Sarah Mae - before you start paying a lawyer (or anyone else) to apply for disability compensation - contact Mike Finkelstein. Mike is a member here as well as other PN sites and he has helped lots of PNers obtain their disability claim and more often than not they get approved on the first try...and he doesn't charge you anything.

Mike does not prepare the application for you but he guides you every step of the way---he is a pro at this and knows exactly what to include in the application as well as what NOT to include. As I said, he does not charge for his expertise but I think that once your application is approved and after you receive that first check that you would want to give him a nice stipend but he would never ask you for anything. Why does he do this? Because he enjoys helping out his fellow PNers! Period, end of story. I've known Mike for several years and we met and had dinner together in New York city about 5 years ago - he is totally legit and there are members on this site that can verify what I am saying.

You can contact Mike at mike3736@hotmail.com and you can also call him at 1-718-966-3736. Mike lives on the east coast so keep that in mind if you call. He also says the best time to call is from 10 PM to Midnight. So, if you are applying for disability be sure and contact Mike - he will save you a pocket full of money and a lot of frustration in getting your claim approved.

That does sound a little crazy and too good to be true, but I will believe you!

I have a question though... I've heard it is best to go through a lawyer because they know the process (as you say this guy does...) but.. if I happened to have him help me if I do get denied, and then was denied the appeal... is there a chance to appeal again or would I have to start all over from the start with a lawyer? Just curious.

Call or email Mike and ask him that question - he will answer you truthfully and if your not satisfied with his answer then hire all the lawyers you want. And BTW, Mike worked at SS doing disability claims so he knows the business inside and out. But, the most important thing of all is for you to be satisfied.

--I can vouch for Mike as well; we met through having the same practice--Cornell Weill Center for Peripheral Neuropathy--dealing with our conditions, and then I got to know him when he volunteered at a YMCA on Staten Island, where I used to live. Mike will tell you very specific things about how the appliccation needs to be phrased, centered around the "functinal disability on your worst day" concept. I've referred a number of people to him over the years, most of whom did get through on the first try (not that they didn't have real disabling situations).

I can vouch for Mike, as well.
He helped me when I needed advice
about my son's SSDI after his spinal cord injury accident.
I've referred others to him.
He's an invaluable resource for SSDI advice.

Thanks Glenn and Bob B - I was hoping some of you would back me up on Mike. And Sarah Mae, Glenn and Bob are two of the most prominent and knowledgeable members on this site. MrsB is another but she is on vacation now.

I know what I said about Mike sounds like it's too good to be true and in many instances it is. But in Mike's case it's all very true and there is no telling how many people he has helped over the years and he does not charge anyone a red cent for his expertise.

Call him Sarah Mae - you've got nothing to lose.

I told my mom about what you said, and she was pretty excited about that. We definitely don't have money for a lawyer... but we are both a little worried that if we appeal with his help and get denied, that we won't get a second appeal and will have to start all over. We really need this now--not years from now. I don't have enough to pay my bills past December, if even that long. But I do plan to contact him regardless and see what he says. I have to wait, though, for a decision. I haven't gotten denied or accepted... I don't know how long it will take.

As far as this thread getting off track, so many of them do. I rarely see one topic only throughout a post--there are several topics and conversations going on.

Sorry for having to make this comment, but how did this thread get so far afield?

May I suggest that in future, one start a new thread when the topic takes a sudden and unexpected tack.

Thanks all.

Sheltiemom