… and now what?
Have any of you filed for disability? How does it work? Can you still look for work to tide you over? (Doesn’t sound logical to me but there must be some way to keep money coming in till the process is complete.)
Please reply here or PM if you’d rather.
[QUOTE=RPM;6444696]
… and now what?
Have any of you filed for disability? How does it work? Can you still look for work to tide you over? (Doesn’t sound logical to me but there must be some way to keep money coming in till the process is complete.)
Please reply here or PM if you’d rather.[/QUOTE]
That attorney should have given you a plan, told you if you can work and still get disability and answered all those questions.
I didn’t ask; I only thought of it later. The rep did say to call if I had any questions so i will call them; I just thought I’d like to hear from other people who have been through this.
Good luck. I’ve been trying to get disability for my mentally challenged brother for a few years now with no luck. They say that someone who functions on a 1st grade level can make enough to support themselves. Of course he can’t live alone (lives with me now) or drive, but hey, they don’t care. They found numerous jobs for a bricklayer an hour away so he can do that to support himself. 1. how does he get there? 2. is the judge going to teach him the job and stand around to make sure he understands? They said he could move to where the jobs were. Of course, why didn’t I think of that?? Surely he will be making enough to hire someone to live with him and take care of him and drive him to work and back and pay all of his bills without taking him to the cleaners because he doesn’t understand money right?? The guy puts metal in the microwave, he starts a fire with an electric range trying to make grilled cheese sandwiches, etc.
I’m disgusted with the whole system. Especially when I have neighbors who party constantly and are on disability for ADD. Seriously? I have effing ADD, give me a check and so does my brother btw…lol. Ok, I’m over my rant, for now…lol.
I would think if you are able to work, that you would not qualify for disability (to work).
[QUOTE=Appsolute;6444829]
I would think if you are able to work, that you would not qualify for disability (to work).[/QUOTE]
That is what I think too. To try to work while you are waiting for the disability process to go through isn’t logical. But what do you do? Go live in a shelter or under a bridge?
RacetrackReject–the one that gets to me is the commercial where the pharmacist said he had to go on disability because he got so depressed. I can’t help asking, Depressed about what? Pharmacists make good money, are in demand, and if all else fails have plenty of antidepressants at their fingertips.
First of all, you can file the application(s) for disability insurance and/or supplemental security income without the services of an attorney. Most people choose an attorney when they are denied and decide to appeal to get a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
If you work while awaiting a decision, the decisional direction depends on how much you are earning. SSA counts your gross wages (assuming you aren’t self employed) and compares that amount to the standard for “substantial gainful activity”, which is presently $1010 per month. Of course, just keeping your wages to $1010 or less per month doesn’t mean you lack the capacity to earn more than that.
The disability process can be arduous because you must establish that your physical and/or mental impairments prevent you from performing any work available in significant numbers in the national economy. You may live in an area where there are few jobs, but SSA doesn’t really care about that. At age 50, if you can establish that you are capable of no more than sedentary work (lift/carry 10 pounds or less; stand/walk 2 hrs per day; sit 6 hrs per day) AND you are unable to perform past relevant work or work where you can easily transfer your skills, you can be approved. At age 55, the exertional limit climbs to light work (lift/carry 20 pounds; stand/walk 6 hours per day; sit 2 hours per day), plus everything else that the age 50s need.
Various jurisdictions have reputations for having tougher judges, and, Racetrackreject, I’m afraid that TX is one of them. However, if your brother is truly as limited as you suggest, he would benefit from the services of a disability advocate or lawyer who can obtain the information needed to prove his limitations. [And I generally recommend that you avoid one of the biggest commercial advertisers, as those attorneys don’t always prepare the case well. A good local attorney who is well aware of the foibles of the local ALJs is your best bet.]
If you have specific questions, please PM me.
[QUOTE=Appsolute;6444829]
I would think if you are able to work, that you would not qualify for disability (to work).[/QUOTE]
Sorry but having a progressive disease means my ability to work slowly diminishes. There is the fact no one wants to hire someone with health issues, when there are fully able people. Just because i can work a little does not mean i can work enough to support myself. Even though there are laws i am discriminated against.
At 22 i am applying for disability, rheumatoid arthritis is robbing me of normal work, its soo frustrating, unless you walk in my shoes dont say that. I am very offended by your comment, must be nice for you to have no health problems that interfere with your daily functions:mad:
op i feel your pain im on round 2 of the bs, itsjust as hard in canada
Sorry you were offended Teddy… I don’t know why you would think the comment was directed at you.
