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Why is getting SSI soo hard???

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Posted 3/9/2009 11:16 AM (GMT -6)
Hi all.
I am a newbie..
I have had chronic back pain for 5 years now.
My doctor will not let me work, My PT. wont work on me any more as he is afraid he"s going to hurt me.
In the meanwhile I have tried to collect SSI for my injury and they keep turning me down.
I have 5 children and my Boyfriend is our only means of income right now..
Has anyone else had problems like I am having with the SSI issue?
Thanks!!!
Posted 3/9/2009 2:48 PM (GMT -6)
Hi attic welcome to HW! I am glad to see new faces around here but yet sad that you have to join us here as a CP patient. I too have been trying to get SSI for the past 4 years. Unfortunately it is not easy to get or so I am told. I am on my last appeal and in the final stage where its all about what they perceive as a disability (or that is how my attorney explained it to me). Everything has been sent to the panel of experts in TN or somewhere down south and I am patiently waiting for a response from them. My first appeal was turned down and I didn't appeal it cause I thought there wasn't a chance I would get it. My second time I did appeal and it was turned down I then retained an attorney and went in front of a judge advocate who said I was too young (go figure). So now I am at the last stage and I am hoping this one is the gold coin so to speak.

Anyway welcome aboard and good luck

Scarred
Posted 3/9/2009 3:25 PM (GMT -6)
Thanks for the response.
This is my second time applying for it and my second appeal.
How can a person be to young to get it?
If you are disabled you should be able to get it.
I worked my whole life until my injury 5 years ago.
If your Doctors are telling you, you are not able to work how can they turn you down?
Thanks now I know I am not alone in this fight!!!

Thanks for the welcome!
Its nice to finally find a place that I can talk to people that might
understand the Hell im going threw in life!

Thanks again for getting in touch with me.
Hope to speak with you again!

Atticbat
Posted 3/9/2009 3:52 PM (GMT -6)
atticbat and scarred

The best thing is , is to hire a lawyer that specialized in getting SSD, and be prepared for rejection after rejection, but just wait it thru, if you have a good case it will be approved, usually by a judge at a hearing, but it will happen and usually it will be back dated to the first time you applied. But it can take years, it did me, and they gave the same reason, I was too young! I was told by my Lawyer that they (SSD) just hopes to wear you down and you will give up! They had a thing about it on TV a few years back 60 minutes or something like that, I can't remember exactly what show, and there was a person that was formally high up in SS and she said it was standard policy to reject people on the first and second application, and even the third time around.

White Beard
Posted 3/15/2009 12:49 AM (GMT -6)
I was turned down 4 times, we (parents and I) got a lawyer and appealed and then I got a hearing where I explained my story for a judge and he then finally approved me.

I think its hard because they want to be sure that the person applying for it REALLY needs it.
Posted 3/15/2009 3:49 AM (GMT -6)
I was told I should have applied 5 years before I retired. That's how messed up I am. I qualified within 4 months. Is that GOOD or is that BAD. ""????????"" june
Posted 3/15/2009 7:17 AM (GMT -6)

Myself I applied in spring 2003 by myself & was quickly rejected. Applied again in July 2003 on my own & was rejected by September. In October I hired a Lawyer & with statements from my family dr., orthapedic dr for my knees & the surgeon who operated on my back all three saying I could never work again I still had to keep going to the orthapedic & family Dr.'s every other month as my Lawyer said the more documentation I have the better the chance as I was only 35 in 2003. Then in late 2004 my lawyer sent me to his dr. for an examination & finally filed my application in February 2005 saying we had enuff documentation to go in front of the Judge.

In the court room the judge asked me about everything since I own my own home & raise my daughter by myself he wanted to know who cuts the grass, who takes out garbage, who cooks, what do you cook usually, ect. I mean he really got into my personal buisness, but I looked him right in the eye on every answer & never told nothing but the truth. Then they had a lady in there that told how many jobs were available in my region that they thought I could do, like be a parking attendant, ect. After the hearing the lawyer said he didn't like how it went, but I thought he was just blowing smoke. So in May 2005 I got the answer in the mail & I won. The judge stated he believed the reports of my family dr. & orthapedic dr. to be consistent & true & that I was very honest in my answers.

So I was almost 37 when I got mine, wich is young for social security & the wait seemed like an eternity but it was worth it. And it sucks to give a chunk of the backpay to your lawyer but you just about have to have one. If I had one tip for anyone who has to face a judge do not lie or exaggerate. Just be honest about your pain & how it has stolen your quality of life & the only way you can function & have any quality of life is thru pain meds. Also once you get it you have to keep going to one of your doctors on a regular basis as you will get reviewed in a couple years. Good Luck!

Posted 3/15/2009 11:42 AM (GMT -6)
Heck at my last hearing the SS person said I could be a used car sales man, the Judge had me wall around the room, ( I use a cane and am bent over as I can't stand up straight) and the then the Judge, said Would you buy a used car from some like that? Everyone laughed, the judge wanted one more test done on me and then 5 or 6 months later, it came back approved and back dated to the beginning!

And drbrosco your absolutely right tell the truth and don't exagerate anything, let the facts speak for themselves! If you have the medical documentation, and lots of patients, and can just bite your tongue and grit your teeth at some of the dumb things that happen  and is said during the process it will all eventually work out!

