Guest guest Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will always deny you the first and usually the second time (your appeal). They hope you will go away after the first denial, which most people do. The best way to go about it is to hire a disability lawyer. Most don't charge anything and collect a percentage of your disability award if you win. For some reason, having a lawyer and going to court makes them realize you are serious about your illness and not giving up until you win. Most, but not all, win when they go to court. Some may get unlucky and get an unsympathetic judge. Luckily for me, I had a judge who seemed to know a lot about Chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia, almost like he knew someone with it. He was respectful and sympathetic and I was out of his courtroom in 15 minutes, knowing we had finally won. I also documented everything, had witnesses as to my rapid decline in health, records of the many doctos visits, letters from my doctors etc. It is SO important to have doctors who back you up. Without frequent visits to the doctors and doctors to back you up, it is likely you will lose your claim, even in court. I can't stress enough the importance of seeing doctors for your condition, and having a few who believe you are very sick. best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 I really have to say something about the disability system. While a big number of folks get denied the first time there are those who don't. There are several in this group myself being one of them. I applied and actually had my back pay in the bank 32 days after I applied. It does have something to do with the documentation and other factors but it can be done. I think the disability system is a racket sometimes because of the amount of very ill folks who get denied. It should not be! Kaye.........Nc In pancreatitis , " whitefalconsgoddesswear " <whitefalconsgoddesswear@y...> wrote: > Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will > always deny you the first and usually the second time (your appeal). > They hope you will go away after the first denial, which most people > do. > > The best way to go about it is to hire a disability lawyer. Most > don't charge anything and collect a percentage of your disability > award if you win. > > For some reason, having a lawyer and going to court makes them > realize you are serious about your illness and not giving up until > you win. > Most, but not all, win when they go to court. Some may get unlucky > and get an unsympathetic judge. > > Luckily for me, I had a judge who seemed to know a lot about Chronic > fatigue and Fibromyalgia, almost like he knew someone with it. He > was respectful and sympathetic and I was out of his courtroom in 15 > minutes, knowing we had finally won. > > I also documented everything, had witnesses as to my rapid decline > in health, records of the many doctos visits, letters from my > doctors etc. It is SO important to have doctors who back you up. > > Without frequent visits to the doctors and doctors to back you up, > it is likely you will lose your claim, even in court. I can't stress > enough the importance of seeing doctors for your condition, and > having a few who believe you are very sick. > > best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Wow, Kaye! Your the first person I ever spoke to who got it on their first try. What a relief it must have been for you. And your right, the system is messed up. I am on a Fibro and CFS forum and so many really sick people are denied, many times when they finally go to court because they were too poor or just too ill to see doctors and document, or the judge just simply did not believe they were as sick as they are. Eileen > > Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will > > always deny you the first and usually the second time (your > appeal). > > They hope you will go away after the first denial, which most > people > > do. > > > > The best way to go about it is to hire a disability lawyer. Most > > don't charge anything and collect a percentage of your disability > > award if you win. > > > > For some reason, having a lawyer and going to court makes them > > realize you are serious about your illness and not giving up until > > you win. > > Most, but not all, win when they go to court. Some may get unlucky > > and get an unsympathetic judge. > > > > Luckily for me, I had a judge who seemed to know a lot about > Chronic > > fatigue and Fibromyalgia, almost like he knew someone with it. He > > was respectful and sympathetic and I was out of his courtroom in > 15 > > minutes, knowing we had finally won. > > > > I also documented everything, had witnesses as to my rapid decline > > in health, records of the many doctos visits, letters from my > > doctors etc. It is SO important to have doctors who back you up. > > > > Without frequent visits to the doctors and doctors to back you up, > > it is likely you will lose your claim, even in court. I can't > stress > > enough the importance of seeing doctors for your condition, and > > having a few who believe you are very sick. > > > > best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Sure seems to me if a doc says you are disabled they should not argue. Personally I think it is a racket between the SS system, the attorneys and the docs. I know there is a limit to what an attorney can charge.........a certain percentage of your back pay BUT, you know they are going to drag it out so they get the " limit. " When I did my SS, I did more than the attorneys do and it cost me nothing. I get so angry at these attorneys because they charge so much and don't do that much. Now they have " disability specialists " that are coming on the scene who charge the same thing and they aren't even attorneys. Its all one big racket far as I am concerned. Kaye In pancreatitis , " whitefalconsgoddesswear " <whitefalconsgoddesswear@y...