I am also sorry you are having to deal with such pain and disability at such a young age, sounds truly terrible.
My mother went on permanent disability when she was 45 due to RA and fibromyalgia. Yes, I do have some understanding of the process, and that disability can be a slow onset.
I have also seen many people abuse the system.
To the OP’s question, if she is able to find work which she can perform, I do not see how she would qualify for disability.
Exactly. “Disabled” means you aren’t capable of working.
[QUOTE=Appsolute;6445490]
Sorry you were offended Teddy… I don’t know why you would think the comment was directed at you.
I am also sorry you are having to deal with such pain and disability at such a young age, sounds truly terrible.
My mother went on permanent disability when she was 45 due to RA and fibromyalgia. Yes, I do have some understanding of the process, and that disability can be a slow onset.
I have also seen many people abuse the system.
To the OP’s question, if she is able to find work which she can perform, I do not see how she would qualify for disability.[/QUOTE]
Sorry its been a bad week for me, my emotions are outof wack
There was a lady at my work that tried to get disability and she had to be off of work at least 90 days to even be considered. She ended up being denied benefits and had to come back to work.
[QUOTE=twelvegates;6445391]
Various jurisdictions have reputations for having tougher judges, and, Racetrackreject, I’m afraid that TX is one of them. However, if your brother is truly as limited as you suggest, he would benefit from the services of a disability advocate or lawyer who can obtain the information needed to prove his limitations. [And I generally recommend that you avoid one of the biggest commercial advertisers, as those attorneys don’t always prepare the case well. A good local attorney who is well aware of the foibles of the local ALJs is your best bet.]
If you have specific questions, please PM me.[/QUOTE]
Thanks. We did speak to a lawyer before we went to court and they said that basically it was a slamdunk, no way he would get denied. Then after he was denied, they found out who the judge was and said, “Well, having that old b!tch would be the only way he would get denied”. This was a local lawyer who handles this sort of thing that I know personally as I used to take care of their horses. So, now we had to refile again and waiting for it all to start back over. More doctors appointments, more evaluations, etc. I also understand that since we had to refile, my brother lost any and all back payments he would have received if he had been given disability at the hearing.
I think the main issue with my brother is that he has a very active imagination and cannot tell truth from a lie. They ask him if he can cook and he says yes. When I try to explain that he cannot cook, they tell me to shut up. They ask him if he can keep up with a checkbook and he says yes, but he can’t. Also, he had a driver’s license and I’m not sure how he got it to be honest. We don’t let him drive because he doesn’t understand traffic rules and has wrecked a number of times when my father would let him drive. He also used to work, when my father was alive, and my father gave him a job on his projects. Since my father was the boss, he could put him in a position with someone who could watch him and help him do things, but our father has passed away.
It’s just a huge mess and I swear the stress of it all is going to drive me insane.
Twelvegates, excellent information. I used to work in a law office where we would (among other things) assist people in filing for disability. RPM, it is pretty routine for the application to be rejected on the first try, so be prepared to refile and not give up. RR, I second the suggestion of finding a experienced disability attorney to help with your brother’s case, someone who knows all the right catch phrases and buttons to push. Many of them will charge only modest fees.
[QUOTE=Teddy;6445475]
Sorry but having a progressive disease means my ability to work slowly diminishes. There is the fact no one wants to hire someone with health issues, when there are fully able people. Just because i can work a little does not mean i can work enough to support myself. Even though there are laws i am discriminated against.
At 22 i am applying for disability, rheumatoid arthritis is robbing me of normal work, its soo frustrating, unless you walk in my shoes dont say that. I am very offended by your comment, must be nice for you to have no health problems that interfere with your daily functions:mad:
op i feel your pain im on round 2 of the bs, itsjust as hard in canada[/QUOTE]
I hear you, Teddy, and I am glad you posted.
RR, I am appalled to hear that the lawyers/judge/“experts” who interviewed you brother did not have enough expertise (read “sense”) to realize that he, as you say, mentally challenged. They do not sound qualified to judge!
What a mess.
Racetrackreject – you need to submit signed statements to SSA, detailing just what you said here and explaining how you know it to be true. Get other family members to do the same. There is also a form called an “Adult Function Report” that you can complete on his behalf when the initial claim is filed.
