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You Have A Right To A Hearing...

Looking at our 'modern' society, whenever a person requests assistance of a governmental entity or quasi-governmental entity and their request is denied or reduced in whole or in part, they have a right to a hearing. This may seem simplistic to some and confusing to others, but if you 'asked' for something and they did not 'give' or 'grant' it to you, you can protest that denial.

For persons who applied for:

1. Social Security; ssi, ssd, survivor benefits, dependent benefits

2. worker's compensation

3. unemployment insurance

4. public assistance

5. medicaid

6. food stamps

7. section 8 housing assistance

8. veteran's benefits

There is a mechanism in which you or your authorized representative can appeal the determination. Generally, you will present your case before an administrative law judge/ hearing officer/ referee who is appointed to make a decision concerning the matter. Be mindful, however, that the governmental entity will present their 'case' first. So, you can make a request for a copy of your caserecord. This should be presented to you in advance of the hearing.

If you do not receive your caserecord or if you receive it without enough time to prepare, you MUST tell the judge immediately. Depending on the hearing/court rules an agreement to provide the requested records may be ordered by the judge, the governmental entity may not be able to present any records that they did not provide you (assuming that you requested them in writing), or you may have a favorable decision entered in your behalf (you may automatically win).

This all depends on the type of case, the jurisdiction, and a slew of other factors but if you took the time to request benefits to assist your household and were denied, there is a manner for recourse. There is hope. Make sure, however, that you keep the best records possible for everything and bring them and/or a copy of them to court with you.

You have a right to a hearing and such hearing can be successful

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