> wrote: > Wow, Kaye! Your the first person I ever spoke to who got it on their > first try. What a relief it must have been for you. And your right, > the system is messed up. I am on a Fibro and CFS forum and so many > really sick people are denied, many times when they finally go to > court because they were too poor or just too ill to see doctors and > document, or the judge just simply did not believe they were as sick > as they are. > > Eileen > > > > Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will > > > always deny you the first and usually the second time (your > > appeal). > > > They hope you will go away after the first denial, which most > > people > > > do. > > > > > > The best way to go about it is to hire a disability lawyer. Most > > > don't charge anything and collect a percentage of your > disability > > > award if you win. > > > > > > For some reason, having a lawyer and going to court makes them > > > realize you are serious about your illness and not giving up > until > > > you win. > > > Most, but not all, win when they go to court. Some may get > unlucky > > > and get an unsympathetic judge. > > > > > > Luckily for me, I had a judge who seemed to know a lot about > > Chronic > > > fatigue and Fibromyalgia, almost like he knew someone with it. > He > > > was respectful and sympathetic and I was out of his courtroom in > > 15 > > > minutes, knowing we had finally won. > > > > > > I also documented everything, had witnesses as to my rapid > decline > > > in health, records of the many doctos visits, letters from my > > > doctors etc. It is SO important to have doctors who back you up. > > > > > > Without frequent visits to the doctors and doctors to back you > up, > > > it is likely you will lose your claim, even in court. I can't > > stress > > > enough the importance of seeing doctors for your condition, and > > > having a few who believe you are very sick. > > > > > > best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 When I applied for SSI I was denied, and before I appealed, I got some very, very good, specific, exact, do this & this & this, advice from Kaye(I think?!?). She talked to me on the telly for over an hour one night way back in 2000 (I think?!?). She advised me to contact my congressman, which I did. But I have to say they really didn't do anything for me. When I got a denial letter from SS the congressman's office would send me a letter in almost the exact words, only on their own letterhead. They would send me letters saying they were " checking on my case, but hadn't heard anything new & would let me know when they did " . But his rep. here in Springfield was very nice & very concerned & caring whenever I talked to her on the telly. I was denied again, and appealed again. I was doing this all by myself, without a lawyer. I was stubborn, and I knew as sick as I was, I should be able to do this without one. So after the 2nd appeal & denial I requested to be seen by a federal law judge, and I was given a court date. I swore up & down if I was denied this time, I was NOT going to give up, I would give in & get a lawyer, a good lawyer, who knew what he was doing & knew exactly what to do!!! I went to court, I drug my mommy along with me. They allowed her to be in the courtroom,for moral support, but she had to sit in the corner & keep her big mouth shut, wasn't allowed to say anything, which is hard for my mom, I'm serious! I was in the courtroom for over an hour. I was questioned by the occupational expert, the medical expert & by the judge. When we left the room my mom said she was so proud of me! She knew right then & there I would get it this time! I wasn't so sure...It took forever to get an answer back! Over a month & a half! The longest almost 2 months of my life! But I got it! By myself! Without a lawyer! And I got backpay for the previous 2 1/2 yrs. since I started the whole process, yes, it took that long. My mom said " I told you so " about a million times, and she was right! So, I had to share MY story with you. Just to let you know that everyone doesn't HAVE to have a lawyer, that sometimes, if you don't give up, you can do it on your own. And the moral to this story is......NEVER GIVE UP!!! NEVER!! I hope my story will inspire you in some way or another. Good luck to everyone & anyone who is fighting this battle right now. You can do it! Lots of Hugs, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will