A question that comes up at almost every disability hearing, as your Evanston disability attorney can tell you is, “How do you spend a usual day?” This might seem like an unusual way of getting you to talk about your ability to perform work, but it is a medically relevant question.
Why the Judge Wants to Know
Asking about your daily activities will help the judge determine if your activities are consistent with how you describe your impairment and its symptoms. If your impairment causes severe leg pain but you testify that you go running every day, the judge will have some doubts or will want some clarification at the least. It might be tempting to answer the question with “Nothing.” After all, if your disability prevents you from doing any significant activity, then saying that you don’t do anything must be accurate. But that answer is not going to give the judge any useful information about your disability and does not help the judge or your Evanston disability attorney understand what it’s like to live with your impairment. Instead, describe the things you do in lieu of being able to do anything more active. If all you can do is sit and stare out the window all day wishing that you were better able to enjoy the outside, talk about that. If you do a little activity such as cooking or cleaning, talk about how you do a little but have to stop and rest after a short while because the pain gets to be too much. The idea is to get the judge to “live” your day hour by hour. Emphasize the things that you do differently because of your impairment and how you used to be able to do them well and more quickly. If you are much slower to do things now or are more easily tired, talk about that. If you have to rest several times a day, that is a useful detail.
Contact an Evanston Disability Attorney
For more information on testifying at your disability hearing, contact an Evanston disability attorney at Chicago Disability Law. Call (866) 463-3171.
