be honest about your pain levels. If you tend to start your day at a 3 but your pain rises to a level 6 by mid-day, that's still severe enough to affect your ability to function and concentrate, and you sound far more credible.

What helps your credibility?

Sometimes, you can increase your credibility by enlisting other people to help you. For example, if you have a former supervisor or boss who can write a letter on your behalf that talks about how you were a good employee who enjoyed your job, that can help show SSA that you aren't just seeking benefits as a way to avoid work.

It can help your case even more if your former boss or co-workers can write down their observations about what happened as you became unable to work, especially if your condition deteriorated over a period of time. Did you try to work around your condition? Did you ask to take time off for doctor's visits? Did your medication seem to make you drowsy at work? Independent observations about how you struggled to continue working for a while in spite of your condition can also help strengthen your case.

For more information on how your credibility can affect your Social Security disability claim, talk to a disability attorney in your area today.

Share

28 September 2016