always deny you the first and usually the second time (your appeal). They hope you will go away after the first denial, which most people do. The best way to go about it is to hire a disability lawyer. Most don't charge anything and collect a percentage of your disability award if you win. For some reason, having a lawyer and going to court makes them realize you are serious about your illness and not giving up until you win. Most, but not all, win when they go to court. Some may get unlucky and get an unsympathetic judge. best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Well Said, Kaye! I couldn't agree with you more! It is awful the way they they are allowed to do this stuff! You Go Girl! Lots of Hugs, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sure seems to me if a doc says you are disabled they should not argue. Personally I think it is a racket between the SS system, the attorneys and the docs. I know there is a limit to what an attorney can charge.........a certain percentage of your back pay BUT, you know they are going to drag it out so they get the " limit. " When I did my SS, I did more than the attorneys do and it cost me nothing. I get so angry at these attorneys because they charge so much and don't do that much. Now they have " disability specialists " that are coming on the scene who charge the same thing and they aren't even attorneys. Its all one big racket far as I am concerned. Kaye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 > Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will > always deny you the first and usually the second time (your appeal). I also was approved the first time up. I had many other diagnosises beside CP and several Drs who had watched me decline. One Dr in particularhad told me for more than 3 years to go on disability but I was stubborn ! The company I was employed by had already approved me for Long term disability with them. I think that helped. Good luck to all trying to get SSDI. Cyndi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Hi. I am another whose application for disability was accepted the first time around, about a month after applying. I was even paid for the time between when I stopped working and when disability was approved. I'm truly unsure if my approval was because of chronic pancreatitis, because of worsening multiple sclerosis, or a combination of both. I know that supplying documentation of everything was VERY important. I submitted hospital records from every ER visit & hospitalization, along with the doctors' notes from office visits. My doctors were very cooperative in documenting all the medical problems along with how distressed I was at no longer having a " normal " life. They also documented that my conditions were not expected to improve to any meaningful degree. I also submitted evidence of my hours when I was working. I was able to show that my attendance at work had gone from almost perfect to very sporatic - calling in sick very often. I was also able to show that when I went into work, I often left after 2 or 3 hours because of illness. I would advise anyone applying to supply any & all documentation that even remotely contributes to proving your case. My poor case worker was drowning in paperwork; probably got a hernia from carrying my file from place to place. The phony jerks who apply for disability make it tough for the legitimate cases. There are so many who milk the system instead of working, that it makes it so hard to prove a legitimate claim. I think it is this backlash that makes it so hard to " prove " real pain/illness. Good luck to all who apply for legitimate disability. If I can help in any way, please feel free to let me know. Jan g Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:48:06 -0000 From: " whitefalconsgoddesswear " Subject: Disability Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will always deny you the first and usually the second time (your appeal). They hope you will go away after the first denial, which most people do. The best way to go about it is to hire a disability lawyer. Most don't charge anything and collect a percentage of your disability award if you win. For some reason, having a lawyer and going to court makes them realize you are serious about your illness and not giving up until you win. Most, but not all, win when they go to court. Some may get unlucky and get an unsympathetic judge. Luckily for me, I had a judge who seemed to know a lot about Chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia, almost like he knew someone with it. He was respectful and sympathetic and I was out of his courtroom in 15 minutes, knowing we had finally won. I also documented everything, had witnesses as to my rapid decline in health, records of the many doctos visits, letters from my doctors etc. It is SO important to have doctors who back you up. Without frequent visits to the doctors and doctors to back you up, it is likely you will lose your claim, even in court. I can't stress enough the importance of seeing doctors for your condition, and having a few who believe you are very sick. best of luck Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 