Interesting News Story About How Disability Claims Are Processed
 

Hi Everyone.
This news story about how disability claims get processed is interesting. It explains that the Government policy is to deny most claims with the idea that if the claim is legitimate, the person filing the claim will be willing to go through the difficult appeals process. Most of us in the system already know this. But it is interesting to see the Government lay it out, and clearly state that they systematically put legitimate claimants through hell as part of their process. Just thought some of you may want to see it.
Bernclay- :holysheep:

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Spike In Disability Claims Clogs Overloaded System
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press
May 10, 2010

WASHINGTON – Nearly 2 million people are waiting to find out if they qualify for Social Security disability benefits. It will be a long wait for most, even if they eventually win their cases.

The Social Security system is so overwhelmed by applications for disability benefits that many people are waiting more than two years for their first payment. In Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and other states, the wait can be even longer.

the rest here -
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

it's just wrong aint it!
 

those that really need it cant get it and those that dont get in:eek:

I can see in some of those states with really high unemployment, the reason. People know its a hassle, and keep working. But if there is no work, well------- I can't blame them. You have to eat some how.

And I am considering applying for it myself, so I am in no way condeming those who do.

I didn't interpret the article the same way the OP did. Just saying...

Agreed. From the article cited at the top of the thread:

The Social Security commissioner, Michael J. Astrue, says the delays are unacceptable, particularly for people who have paid payroll taxes for years to support the system and now are unable to work because of debilitating medical problems. Astrue has had some success in reducing a case backlog that has plagued the system for years. But a spike in new applications, linked to the economic recession, threatens to swamp the system again.

* * *

"The most important thing we can do to improve the disability process is to make the right decision as soon as possible," Astrue said at a recent congressional hearing. "Certainly, I'm not happy with the accuracy of the system, even though it is getting better."

His goal is to clear the backlog of appeals hearings by 2013. "It takes longer to fix something than it does to break it," he said.

Then too, check out the following press release from the Social Security Administration, dated March 2, 2010, Social Security Hearings Backlog Falls to Lowest Level Since 2005:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the number of disability hearings pending stands at 697,437 cases -- the lowest level since June 2005 and down more than 71,000 cases since December 2008, when the trend of month-by-month reductions began. In addition, the average processing time for hearing decisions has decreased to 442 days, down from a high of 514 days at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2008.

“We have decreased the number of hearings pending by almost 10 percent over the last 14 months and cut the time it takes to make a decision by nearly two and a half months. This remarkable progress shows our backlog reduction plan is working,” Commissioner Astrue said. “With ongoing support from the President and Congress as well as the efforts of our hardworking employees, I am confident the hearings backlog will continue to diminish.”

Social Security has actively addressed the hearings backlog and increased the capacity to hold more hearings. The agency hired 147 Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and over 1,000 support staff in FY 2009, and has plans to hire an additional 226 ALJs this year. The agency now has four National Hearing Centers to help process hearings by video conference for the most hard-hit areas of the country. The agency also has aggressive plans to open 14 new hearing offices and three satellite offices by the end of the year. The first of these offices was opened in Anchorage, Alaska on February 19, 2010.*

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/presso...og-0310-pr.htm


Finally, here in California, while the Feds pay 100% of the cost of the state determination system, those employees - along with all other state workers - have been forced by Arnold to take unpaid furloughs every other week. The net effect being that in the interest of preserving a sense of equality among state workers who have been given what works out to a 10% pay cut, even SSD evaluators who's salary is paid by the federal government are being furloughed! And although a couple of superior judges have ruled the process illegal, those judgments have been stayed pending appeal, a process that could take years. See, generally, Order Granting Writ of Mandate http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2009/...ffiliate.4.pdf and Appellate court issues second furlough decision http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs...ents_Container and Supreme Court leaves seven furlough cases in lower courts http://www.examiner.com/x-36269-San-...n-lower-courts.

