Getting approved for social security disability in maryland (how much, attorney)

[nurider2002]

First of all, you are wasting your money hiring an attorney until you are at the Hearings level. Prior to that, all an attorney is going to do is, notify SSA that they are representing you. When you apply for social security disability, you should have a response within "at least" 6 months if not sooner at the first (initial) and second (reconsideration) levels. That is, you apply, you should then receive a letter from the State agency (Disability Determination Services) office reviewing your claim with a phone number on it should you have questions. You should immediately call and ask to speak to the person handling your claim; ASK--did they receive all the medical records you listed on your application, do they have any additional forms that you need to complete, and what is the expected time frame for a determination to be made? If you don't hear anything in 3 months, you should contact your Congressman and request they make an inquiry about your case. It is NOT uncommon to be turned down at the initial application. Some people are approved but more are denied. It is imperitive that, upon receiving a notice that you have been denied, that you file a second (Reconsideration) of your claim immediately. With the reconsideration claim, you must provide any information about worsening of your conditions and, any new impairments that have occurred since your initial application. Include names with correct addresses and phone numbers of any new doctors or hospitals you have had treatment from, as well as any additional visits to doctors you provided on the initial application. Upon submission of your reconsideration claim, you should receive a letter from the disabiliity determination services in your State, telling you who is handling your claim. Contact that person by phone and determine if they have received all the medical records from the sources you provided on the reconsideraiton claim. Ask if they need anything additionally from you. Wait 90 days, if you hear nothing, again, contact your Congressman and request a Congressional Inquiry regarding the status of your case. If you are denied on the reconsideration case, it's time to contact an attorney. But, understand, attorneys fees take up 25% of whatever back pay Social Security deems you are entitled to if you are found disabled at the Hearing's level. That is, if you say you have been disabled since January 1, 2010 and you have a hearing two years later and they agree that you were disabled since 1/1/10, an attorney is going to take 25% of the back pay you are entitled to going back to the date you were found disabled. There are some agencies that provide FREE legal help for your Hearing's appeal. Unfortunately, once you have been denied at the Initial and Reconsideration levels, it can take a LONG time to get a hearing. Some regions in the country have backlogs up to 3 years. But, at the initial and reconsideration levels, you should not be waiting more than 3 or 4 months for each decision. If you haven't heard something after that amount of time, you need to get your Congressman involved. As far as why some folks get allowed and others do not, the medical criteria for disability is extremely complex. They consider the medical evidence from your doctors, your age, your education, the kind of work you have done in the past 15 years and, if any of that work is transferrable to less strenous work that you could do now. People tend to underestimate the impact questionairres asking you about pain, fatigue, side effects of medications, etc. have on your determinaton. Also, if your doctors don't send in the evidence requested or, provide vague or inconsistent statements, that will impact your case. Bottom line, you have to be vigilant in following up by calling frequently and asking what needs to be done to complete your claim. Sitting back waiting for a determination is the worst thing you can do. Best of luck.

[sephiro499]

If you are not willing or able to wait 3-4 years to be fully paid then do not waste your time. It took me 3 years to get an alj hearing were i was given a fully favorable decision, that was in april. I am still waiting on my backpay and the bills continue to pile up.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by sephiro499

If you are not willing or able to wait 3-4 years to be fully paid then do not waste your time. It took me 3 years to get an alj hearing were i was given a fully favorable decision, that was in april. I am still waiting on my backpay and the bills continue to pile up.

If you are truly disabled, what choice do you have? You have to wait.

[daddyjack]

ok so which one of these are and which are not a "real" disibility. because for some reason they are all killing me and have ruined not only the quality of my life but made me unable to function as i did before any of them came into my life. atrial fibrillation/enlarged heart and left lung, sleep apnea, degenrative L1 L2, hep c, tendinitis hands/arthritis-knees massive deppresion which i think has been brought on by the constant BS that having all this is pretty much my fault. truthfully i wouldnt higher me if i were an employer based just on the insurance possibility knowing this person wont last a day doing anykind of work. there are jobs that i think i could do but i dont qualify since i cant maintain the energy and agility to preform. even a thinking only job is now beyond me, for instance i was filling out docs the other day. 5 all needed to be signed and dated and dam me if every one i started to write the previous month then when realized lost the thought process and couldnt get the date to come back. my short term memory is rapidly failling. like i keep forgeting to comeback here and check for response. lol thanks for your time

[dkf747]

I think my point was missed. If you can't work due to disability, what choice is there except to wait? I'm not questioning whether you have real disabilities or not.

[daddyjack]

true u have to wait. seems their game is make u wait until long enough you evantually die. lol the problem i am seeing with ssi is their view of "able to work" even if u prove beyond a doubt you cant, they have these little loop holes like they dont mean u cant get a job they mean you cant do the job. now how does anyone truley know the person cant hold the job with out them proving it. this is in case u dont have what falls under "their terms" as a dissibility. so one tries to prove it not only to them but at this point to themselves. so they b.s. on their app. so they get hired, next day employer cant belive how weak of an employee this is and lets them go. BUT had to pay them for that day or hour. BAM! NOW SSI HAS IT THAT U WORKED. *******S! THEY ARE INDEED THE CHICKEN**** OF CHICKEN****S. when i have talked to dds they try and play so warm and fuzzy that they are there for you. and will do everything for you to get all that you send in for consideration. but they fail to mention they will pick and choose when they are collecting info. of course going with mostly what will help their case. they think we forget it is us vs them that this as a court battle. 2 sides ssi, and claim. 5 years ago when i applied they wouldnt consider a letter from my cardio that i will have this dissibility FOREVER. they would not consider it because the letter was more then a year old. but go figure the diagnosis was FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. how does that diagnosis expire. i simply can not wait this time to let a disibility lawyer take over and show to a judge just what assanine thought process these people have. it may somehow help others in their fight to get dds to THINK a little out of the box. the only reason they stay within these certain peramiters is in the best interest of their case. something has to change, dds is rejecting way too many claims that eventually go through. if in fact they are so busy and backlogged its all self inflicted. lol

[daddyjack]

ok so gave my doc Residual Functional Capacity Form and he would not fill them out. i belive my suspitions are correct that he is not in my corner, what an ahole. i knew it all along thats why or at least part of the reason i was denied last time. why couldnt he just have the balls to say it 3 years ago. hes on their side.

[dkf747]

An article related to this topic:

washingtonpost.com

[nurider2002]

There are many doctors who will not complete an RFC Form because their medical training does not include functional assessments; that is, they don't feel qualified to provide a legal opinion regarding how long a patient can stand/walk/sit, what they can lift, etc. It's not necessarily true that the doctor does not support you; many doctors simply believe that their duty is to provide the objective medical records that they have and leave it to the experts to determine the RFC. That said, any time that you apply for disability you should have a frank discussion with your doctors in advance asking them if they believe you are disabled or not. If you cannot get a straight answer from your doctor that "could" be a red flag.

[dkf747]

In that case can the doc refer him to a doc who can evaluate and fill it out?