20:04:31 -0000 From: " Kaye " Subject: Re: Disability I really have to say something about the disability system. While a big number of folks get denied the first time there are those who don't. There are several in this group myself being one of them. I applied and actually had my back pay in the bank 32 days after I applied. It does have something to do with the documentation and other factors but it can be done. I think the disability system is a racket sometimes because of the amount of very ill folks who get denied. It should not be! Kaye.........Nc Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 21:16:31 -0000 From: " whitefalconsgoddesswear " Subject: Re: Disability Wow, Kaye! Your the first person I ever spoke to who got it on their first try. What a relief it must have been for you. And your right, the system is messed up. I am on a Fibro and CFS forum and so many really sick people are denied, many times when they finally go to court because they were too poor or just too ill to see doctors and document, or the judge just simply did not believe they were as sick as they are. Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 21:40:29 -0000 From: " Kaye " Subject: Re: Disability Sure seems to me if a doc says you are disabled they should not argue. Personally I think it is a racket between the SS system, the attorneys and the docs. I know there is a limit to what an attorney can charge.........a certain percentage of your back pay BUT, you know they are going to drag it out so they get the " limit. " When I did my SS, I did more than the attorneys do and it cost me nothing. I get so angry at these attorneys because they charge so much and don't do that much. Now they have " disability specialists " that are coming on the scene who charge the same thing and they aren't even attorneys. Its all one big racket far as I am concerned. Kaye Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:30:10 -0000 From: " " Subject: Re: Disability When I applied for SSI I was denied, and before I appealed, I got some very, very good, specific, exact, do this & this & this, advice from Kaye(I think?!?). She talked to me on the telly for over an hour one night way back in 2000 (I think?!?). She advised me to contact my congressman, which I did. But I have to say they really didn't do anything for me. When I got a denial letter from SS the congressman's office would send me a letter in almost the exact words, only on their own letterhead. They would send me letters saying they were " checking on my case, but hadn't heard anything new & would let me know when they did " . But his rep. here in Springfield was very nice & very concerned & caring whenever I talked to her on the telly. I was denied again, and appealed again. I was doing this all by myself, without a lawyer. I was stubborn, and I knew as sick as I was, I should be able to do this without one. So after the 2nd appeal & denial I requested to be seen by a federal law judge, and I was given a court date. I swore up & down if I was denied this time, I was NOT going to give up, I would give in & get a lawyer, a good lawyer, who knew what he was doing & knew exactly what to do!!! I went to court, I drug my mommy along with me. They allowed her to be in the courtroom,for moral support, but she had to sit in the corner & keep her big mouth shut, wasn't allowed to say anything, which is hard for my mom, I'm serious! I was in the courtroom for over an hour. I was questioned by the occupational expert, the medical expert & by the judge. When we left the room my mom said she was so proud of me! She knew right then & there I would get it this time! I wasn't so sure...It took forever to get an answer back! Over a month & a half! The longest almost 2 months of my life! But I got it! By myself! Without a lawyer! And I got backpay for the previous 2 1/2 yrs. since I started the whole process, yes, it took that long. My mom said " I told you so " about a million times, and she was right! So, I had to share MY story with you. Just to let you know that everyone doesn't HAVE to have a lawyer, that sometimes, if you don't give up, you can do it on your own. And the moral to this story is......NEVER GIVE UP!!! NEVER!! I hope my story will inspire you in some way or another. Good luck to everyone & anyone who is fighting this battle right now. You can do it! Lots of Hugs, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:36:47 -0000 From: " Jannello " Subject: Re: Disability > Just a word to all who are applying or thinking of it. They will > always deny you the first and usually the second time (your appeal). I also was approved the first time up. I had many other diagnosises beside CP and several Drs who had watched me decline. One Dr in particularhad told me for more than 3 years to go on disability but I was stubborn ! The company I was employed by had already approved me for Long term disability with them. I think that helped. Good luck to all trying to get SSDI. Cyndi The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses. --------------------------------- Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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