I would think that if the current administration was in favor of a policy that delayed disability determinations for years, it would be backing the Terminator on this one, but it isn't. See, Social Security Administration Praises Court Ruling on "Illegal" Furloughs in California - Asks Governor Schwarzenegger to Accept Ruling and Congress to Increase Oversight, January 4, 2010 http://www.socialsecurity.gov/presso...urlough-pr.htm and Furloughs in Federally-Funded Benefit Programs: Backlogs Build and California Compensates with Overtime and Hiring, A Report for the Senate Rules Committee December 22, 2009 at page 6:

Federal Disability Benefits

Disability Determination Service Division of the state Department of Social Services Federal Official Calls California Furloughs “Ridiculous”

U.S. Social Security Administration officials have harsh words for the furlough of state workers who administer two of their programs to aid disabled people.
Regional Commissioner Peter Spencer, based in Richmond, called it “a no-brainer,” “ridiculous” and “an anti-stimulus action.”

“Congress and the President gave us additional funding to process disability cases to stimulate the economy,” he said, “and the state’s actions counteract the intent of the legislation and hurt the state’s economy.”

“It’s money that they are losing,” Spencer said of the governor’s office. “It does not save them a cent.”

The governor’s furlough order covers the doctors, analysts and clerical staff of the Disability Determination Service Division of the Department of Social Services. These workers evaluate applicants for two programs:

• The Supplemental Security Income program, which in California pays an average of $612 a month to people who are aged, blind or disabled and have little or no income; and

• the Social Security Disability Insurance program, which in California pays an average of $947 a month. Both programs help people who are so disabled they cannot work for a year or longer.*

http://www3.senate.ca.gov/deployedfi...20programs.pdf

Bottom line: this is just yet another clean up operation following years of (at best) indifferent neglect under the prior administration. Sort of like how the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service gave a free pass the blowout preventer now used in all deep water oil wells, including the Deepwater Horizon. Oil spill investigators find critical problems in blowout preventer, May 11, 2010, Washington Post:

While Congress probes the accident, a board of federal officials is also investigating. In a hearing in a hotel ballroom near New Orleans, Michael Saucier, a regional supervisor for the Minerals Management Service, said the beleaguered federal agency that oversees offshore drilling learned in a 2004 study that fail-safe systems designed to shear through steel pipes could fail in some circumstances. But he said MMS did not check whether rigs were avoiding those circumstances.

The hearing provided the spectacle of one federal agency drawing embarrassing admissions out of another. Some of the toughest questions came from Coast Guard Capt. Hung Nguyen, co-chair of the investigating board. He raised the 2004 study that found that blowout preventers did not have the power to cut ultra-strong pipe joints.

Nguyem also asked Saucier how the MMS ensures that blowout preventers function. Saucier said for that, the government relies heavily on industry designs and oil company tests.

"Manufactured by industry, installed by industry, with no government witnessing oversight of the installation or the construction, is that correct?" Nguyen asked.

"That would be correct," Saucier said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...T2010051102889


Mike

* Public document; no copywrite asserted.

Mike, I'm so impressed with all your knowledge, I was wondering if you knew anything about SSI? I was raising our kids most of our marriage, my oldest is 30 and my youngest is 25 we have been married 33 years. I was told that because my husband is employed I am not eligible, they think he makes too much money (thats a joke) I was once told by someone that you can still get SSI even if you are married with a spouse who is employed. I did get medicaid for my medical, but it's medicaid with share of cost. I had to go that route because my insurance company dropped me and we went through to much of our personal finances. This was originally a wc case, but got so sick of running thru their hoops, that I finally decided it was time to settle. This all started in 1986 and I settled in 2002. I have already applied once and was turned down, do I need a lawyer to even start over or should I just forget about it? I would really appreciate your advise. Thank you in advance. Your friend Wendy

Follow up to my original post
 

Hi Everyone.
I am not sure how my original post was interpreted, but it was not meant to be a comment about a particular administration. I have been disabled over the span of 3 presidential administrations (towards the end of one, all through the second, and now into the present third) and have had difficulty with the disability process throughout. I am not going to get into being for or against any particular administration sine that really wasn’t the point.

The parts of the article I was referring to were these.

