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Babette, i collect SSDI from 2003 when i was 40. I will be 56 next month.
Do you NEED AN ATTORNEY.? NO.
Just fill out the application as thoroughly as you can. List ALL medical issues/ conditions, list ALL doctors seen, list ALL hospitals you've been to, list AS MANY issues as you have, regardless of whether they are related to the disability you are claiming. Literally, if you sought medical help for a hangnail, LIST IT. they (SSDI) will ask for your records from all medical providers listed. That will bolster your case.
As long as you have 10 cumulative years of work and a certain amount of work credirs, you can apply on your record.
After you apply, almost everyone gets denied. KEEP APPEALING until you see tye Administrative Law Judge, who will review your application, files and case, and can approve you on the spot. In mh case the ALJ had a 8.5" thick file of my medical records and said he had no problem approving my case!
Now, before i went before tge ALJ, I contacted legal aid to represent me, she called the night before with only about 4 pages of docs, and said "we can't win", i told she DID NOT have ALL the docs!!! And finally agreed to meet me the next morning. She came out of pre-trial andcsaid he'll approve you but has to ask you questions directly ". I said no problem.
She basically did little was free to me, and may or may not have helped my case.
One of the questions ( key question) was "i see you are working, tell me why"...,i said 'because ive got to eat"...he said that was the best abswer he'd ever heard for that question. Then he asked me to tell him about my work ( part time only 15 hrs a week, , i worked for a friend kind enough to give me a job, and that my friend understood I'd work when able, not when i could not).
He appoved me on the spot and told me so.
I had to wait 6 months for Medicare to kick in, but i had medicaid from DSS. At that time, they paid a LOT more " back pay than now. My first back pay check was $16,680 , which DSS required i spend in a year, or pay them back for Medicaid and welfare cash I'd received. Believe me i spent it. I bought a vehicle with $12 k of it. Bought a new computer, etc was easy to prove i spent it ( DSS would not let me save more than $1k, but after SSDI was approved, i was off any welfare benefitsand foodstamps!)
*** Now, They have streamlined the 3 step i went through to a 2 step process, process quicker, and dont pay as much in 'back pay' as i got in 2003.***
So, fill out your app thoroughly, keep APPEALING until you see the ALJ, and ask legal aid societu for a legal aid representative ( she was a legal aid rep, NOT an attorney), and wait patiently for your checks to be direct deposited. Youll be notified of all that info.
^^^^Agree with above. I went directly to a lawyer and didn't fool around with anything myself.
Approved in 2 months with no phone calls or MDs.
The deciding factor I heard from them was a medical paper trail of proof. I had years of X-rays and medical records so it was all very clear. Without that paper trail, they won't even take your case.
Or, if you do it yourself, they will either deny it outright, necessitating an appeal, which you should get a lawyer for, or they might ask for more information before they make a judgement. This is where some people make a mistake and provide more information that changes something they previously submitted. Make sure you keep exact records and hang on to all your “proof of disability” so that you can provide more information without affecting the validity of previous submissions. Otherwise it will even slow down actions after you get a lawyer involved. When my wife submitted we got advice from someone who had done it previously and that is what he told us. It worked for my wife. Never had to get a lawyer. It helped that she had worked in diagnostic radiology all her life, so she had all the MRI and CT films from her back issues. If you ever have need for diagnostic tests anytime in your life, hang onto your films. You never know when you might need them, even if they were negative for issues. They can be used to show when later issues began.
Hi Everyone -- Dh and I want to live near Mt. Wachusett. Dh works in Burlington and can swing a 4 day week as well as a flexible schedule. Is this commute (along Rt. 2, I presume) reasonable. Main motivation is to be closer to skiing. Thanks!
You want to be closer to skiing. Whatever you do, don't let SS see your posts here.
You want to be closer to skiing. Whatever you do, don't let SS see your posts here.
Wow! Good catch! Maybe a mod could delete all but the OP and your post and lock it, and sticky it for a while. I feel violated for contributing to a possible fraud case earlier this morning now.
The lawyer will take 25% up to a maximum of $6000. You don't need an attorney, but if you don't have one of the diagnosis listed on the impairment listing (https://www.ssa.gov/disability/profe...ltListings.htm) you may want to get an attorney to help you present your argument as strongly as possible.
yes - best to read the rules and see if you can be rated for any of the conditions.
one of my professors in uni was also an ss judge. he said, if you fit the conditions - you were good to go.
Wow! Good catch! Maybe a mod could delete all but the OP and your post and lock it, and sticky it for a while. I feel violated for contributing to a possible fraud case earlier this morning now.
maybe he is impaired in a way that does not deter his skiing? PTSD?
Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
3,259 posts, read 4,334,327 times
Reputation: 13476
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clemencia53
of course i am. I keep my mind open to all sorts of possibilities -
Thankfully for you then, the OP will create a new handle after this embarrassment, and you can feel good all over again for helping someone get on SSDI (regardless if it's fraudulent or not). Here's a gold star for you!
I went to the SS office in my city when I applied. The lady asked me questions, I answered. I didn't bring one piece of paper with me, the lady just took the names of my doctors and she did all the work. She also made an appointment with a shrink for me. Maybe it was a psychologist, I forget. He had a few tests for my memory and I failed, so he approved me. The lady approved me, called me and six weeks later I got 6 checks. I was very fortunate.
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