I Am Supremely Aggravated

I would be aggravated as well. I don't know that there is recourse in this.

Someone - I think it was Bob (dys) - said don't give up with the first NO. Try at least three times. Dys was pretty smart about the system.

I never applied for disability since I could still work in my field, though not at the big city jobs that paid a lot more - that would have involved driving at night or twilight a fair part of the year in big time traffic. It sounds to me (I have had retinitis pigmentosa apparently all my life though I found out in my late forties, and mine is unusually stable) that Squinney's eye stuff well qualifies her for disability.

Give 'em hell, man.

Also, consider having her ophthalmologist write some kind of summary of her eye situation; ask/demand the matter be reviewed.

I use to work for the company...as a claims adjuster.

Lemme tell ya...the suggestion Ossobuco gave you (from Dys)...was right on the money. In fact...more than three if necessary. And be sure to use up every appeal that comes up...which there should be after every determination.

Tell Squinney I said, "Hi."

A few years ago I went though the process and then hired a lawyer after the first application was rejected. I appealed using a lawyer and was granted it.

Most who apply for disability that succeed take at least 2 times. In essence they force you to appeal. Generally speaking hiring a lawyer helps, though they get a portion of any retro settlement.

should we go to a lawyer right away?

I don't know if that is best or somewhat antagonizing. What do Frank and Ragman think?

I was so mad at medicaid a few years ago (I missed re-getting it by one damned day, and the ensuing paper b.s. defeated me. Or I let it defeat me, to my own detriment. This time I was woman who must be interviewed and got a good interviewer. This difference can be that the paperwork isn't always clear unless you know what it all means. I can picture a lot of people in confusion about the process. I'm smarter now (slightly). So.. I can see getting an attorney in your situation right away.
But I can also see doing it yourselves one more time, maybe less ruffling of feathers. The opthalmologist might have an opinion on that too, but I suppose that means a visit.

Anecdotally and with media reports, I have heard the process is tighter or stricter than it was 6-7 yrs ago when I first applied. The backlog of cases is far higher now than it was. It was pretty strict then. My opinion is to get a lawyer immediately but others may differ on that.

In my circumstance, I feel that my mistake was not getting lawyer until I was forced to appeal it. The appeal went far more smoothly.

The interview/interviewer at social security office hearing was a bit of a farce. The lawyer made short work of it reducing my stress level immensely after this interview process completed.

Spoke with a lawyer whose wedding I did a little while ago. Said 80% of all cases are turned down and then turned down on appeal. then get the lawyer on appeal to a judge. waiting time to get to the judge in NC average 14 months.

In retrospect, that sounds more like what I had experienced. Nudging an ambitious NC politician can't hurt in getting the case over to the judge more speedily than those 14 months. That was the way in upstate NY.

I remember when dys was counseling someone about getting disability ins. He said you have to expect the first no as automatic and then go from there. The initial application date determines the ultimate coverage/benefit.

Sending my best to Squinney.

In other words the clock for benefits (should you be granted) starts when you first apply. So if it takes 18 months, you'll get a retro-active first check for 18 months of bennies. If you hire a lawyer, he gets 25% of that first check.

From personal experience, and from what others here have said, this is exactly right.

However (I don't know about other states, I'm talking about Texas) once you are approved, you get paid retroactive all the way back to when you first applied.

The IMPORTANT thing is not to let any deadlines slip past you.

My husband went on diabability, and when he turned 65 it continues as his social security payment.

I still vividly remember when we first handed in our intial paperwork. If the caseworker had not said things in the particular way she did, we may have given up on that first denial.

The way the conversation went...all from the caseworkers viewpoint....

We gave her the paperwork, she entered it all in, asking and verifying the info given, then, she turned to us, put her hands together, looked down at the paperwork and said....

All right, we have all the information entered for your claim, we have X amount of days to get back to you....

Then she looked up and made very direct eye contact with me "WHEN you are denied (then she looked back down at the paperwork) you have X amount of days in which to make an appeal. (looking back up again and making direct eye contact with me) WHEN you are denied a 2nd time (looks back down at the paperwork) you then have the option to (looks up again with the direct eye contact) GET...A....LAWYER (looks back down) who would then....blah blah blah...

