FULLY FAVORABLE SSDI DECISION: VIDEO HEARING INDIVIDUAL RAPIDLY APPROACHING ADVANCED AGE 55-59

We do from time to time conduct video hearings. My preference is that my client not have them, but in the end, one might just as well go with a video hearing than not. It all depends on the “pay” rate of the ALJ: the percentage of cases awarded vs. cases denied. In this particular case, young age was not an issue. With video ALJs and live ALJs, the older the individual and the stronger the medical evidence is, then the more likely one will be in her case. Since older individuals have acquired job skills in the past and these skills do not easily transfer to other occupations, the chances of them finding employment is significantly reduced as they age. So even though an older individual might be able to do some work at the sedentary level, at age 50 such an individual would not be disabled, but an individual of 55 or more who could do only a sedentary job that required simple repetitive tasks, that worker would be disabled, despite the fact that there might be some limited work available for them in the national economy.