“ … Two thirds of claims are denied … Most people will drop their claims … The appeals process can take two years or more ...” “The system is designed to weed out malingerers. It has to be that way to prevent the fraudulent, frivolous claims from getting into the system.”

They say that most people drop their claims because they are faking their disability. But many people drop their claims because they can’t handle the stress of the process since they are in extreme pain.

My point is that you must have the strength to go through the appeals process to have a good chance of eventually getting benefits. Many of us suffering from intensely painful disabilities don’t have the strength for this process. This means that by default, if you are legitimately disabled (I am), you will most likely need to hire an expensive lawyer (I did). Even with a lawyer the process is extremely stressful and a very physically painful experience for someone with CRPS. Also many of us simply can’t afford a lawyer. Depending on your specific situation, the lawyer fee is not always percentage based, and not always paid after the fact.

I was injured in front of 30 witnesses, I was picked up off the floor and taken directly to medical treatment. From that point on I accumulated a steady flow of undeniable medical documentation that is now in a folder 2 feet thick. I have never had any doctor (including government doctors) dispute or deny my condition. Despite all of this, I still had to go through a torturous and painful disability process that lasted years and cost me tens of thousands of dollars. After wining my completely unnecessary legal battle, I was then forced to take legal action of my own in order to regain the money that I had been wrongfully forced to spend. I did all of this and won every time.

Why did all of this happen? Why was I forced into a completely unnecessary legal process when I had mountains of documentation and testimony proving my legitimate disability. The reason was because “The system is designed to weed out malingerers”. That may sound good on paper, but the reality is that in order to reduce their annual payout, the government will do whatever works to reduce the disability payout. And the fact is, that the government has found that if you put disabled people through enough stress and expense, they will voluntarily drop their legitimate disability claims, and the annual disability payout is then reduced.

The only reason for the entire unwarranted legal mess I was forced into was to try to make me give up my claim voluntarily. This is not my opinion. I had an excellent lawyer who had worked on the government side of the disability process for years. The lawyer explained to me why and how all of these things were being done. Without that guidance and insight I do not think I would have been able to endure the stress of the entire process. Had they succeeded in forcing me to give up my legitimate claim, I would almost certainly be dead by now, since I would not have been able to afford the resources to treat my extremely painful and debilitating CRPS.

By contrast, if you are a “malingerer”, and you are perfectly healthy, and you have years of experience defrauding the welfare system, you will have no problem whatsoever navigating through this process and ending up with disability benefits. The malingerers are the only ones who have the strength to endure the process. It is not painful for them since they are healthy. It is not stressful for them since they actually have nothing to lose and will be fine if they get denied.

The end result is that you have malingerers getting disability since they are healthy enough to handle the process, you have tens of thousands of legitimately disabled people not getting disability since they are too disabled to handle the process, and you have a government that really doesn’t care since their annul disability payout has been reduced.

I know it’s a bit much, but it’s the truth. I hope this may have been helpful to anyone who is dealing with the process. God Bless You All.

Bernclay- :holysheep:

Ssi
 

Dear Wendy -

Thanks for the compliment. Truth is, the only thing I really know is how to access databases, a skill I picked up in countless hours of online legal research when I was practicing law. That, and what I've managed to retain in my long term memory; and the business about Arnold just stuck in my craw, so to speak.

As far as SSI, I know next to nothing about it because I have a private disability insurance policy that I was lucky to be talked into buying way back when policies were so boadly written they almost ended up driving some of the major carriers into receivorship. Those payments don't effect SSD but are counted as income under SSI, and put me over the limit for SSI from the start.

What I was able to find offhand was a website on SSI maintained by the SSA, What You Need To Know When You Get Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which includes the following:

If you have income other than your SSI, you must tell us about it. And you should tell us if the amount of your other income increases, decreases, or if the income stops. Usually, changes in your income in a month will affect your SSI payment two months later.

You also should tell us about changes in the income of other family members living with you. For example:

If you are married, tell us about any change in your husband’s or wife’s income, including any change in the amount of his or her Social Security benefits. (If you also get Social Security benefits, you do not need to tell us when you get a Social Security benefit increase.)

