A Day in Court

Bill had his day in court today and only spent about 10 minutes in front of the judge!
Of course, we don't know the answer yet - that takes another 30 days but the lawyer thinks the judge will rule in Bill's favor.
As a refresher, I am referring to the long drawn out process began over a year ago to seek Social Security Disability and has been detailed in previous blogs. HD has robbed his ability to hold down a job and he needs income to support himself. And what a long process it has been.We knew it might be difficult. We had read the stories of denial after denial by many, but also saw how easily the approved coverage for Debbie, so it didn't seem like it would be that hard. We really had no earthly idea it would still be ongoing over a year later. However, today could be considered some real progress.

Today, Bill had an appearance before the judge. We found a lawyer recommended by the Social Security office and he was there with Bill and Robert. I have to commend the guy. He did a lot of research and took time to familiarize himself with the disease so he knew what to expect. Of course, he only gets paid if there is an award to Bill so the effort would work in his favor. He prepared a lengthy brief that defined the disease and talked about the issues Bill was facing. He even included copies of both Robert and Debbie's test records showing the heredity pattern. The court has a vocational expert they use to aide in the decision that was with them via speakerphone. This person makes a statement based on asking a few questions of the person seeking coverage and the paperwork that has been provided to him. This expert basically said that Bill could not work for more than 10 minutes at a time and could not function in a normal work environment. The judge seemed to agree and accept this guy's statement and said she would review the information. They spent 10 minutes in front of the judge! Seriously!!!
Now, the judge will review the situation and issue a ruling. This process usually takes 30 days. And then it will take a week or two before Bill sees the money or we move back to the starting line. The lawyer thinks she will rule in Bill's favor because she seemed to agree with the vocational expert. We shall soon see. Of course, there is no guarantee and now we must wait a bit longer, but the chances of an approval seemed to have improved considerably. I feel for the many others that have had to wait for so long and still have not been approved. I hope it all works out in Bill's favor.
I just can't quite believe that we have had to wait for all this time since the process started and the judge is making a decision about Bill's future based on a 10 minute conversation.