Good Luck

White Beard

Posted 3/15/2009 12:13 PM (GMT -6)
Hi AtticBat, I don't know what state you live in but I have heard some states are harder than others. Now whether this is true or not I do not know. Age is factor and some on here may disagree with that statement. I handled alot of SS cases when I worked, I worked for attys all my lfe. They do take in consideration your age, education, whether you are retrainable or not, daily living, medical conditions and what the drs say is wrong. For some reason people with back injuries seem to have it the hardest convincing SSD they have a true illness/injury/medical problem. Their famous words of "although you have documentation of a back problem/ your illness/injury does not prevent you from doing some type of work." Gawd, if I have seen those words once I saw it thousands of times. Unfortunately, there are thousands just like you caught up in the red tape of the govermnemnt. Don't give up, keep plugging away. Susie

PS. A very late welcome to HW, you will be glad you found this place.
Posted 3/15/2009 6:04 PM (GMT -6)
Actually I went through all of that already. Applied in 2004 by myself and was denied. Applied a year later and again denied. With my second denial I decided to appeal it and quickly hired an attorney to help me through the process. A fantastic guy that is very good. We went through the appeal process and again I was denied....so he told me we had to go to the second stage where I went before a Judge Advocate. This was back in Jan of last year that I went before the JA and after pouring out my heart and them telling me I could do one job available in the US I was told by the JA that I was too young but that my Medical records were for me getting it.....still denied me! Now we are in the third stage of this process where all my medical records are sent to another appellate court somewhere down south. My attorney said he has a real good record at getting people approved for SSD with this part of the appeal (96%). He sent this in August and I am waiting to hear back.

Hugs

Scarred
Posted 3/15/2009 9:46 PM (GMT -6)
Thank you for the welcome!!
It is nice to find a place that I can talk to people that know the world
that I live in.
I live in Minnesota and I hear its a bear to get SSI here.
I will have to get a lawyer if the deny me this time.
Thanks for all your great suggestions!
Atticbat. smurf
Posted 3/16/2009 2:20 PM (GMT -6)
I count my blessings for living on Ontario Canada
here they provide the lawyer for you and I won after being turned down a couple of times......
Got me a fair chunk of money but that can never replace the career I loved so much .............
Nor the Retirement Home I had to sell do to all the pain and Chronic Illnesses..but it helps lol as does not having to pay for health insurance and 2.00 for meds

I wish you all an easier go of it

LYN
Posted 3/16/2009 7:22 PM (GMT -6)
Howlyncat:  As to a lawyer, it is the same as them providing a lawyer in the United States when going for Disability.  Social Security requires any lawyer working on a case for Disability take up to 50% of the backpay awarded, to a maximum of about $5,000. 

However, if the attorney doesn't win the attorney doesn't get paid anything.  So it is kinda best case scenario possible of a contingency situation. 

How many attorneys want a low-contingency award to stretch out for months? 

Once I realized what the situation was, I began immediately looking for an attorney; it doesn't make sense to go it alone.  I wish everyone well who is in this situation.  At least we all know where to find a knowledgeable and sympathetic ear, hey?

Posted 3/17/2009 10:10 AM (GMT -6)
WE do not pay lawyer whether we win or lose here..IN Ontario anyways
They are strictly Disabilty Lawyers

Thank God .........

Like I said I got a real big back amount and I would have had to pay a large fee if that were the case.....

lyn
Posted 3/18/2009 3:00 PM (GMT -6)
I guess it's so hard to get because it's run by the Federal Government in the USA and anything that is run by the government
takes time, with the exception of the IRS...
Also, because to many people have abused the system and with all that they want to make sure now that a person is truly
disabled.
Personally, I wish none of my friends on here had to wait for this much need benefit and my heart goes out to each and everyone of you
in this struggle...
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGZ}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Posted 3/18/2009 3:40 PM (GMT -6)
Here in the US, it is the claimants decision on whether to hire an atty to represent you, it is not required by SS.

 

If an atty represents you, you have what is called a contingency fee contract which states he gets paid out of any award for his time. If you don't win, since its a contingency Contract you owe him nothing. DO NOT SIGN ANY KIND OF CONTRACT OTHER THAN THIS.

 

If you are awarded benefits by SS, they send your atty what is called a Fee Petition, but if he does alot of SS he can obtain these directly from a SS office to have on hand which is what we did. An atty cannot per SS collect 50% of your back due pay plus the cap if its $5,000 as atty fees. He cannot collect both.

 

A fee Petition must be filed by the atty and sent to SS. On this fee Petition his assistant must list every single thing that has been done on your claim. Things like initial interview, request medical records, review file and this sort of thing. They do not just send his a check. He has to show how he earned his fee and there is a cap. Someone said its $5,000. When I did SS claims the cap was $4,000 max. SS will hold out money for the atty out of any award. A copy of this letter is also sent to the claimant. Once the Fee Petition is submitted and Approved by SS then he gets paid. If SS held out too much money, they send the balance to the claimant. By the way folks, your atty is also suppose to send you a copy of the Fee Peition that he sens to SS......Susie

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