If you have a child younger than 18 who gets SSI and lives with you, tell us about any change in:

The child’s income;
Your income;
Your husband’s or wife’s income; and
Income of any child in your home who is not getting SSI.

Also tell us if:

A child in your home who is not getting SSI gets married; or
A child who is working or who is age 18 to 22 starts or stops attending school full time.
What we count as income
Under SSI, income includes cash, checks and other things you get that can be used for food or shelter. Here are examples of income:

Wages from your job, whether in cash or another form;
Net earnings from your business if you are self-employed;
The value of food or shelter that someone gives you, or the amount of money some gives you to help pay for them;
Department of Veterans Affairs benefits;
Railroad retirement and railroad unemployment benefits;
Annuities, pensions from any government or private source, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance benefits, black lung benefits and Social Security benefits;
Prizes, settlements and awards, including court ordered awards;
Proceeds of life insurance policies;
Gifts and contributions;
Support and alimony payments;
Inheritances in cash or property;
Interest earned, including interest on savings, checking and other accounts;
Rental income; and
Strike pay and other benefits from unions

Items that do not count as income

The following items are not income:

Medical care and services;
Social services;
Money from the sale, exchange or replacement of things you own (though the money may count as a resource if you retain it until the next month);
Income tax refunds;
Earned Income Tax Credit payments;
Payments made by life or disability insurance on charge accounts or other credit accounts;
Proceeds of a loan;
Bills paid by someone else for things other than food, clothing or shelter;
Replacement of lost or stolen income; and
Weatherization assistance.

Some things we normally count as “income” will not reduce your SSI payment. For example, under certain conditions, home energy assistance provided by certain home energy suppliers is not counted as income. Food, clothing, shelter or home energy assistance provided free or at a reduced rate by private nonprofit organizations also is not counted. Even though these items may not count, you should still tell us about them.

* * *

If your name is on any bank account with another person, you must tell us about the account, even if you do not consider the money to be yours. You must tell us about the account, even if you do not use the money or account. If someone wants to add your name to an account, check with us first. If the money is not really yours, or if it is for a special purpose like your medical expenses, we can tell you how to set up the account so it will not affect your SSI.

If you (or your husband or wife) buy, sell or become the owner of any real estate, a car or personal property, you need to tell us.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11011.html#8b

Now, not only am I no longer a practicing attorney, but I never knew anything about SSI in the first place. Reading what's on the website, my naked guess is the big thing you would have to be concerned with, regarding your husband's income, is "The value of food or shelter that someone gives you, or the amount of money some gives you to help pay for them." That and any money in joint checking accounts, etc. And why they want to know about when "your husband or wife . . . buy[s], sell[s] or become[s] the owner of any real estate, a car or personal property," escapes me, unless it's just so they can do background checks on whether you personally hold any interest in those assets.

That said, bear in mind this is just a website maintained by the SSA, and as such is simply its version of the applicable laws, regulations and court holdings. As such, you should really consult counsel who is knowledgable in these areas. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Mike

Here's my issue with the above, the government has not "clearly stated that they systematically put legitamate claimants through hell as part of their process" in this article.

The Social Security Commisioner states in the article:

"The most important thing we can do to improve the disability process is to make the right decision as soon as possible," Astrue said at a recent congressional hearing. "Certainly, I'm not happy with the accuracy of the system, even though it is getting better."

If only Sookie Stackhouse was available as an ALJ. :p

I've already written about how I feel about the SS process in the SS forum, so I'm not going to do so again here.

Not true. By federal law, Attorney's fees for SSI/SSDI claims are capped at 25% of backpay or $6000, whichever is less.

Hi Lit Love.

With regard to this. My injury and resulting disability happened on the job and as a result there was a lot of complication regarding workers comp and then SSI. Also, I was a Federal employee, and any Federal employee labor lawyer will tell you that the laws for being injured as a Federal employee are not the same as regular workers comp. You can’t even use a workers comp lawyer, you have to get a lawyer that specializes in Federal employee law. They have to handle both the Federal workers comp as well as the transition to SSI.

