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If an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) stopped your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) hearing before it was complete, what can you expect next?
This article explains why your hearing may be adjourned by the judge who will decide your claim. Adjournment means the hearing was stopped before all necessary testimony was heard, and something still needs to be addressed before the judge can decide.
An adjournment doesn’t indicate whether the judge will approve or deny your claim; it just means the hearing can’t be completed that day.
This can happen for several reasons. The ALJ may need additional evidence, testimony from another person, or more information about something that came up in testimony. Sometimes, there’s a technical problem during the hearing.
If the judge learns that records or other information needed for the claim are missing, they may stop the hearing. For example, your testimony might refer to recent treatment or testing that isn’t included in the medical records in your file. The judge needs that information before the hearing continues.
The judge may adjourn the hearing if someone whose testimony is needed or an interpreter isn’t available. That could be a medical expert, vocational expert, or another witness.
When hearing testimony brings up information the judge wants to look into further, the ALJ will adjourn the hearing. The judge may need more records, testimony, or expert opinions about work history, medical treatment, or functional limitations.
Learn more about common ALJ hearing questions and the best way to answer them.
Technical problems can also cause the judge to stop a hearing. If the audio cuts out, the video stops working, or the connection makes it hard to hear testimony clearly, they may adjourn the hearing and continue it another time.
Your hearing testimony goes into the hearing record. At the continued SSDI hearing, the ALJ may return to something in the record that needs clarification or ask follow-up questions. How much more testimony is needed depends on what’s still unresolved.
The hearing record includes the testimony and evidence the judge considers when deciding your claim. If the judge still needs more information, like a recent medical test or more testimony, the record stays open after the hearing is adjourned.
If the record has already been closed but the judge determines another hearing is needed after they get new evidence, they can reopen the record. If the judge needs another hearing after the first one was completed, that’s different. That’s called a supplemental hearing.
Unlike an adjournment, a postponement happens before the hearing starts. This article is about adjourned hearings. It doesn’t cover failure to appear, dismissal, or a supplemental hearing.
What happens next in the ALJ hearing process depends on why the hearing couldn’t be completed.
The next steps typically are:
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Get EvaluationThe Social Security Administration (SSA) will send you a hearing notice with the details for the next hearing at least 20 days before the continued hearing unless you waived that advance notice in writing.
Check the hearing notice for the date, time, how you’ll appear, and if an expert will testify and how they’ll appear.
Your continued SSDI hearing may use a different format than the first one. Depending on the circumstances, you may appear:
Continuing the hearing extends your SSDI hearing timeline and delays the judge’s decision. Your SSDI hearing timeline depends on several factors, including the required 20-day advanced notice, the hearing office’s backlog, how long it takes to get requested evidence, and when experts or witnesses are available.
While you wait for the next hearing, watch for SSA notices and make sure you provide needed information.
Advocate can support you throughout the SSDI application and appeal processes. Our disability specialists also help with concurrent SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims.
We can help you:
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Get EvaluationNo. An adjournment isn’t a bad sign or an indication of the judge’s opinion. It only means the hearing needs to continue later so the judge can get all necessary information before deciding your claim.
Maybe. You might need to answer more questions or clarify something you said earlier when the hearing continues. It depends on what needs to be covered at the next hearing.
In most cases, yes. The same ALJ continues handling your claim unless it has to be reassigned for an unusual reason, like the judge retiring, resigning, being ill, or being unavailable long enough that waiting for them would cause an unreasonable delay.
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