This information may help claimants with representation, as well as claimants who are not represented by an attorney or non attorney representative. Understanding how the Social Security Disability system works can make the difference between winning or not winning the continuing disability benefits and backpay to which a person is entitled. |
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I applied for social security disability just about 2 years ago. Hired a disability lawyer about 7 months ago. So, far he has done nothing, he did get me denied for ssd, now we are waiting for an appeal. He said I will have to wait at least until August. What had happened when I first applied for ssd, the gentleman who took my phone interview never even put me into the computer as a claimant for a whole year. I had called him many times, and he would never return my calls. Then due to my illness, I had to move. I needed someone to stay with me and help me, so I needed a bigger place (my son moved in). When I went to the new social security office, they told me that the first person who never put me in the computer did me a very big injustice. No kidding. I asked my lawyer the other day, if he could use that to get us to an appeal quicker. He said he would think about it. He really does not call or stay in contact with me at all. I had not spoken to him for about 4 months and then I told him of all my new diagnosis, and he said he would get all my new records and look at them. I have many things wrong with me. I dont know if you need to know what they are to help me. I dont want to bore you to death with all my crap. But, I am in constant chronic pain all the time. Do you know how i can get things rolling a little quicker or put a fire under my lawyers butt? I am so broke, it is not funny. I am living on peanut butter and jelly and soup. Which I guess I cannot complain---some have nothing to eat, and I could shed a few pounds. But, my bills are really getting out of hand. With the heat this year I am going to be in big trouble. Unfortunately, what happened to your case at the social security office...that's really a lot more common than people would think. And unfortunately, as well, it is not uncommon at all for a social security field or district office to sit on paperwork for an extended length of time, or never get around to processing it. Sometimes, this has to do with the state of a CR's (claims representative) desk. At one particular DO that I am personally aware of, there is a claims representative who is quite famous for taking applications and never "getting around to processing them". Appeals sit on this individual's desk for months and applications are sometimes not forwarded to the state agency (usually called DDS, depending on the state in which you live) for months as well. Regarding your representative, I'm not sure what to tell you. If you have filed a reconsideration, there's not much to do other than to wait on a decision. If you have requested a hearing before an administrative law judge, the wait can be excruciatingly long. It varies state-by-state, but the wait for a hearing tends to be long regardless of where you live. However, if you have a dire financial need situation, writing and submitting a "dire need letter" through your representative is sometimes useful. Visit this page for details on dire need letters: Dire Need Letter If you'd like to see statistics on how many cases get approved and denied in each state (assuming your case is at the reconsideration level and not at the hearing stage), you may be interested in this page also: Disability Statistics and Resources by state Good luck on your case. Oh, about your disability lawyer, here's some advice I gave to another individual that might be helpful in your case, as well: Lawyer's progress on a disability case. Disability Advocates Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation |
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If you suffer from a medical disability such as hip, neck, shoulder, ankle, wrist, back, or other joint problems, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rsi or repetetive stress injury, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, dysthymia, depression or other mood disorders, congestive or chronic heart failure, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high blood pressure (hypertension), seizure disorder, stroke, copd, emphysema, hearing loss or poor hearing, statutory blindness, peripheral field problems or other vision loss, clinical obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity or, simply, adhd, bipolar disorder or manic depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, autism, head trauma, memory loss, low iq, mental retardation, learning disability, epilepsy, cancer, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, lupus, anxiety, inner ear problems, meniere's, vertigo or dizziness, kidney failure requiring dialysis or other renal problems, cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other liver disease, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, rsd or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, peripheral vascular disease, lyme disease, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hiv, aids, anemia, sickle cell, thyroid problems including hypothyroidism, esrd or end stage renal disease, reflux, gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease), cfids, muscular dystrophy, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or tachycardia, bradycardia or other arrhythmia and have initiated or been denied on a social security disability, or ssi, claim for benefits, this site may assist you with your case. Social Security Disability benefits are often difficult to win; however many claims for social security disability are lost simply because a claimant did not know enough about the disability process to their social security or ssi claim. For information re: representation on a social security disability or ssi claim (attorney or non attorney representative), see the "questions" & "how" pages. |
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