If this case goes to hearing again, you should appear as a witness for your brother. Since you aren’t a medical expert (I assume???), don’t spout diagnoses, just talk about your day to day experiences with your brother. Just as you listed above.
There is a Social Security Ruling (06-03p) that requires the judge to consider all opinion evidence, so be sure you indicate your brother is disabled and unable to work, or able to work only in a sheltered workshop type situation. Then go on to explain why.
If it isn’t too late, his attorney had the opportunity to appeal the judge’s prior decision to the Appeals Council, and then to District Court, where the attorney can get paid under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Sorry OP – didn’t mean to hijack your thread.
I think some people have an unrealistic expectation of the amount of money “disability” brings in. I’m talking about the Federal SSI and SSDI, through the social security administration. I don’t know about insurance companies, unuins, or other types of “disability.” I get an above-average amount of SSDI, and it’s STILL WAY less than a minimum-wage job pays.
We have a group disabled home near us. The residents have full time caretakers living with them and everyday a bus picks them up and the residents go to work. I don’t know where, but at our local family-owned hardware store they have mentally challenged employees.
Group homes seem to work here, at least “from the outside”. I don’t know how the residents feel though.
Good luck RR. During the questioning period, can you follow up with a question like “can you fly a space shuttle to the moon?” , if he answers yes, it would demonstrate for the examiners how much weight to give his answers.
Sorry it so hard to get help.
My accident happened 11/12/07 Broke back in three places, hip in two developed PTSD and depresion. I went back to work in teh summer of 08 to a physical job and couldn’t do it, went to a desk job and couldn’t do it. I have pain 24/7 some days better than others. Meds I am make me want to sleep, make me dizzy, nausiated, ect… I hardly ever drive anymore because of meds and when I do know I have to drive I dose up good on IBU so I can drive wich isn’t very often. Most of my meds either say use caution while opertaing equipment or driving or say do not drive period.
I filed in the spring of 09 used an attorney from the get go. was denied by mail appelead it and had my hearing in april of this year. I am still waiting on a determination but I do have one more chance to go infront of the apeal board if denied this time. If deneid in front of the apeal board I have to start the process all over again.
thing is, the consulting doc (wich is the doc that the state sent me to for evaluation and tests) agrees with failed back syndrome, severe arthriitis in the entire lumbar spine and in the right hip wich is all confirmed with xrays and other tests they did on me and the state phycologist agrees with PTSD depresion and attatchment disorder/ anxiety. Yet I was still denied. Why because I am under the age of 50. Shoot the SS people even agreed that the two work attempts were failures. Main problem is because the entire lumbar is pretty much shot I can’t sit or stand for any length of time and I agree with another poster. Who would even consider hiring me with a busted up back as bad as it is. I would be more of a liability than an asset.
In my hearing the state messed up, my attorney caught it and didn’t call them out on it so that I would have reason for appeal to the apeeal board wich is the last step before refile.
Hang in there. I would apply but use an attorney from the get go and your doctor. The good thing for me was the surgon wrote a letter stating he turned me over to a sports med chiro for continued therapy and adjustments. SS doesn’t really look at chiro care as legit med care but because of this letter they have to take my chiro care into consideration. My regular Dr med records show that I have been on anti depresents since dec of 07 and that I come in once every three months for med changes like clock work. My doc changes my meds every three months (Pain meds) and I am on alot of them so that my system won’t get used to the same ones.
Find an attorney that specializes in disability.
[QUOTE=Chall;6447523]
Good luck RR. During the questioning period, can you follow up with a question like “can you fly a space shuttle to the moon?” , if he answers yes, it would demonstrate for the examiners how much weight to give his answers.
Sorry it so hard to get help.[/QUOTE]
Thanks everyone and sorry to hijack your thread OP.
We (mom and I) were not allowed to speak at all at the hearing. When my brother was asking what the questions the judge asked him meant, so that he could answer her, and we tried to tell him, we were told that if I spoke another word we would be told to leave and not allowed back in the hearing. We tried to tell the judge that he didn’t understand the question and she basically told us to shut up, again. Then she reworded the question, using the same words though, and my brother still didn’t understand but just said he did because that’s his standard MO.
Our lawyer said the best thing to do is to take my brother to this certain facility for evaluation because everyone who this facility deems disabled actually gets disability right off. I haven’t taken him yet, but that is the next step.
Thank you twelvegates. I am going to print off your last post and take it to the next lawyer meeting.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
