Spouse's SS disability claim denied - now what?

From reading some of the trials and tribulations some of you have gone through over the years, I understand that it's pretty standard operating procedure for Social Security to deny claims the first time around. We found out today that K.'s claim was indeed denied, and that they're sending appeals paperwork. No great surprise there.

Is there anything I should know before we get going with the appeal process to increase our chances of the claim being granted on appeal?

you, we are still waiting to hear on my hubby's.

I see their commercials on the tube daily.
Might be worth a try.

It will surely take a long time, but don't give up. Call your state bar association and ask for a referral to an attorney who specializes in social security and disability benefits work. Get two or three names, and interview them like you're hiring them for a job (you are, incidentally). If you don't care for one, try another. They can advise you on timelines, how long the process will take (think years instead of months), and what you might be able to do in the meantime.

A Democrat, of course. Things moved when he got involved.

as painful as it is to pay that share to a lawyer, your choices are to keep being denied or to hire one of the lawyers who specialize in this area, they have a total lock on the process

never heard of anyone who succeeded in getting their disability acknowledged without a lawyer and i'm talking some SERIOUS problems in some cases, such as blindness

for whatever reason, prob. because lawyers make the laws, you must have a lawyer

good luck

i have never heard of it taking less than 2 years in louisiana and i've heard of it taking up to 10 years but we're reported to be a particularly tough state, so i would hope you'll do better

He went to the local SS office for his interview where he handed his paperwork and medical records over.

I was in my late 30s when my claim was approved. I have several fairly bad things wrong with me; at the time, though, individually they were not completely disabling but taken as a whole and the number of them, they were ruled to be so (now one of them is completely 'stand alone' disabling, alas). I had a hearing, and the government's witness testified for ME.

The best advice I can offer is to document everything: every condition, even those not related to the disabling one; every doctor visit, test, procedure, etc; every prescription and each side-effect; every restriction in movement, ability, etc; and anything else the disability has changed, altered, diminished, etc in everyday living.

A lot depends on your spouse's age and previous work history. The older a person is, the better the chance of being approved.

I would like to say that you don't need an attorney, but I know that the administrative law judges (ALJ's) that decide case on appeals tend to like lawyers.

I also know that you should always tell the truth and be very consistent in your statements, because the ALJ's use inconsistencies to show that a claimant is not truthful, and therefore, not disabled.

My medical problems go back to the 1980's and the letter I got from the SSA said, upon review of my case, that I was fully disabled since Jan., of 2007 even though I didn't apply until Oct. of last year.

From what I learned about the process, two important items they'll look at is income and medical records. If one is working full time or doing substantial part time work, SSA is unlikely to approve a claim. Having one's medical problems well documented is very important.

Edit: I did the paperwork on my own.

They'd like you to, I suspect, but persistence often pays off.

I'm only 26, so it was not entirely easy for me to get SSI, even though I had years of documentation and am under pain management care with a university medical center. My requests were denied on the initial filing and the appeal, after which I hired a disability lawyer.

The lawyer was helpful, I feel, and he was a comfort to have when the time came to go before the administrative law judge. It was at this point that I was approved. Altogether, this spanned 2 or 3 years, most of it spent waiting.

Even after the ALJ, there are options for appeal, but I've generally heard that the ALJ is the best shot tough cases have. Have lots of evidence, keep your story straight, and be truthful with the judge. Heed your lawyer's guidance if you get one.

This was back in 1984. This is nothing new; they always deny you the first time and mostly deny you on your first appeal. That happened to me. I was only approved for SSDI on my second appeal, when I had to appear in person before a panel of officials to plead my case. I came armed only with the truth, diagnoses from my doctor, and my medical records, and in telling the truth, I won my case and have been on SSDI ever since. I was lucky I won without a lawyer, but most of the time, you'll need a Social Security attorney, who will charge your retroactive check as a fee if he wins your case.

In general, the procedure entails your having to prove you're too disabled to work, so the SSA puts you through the wringer ostensibly to root out fraudulent applications. If you don't appeal, Social Security surmises that you're still able to work and thus routinely denies your claim. Only the persistent end up being approved.

In short, you'll need:
Doctor's diagnosis
Medical records
Opinion from doctor that one is too disabled to work
A little money to grease the palms of the officials (kidding) :evilgrin: :spray:
If all else fails, an attorney who specializes in Social Security disability cases.

Make sure you know in advance what the fee will be.

had terminal brain cancer. She didn't know me anymore and she couldn't walk, talk or feed herself - yet SS said she could make baby booties.

I see it hasn't changed.

Part of the problem was that the SS evaluation people sent K. to a doctor (here) who (literally) had his office at the asylum (day clinic for schizophrenics - I'm not making this up). K.'s been diagnosed with depression, among other things, and we have all the medical files to that effect. K. was totally rattled coming back from that appointment.

SS also asked for all kinds of weird stuff, like body measurements (!) (not sure what the size of one's ankles has to do with depression, also not making this up), and the second doctor K. was sent to for that appointment was appalled that the U.S. was dragging its feet so hard. That doctor complied with the U.S.-requested terms of the testing, up to the point where she thought it was either irrelevant or an invasion of privacy that was not warranted by the medical situation at hand.

All of K.'s U.S. doctors came through with the truth, including a pain management doc who had previously tried to cover up a small incident during a minor back surgery - the incident was fully disclosed in the files that were sent to SS directly from his office.

I think we have a real shot on appeal, and with everyone's advice, I also think it'll be less of a bummer to have to appeal at all.

Any candles and crossed fingers will be greatly appreciated. :hi:

2x. He contacted Binder & Binder and was approved w/in 6 mos. Lawyers that specifically practice SS Disability law can only collect 25% of your claim. That is only if they win your case.

http://www.ssdrc.com/disabilityquestions2-23.html

Hope this helps and good luck.

:hi: