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Applying for Social Security Disability (SSI/SSDI)

Groggy Doggy

Guest
Messages
1,130
:(I am still waiting to receive the benefit amount award letter, and no deposits have appeared in my bank account yet. I will lose my health insurance coverage this week. This is all so frustrating because if SSDI was on the ball, I would be enrolled in MediCare by now.

In July it will be 3 years from the date my SSDI application (nightmare) process started.

I don't know how SSDI gets away with being so inefficient and incompetent. They have screwed up every step of the way. I was finally hopeful that this would be a done deal, and I could look forward to a steady income stream and better health insurance....but I was wrong again.
 
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bspg

Plant Queen
Messages
547
Location
USA
I applied in September '16 and got my denial letter last week :( My lawyer has already filed an appeal for me. Now begins the 2 year wait period for a hearing.

ugghhhh.
 

Groggy Doggy

Guest
Messages
1,130
I applied in September '16 and got my denial letter last week :( My lawyer has already filed an appeal for me. Now begins the 2 year wait period for a hearing.

ugghhhh.
I know, it's so time consuming. I was denied 3 times because the Social Security reviewer's and doctors never actually bothered to look at all of medical records and ignored key social security medical forms filled out by my doctors. At my hearing, the judge actually looked at ALL of my medical records, which were hundreds of pages by then.

I hope you have a better experience. Maybe you will lucky and sail through the process.
 
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geraldt52

Senior Member
Messages
602
In July it will be 3 years from the date my SSDI application (nightmare) process started...I don't know how SSDI gets away with being so inefficient and incompetent..

You probably don't realize just how lucky you are. It sounds as though you were awarded benefits on first hearing by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), which is pretty much nothing more than the luck of the draw, as to which judge hears your case. My ALJ told my lawyer that he "didn't believe in CFS", and she should have filed my case as a somatoform disorder, completely ignoring every word of a 2" thick medical file.

It took me 7 years and a trip to Federal Court to get my first check. When you've exhausted all Soc Sec appeals, and have to go to Federal Court, the attorney fee limitation set by Soc Sec doesn't apply, and the Federal Judge sets the attorney's fee. It ended up costing me $35K of my past due benefits...if Soc Sec screws up, you pay for it, not them. The system works quite well for the lawyers, and for the government employees of Soc Sec who just pass paper around. For the disabled and desperate, not so much.

It sounds like your wait is almost over. Try to be thankful for that.
 

bspg

Plant Queen
Messages
547
Location
USA
You probably don't realize just how lucky you are. It sounds as though you were awarded benefits on first hearing by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), which is pretty much nothing more than the luck of the draw, as to which judge hears your case. My ALJ told my lawyer that he "didn't believe in CFS", and she should have filed my case as a somatoform disorder, completely ignoring every word of a 2" thick medical file.

It took me 7 years and a trip to Federal Court to get my first check. When you've exhausted all Soc Sec appeals, and have to go to Federal Court, the attorney fee limitation set by Soc Sec doesn't apply, and the Federal Judge sets the attorney's fee. It ended up costing me $35K of my past due benefits...if Soc Sec screws up, you pay for it, not them. The system works quite well for the lawyers, and for the government employees of Soc Sec who just pass paper around. For the disabled and desperate, not so much.

It sounds like your wait is almost over. Try to be thankful for that.

:eek: that's awful. I'm so glad you finally won your case.
 

Groggy Doggy

Guest
Messages
1,130
You probably don't realize just how lucky you are. It sounds as though you were awarded benefits on first hearing by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), which is pretty much nothing more than the luck of the draw, as to which judge hears your case. My ALJ told my lawyer that he "didn't believe in CFS", and she should have filed my case as a somatoform disorder, completely ignoring every word of a 2" thick medical file.

It took me 7 years and a trip to Federal Court to get my first check. When you've exhausted all Soc Sec appeals, and have to go to Federal Court, the attorney fee limitation set by Soc Sec doesn't apply, and the Federal Judge sets the attorney's fee. It ended up costing me $35K of my past due benefits...if Soc Sec screws up, you pay for it, not them. The system works quite well for the lawyers, and for the government employees of Soc Sec who just pass paper around. For the disabled and desperate, not so much.

It sounds like your wait is almost over. Try to be thankful for that.
Thank you for your kind words; I do need to think about this in a more positive way. I am sorry to hear about all of the pain and frustration you went through .
 

MEPatient345

Guest
Messages
479
I am still waiting to receive the benefit amount award letter, and no deposits have appeared in my bank account yet. I will lose my health insurance coverage this week. This is all so frustrating because if SSDI was on the ball, I would be enrolled in MediCare by now.
Hi @Groggy Doggy, do you know based on your hearing if you have won SSDI? If you have, but you haven't yet received the letters, just to let you know that they do back issue medicare. I just won my SSDI benefits in February, but the letter said I have Medicare hospital insurance beginning May 2016, and medical insurance beginning March 2017, but that I could choose to have medical insurance from May 2016 also, I would just have to pay for those premiums.
 

Billt

Senior Member
Messages
289
Location
New Orleans
KitCat, GG , halcyon, Clerner

Finally an update !! We have gotten the letter back from the hearing and with GOOD NEWS !!!
He was approved !! Can't believe it as I really thought this may not happen. So hard to prove. The atty told us before the hearing that my son would need to do better at answering questions with the judge. This was a very very hard process for my son and he hasn't been the same since ( this just everything he had left out of him ). Atty was
very hard on him, grilling him with question after question and he got easily flustered. In the end the hearing only lasted apx 30 mins and not to many questions. There was a vocation expert who seemed to understand his limits and I think that helped a lot.
In the end, this was an extremely long process and overwhelming for all of us, But because he is so young, he will need help for a very long time to come. Won't be much money as he only worked a few years but should help with the insurance end as well.

What so many of you shared on here was so helpful and encouraging. I can't thank you enough !!

KitCat, your wealth of info was truly a blessing . Thank you for thanking the time to help all of us on here with this process

I am here with anything I can help with

Bill
 

Groggy Doggy

Guest
Messages
1,130
Finally an update !! We have gotten the letter back from the hearing and with GOOD NEWS !!!
He was approved !! Can't believe it as I really thought this may not happen. So hard to prove. The atty told us before the hearing that my son would need to do better at answering questions with the judge. This was a very very hard process for my son and he hasn't been the same since ( this just everything he had left out of him ).

I am so happy to hear the great news!!! I am sorry the process took a huge toll on your son.
 

I AM

Senior Member
Messages
101
@VertigoFlyer can you tell me about your GI malaise and if you have found any relief? I have horrid GI problems. There is a neuro-gastro specialist at Johns Hopkins whom I am considering seeing.
 

SnappingTurtle

Senior Member
Messages
257
Location
GA, USA
Then (and this is the part my judge liked the best) - get a record of continuing disability. This is accomplished by going to your doctor every 3 months and reporting that remain disabled. My lawyer had a nifty form for this. By the time you get to the judge (a couple of years), it will be obvious you're not going to recover any time soon.

@caledonia , would you please share the form?