When Wally brought in forms for his doctor to fill out, he off handedly said "Oh, this is going to cost you $4000" He knew too it would end up with an attorney.

That's exactly what it cost, out of the retro-payments, so we still got a lot as our up front payment. That's the maximum the attorney is allowed to charge as he takes a percentage up to a maximum amount.

It was the best $4K we ever spent. We got a big lump of cash, and monthly payments ever after.

It didn't take a year and a half in our case, beacause (a) we stayed on top of it ever step of the way and (b) we just lucked out and got a judge that quickly rubber stamped it. I think it took us a little over a year, 9 months of it waiting around.

Just don't give up or drop the ball.

If she is approved for disability...she is treated as though she attained age 65 at the time of the approval...which impacts on number of years used for a couple of things (or at least, that was how it was when I was working SSA). (Be sure they have not changed the appeals process...and that an appeal can be appealed. The process is complex, but if it ends with a determination of eligibility, it will be worth it.

My initial feeling is that the first appeal could be done without a lawyer...but there is no doubt that a lawyer is a help...a big help.

Do not let any deadlines lapse...or it all goes out the window period.

Does she have a case for total disability?

The determination is subjective to the nth degree. Luck of the draw can play a part in decisions.

Good luck.

Do not give up!

It isn't fair is it. I agree with what you are saying. Some of the people who are on disability I know shouldn't even be on it, but the people who really need it can't seem to get any assist what ever. It is very discouraging. I have a health condition & sometimes I can't function & I can't get on it. All we can do is keep fighting for it. Like my son says, don't quit trying, call, write letters, email the many people who may be able to help, like our governor, even the president. We would have to continue to do it over & over & he said if we get enough people together & petitions, we might make a difference & win this battle. If druggies can get it, why can't she get it or me. Life isn't fair sometimes. We just have to continue to try to get it & don't stop until we get somewhere. GOD BLESS!

Or maemandy, you can ******* follow the procedures, which everyone else has been saying.

"Druggies" can have other disabilities too. Druggies are also known as human beings.

Frank and Osso are spot on. You have to persist.

Frank I would say being lights out blind in several areas of each eye to the point one has to cock their head side to side to find a position from which they can drive and read would qualify if someone who's stressed out does. I have chronic stress from wondering how I pay the bills if someone gets sick, and I would think that qualifies 90% of the ******* country

Dys and I talked a lot about disability.

it is mostly a game.

and an attorney is almost a necessity now.

once you apply that is your starting date, even if you get turned down.

keep at it, and consult an attorney. usually their fee will come out of money you were due because of the lag in the process...

you can PM me if I can help you guys further.

I know I'm just asking for all sorts of scorn and derision but here goes:

The fellow with "severe stress disorder" shouldn't be collecting disability, and if you don't begrudge him, I do, because tax dollars are being wasted, and particularly so if more deserving people are not afforded the same benefits.

I don't know squinney's condition and I'm not trying to minimize it but not being able to drive in the rain or after dusk doesn't seem to be severe enough of a disability to prevent her from being employed. I know it's an extreme example but I just saw a video concerning a young man who was born without arms. He has a job as an engineer with a reknowned racing company and actually drives his own car. His take on life is that there isn't anything he can't do, just things he hasn't tried yet.

There are a number of posts in this thread that comment that Disability is a "system", a "game" and that you need to fight and give hell to someone... The Man? In this case "The Man" is a bureacrat who is just as likely, if not more so, to exploit this program.

I'm sorry but I can't help but feel that this is a perfect example of how disabling social programs can be.

There is an overwhelming sense in this thread that state funded disability payments are a right, and, at the same time, a grim acknowledgement that the program is a bureaucratic nightmare. What's more is that there seems to be one or two people who want the payments who think that others who receive them don't really deserve them.

I am happy to pay some portion of my income to support people who are truly disabled and can't support themselves. I think though that the number of truly disabled people is far, far less than the number collecting disability benefits.

I have worked with people who were blind, wheel-chair bound and deaf. This doesn't mean that everyone with their disabilities can find employment, but it has given me a very jaded eye for those who collect diasability benefits for stress, subjective pain complaints, and morbid obesity...to name but a few.