With regard to the other post about my original post. When I made the post I did not think a little flowery language would be an issue, since I pasted the entire article into my post. I figured that it would all be very clear what it said and what I meant. But that part of my post got chopped due to copyright reasons, something I did not anticipate, and so it changed the whole way the post presents itself. Had I originally posted as it reads with the article chopped, then yes I would agree it is taking too much license with the article. But again it was not intentional and it was originally meant to be self explanatory.

With regard to this. "The most important thing we can do to improve the disability process is to make the right decision as soon as possible," Astrue said at a recent congressional hearing. "Certainly, I'm not happy with the accuracy of the system, even though it is getting better."

I am not poking the bear here, but a (congressional hearing) press release does not a policy make. If it means a lot to you that the guy said it, I take no issue with that. But until I see tangible results for those suffering through the process, it is just a public relations statement. Good PR is still just PR.

God Bless You, Lit, and thanks for the shots across the bow.

Bernclay- :holysheep:

It does sound like you have really been through the wringer BernClay.

I disagree with your conclusion of SSDI's intent to torture and cause pain to the disabled. I sincerely believe they do not easily and speedily approve everyone because they think many applicants are not actually disabled. I think they are proven correct with that assumption when some people do return to work.

There have been several posters on the SSDI forum here who have written things to the effect of "I just got my denial, so I guess I'll have to go back to work, I can't afford to wait to get approved." I think that is SSDI's point......if there is ANY way we can work, we SHOULD be working.

I do agree with you that for many of us, the AJL process is WAY too long. I'm thinking of the 3 years it took to decide my case......one would think it wouldn't take THAT long to decide that someone was sincere in their claim that they were disabled.

I think there should be a middle ground..........somewhere more than a few weeks and much less than a few years

Bernclay -

What about the press release from the Social Security Administration, dated March 2, 2010, Social Security Hearings Backlog Falls to Lowest Level Since 2005, to the effect that the average processing time for hearing decisions has decreased to 442 days, down from a high of 514 days at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2008? http://www.socialsecurity.gov/presso...og-0310-pr.htm

I have to think this is for the good.

Mike

Hi again everyone.

To be fair Finz, I would say that my real horrible experience was mostly from the workers comp part of my process. While my SSI experience may not have been pleasant, it was not nearly as bad my workers comp experience. Since I had one lawyer handling my entire situation, and it was all interrelated, and it went on for so many years, and I was busy dealing with my condition, I do have a tendency to lump the entire problem together without selecting out what was more horrible. But it really was just Hell from start to finish.

Fmichael, from your posts I would have to think that your concern is defending one political party over another. I can appreciate your political passion, but I am really not referring to any of that in my posts, since as I said my problems have spanned over several political administrations.

With regard to this, “ … Social Security Hearings Backlog Falls to Lowest Level Since 2005 … “, I don’t really see that as helping or hurting. My issue is how workers comp and SSI reduce their annual disability payouts. In my personal experience, I was deliberately dragged though an unnecessary and expensive legal process for the sole purpose of trying to pressure me into dropping my legitimate disability claim. This was done systematically, and it was done despite my medical documentation being beyond question. And as I said before, my very experienced lawyer told me that this was a common practice used by the government to pressure legitimately disabled people out of the system. To put it simply, the government strategy was to make my disability process as long and as difficult and as expensive as possible, with the expectation that I would give up out of frustration, and voluntarily drop my legitimate disability claim. But as I said above, I think most of this happened through the workers comp end of my experience.

If I am ruffling feathers here, that is really not my intent. I am just telling my experience. This did happen to me, and it was horrible, and I don’t think any policy can justify a legitimately disabled person being treated this way by the government.

If I go on and on about it you will have to forgive me. This experience, combined with the actual injury and resulting disability, completely destroyed my life.

God Bless You All.

Bernclay- :holysheep:

Understood. I guess my question is whether your situation with SSI improved in any appreciable fashion in our around the Summer or certainly the Fall of 2009, when the new admin. would have begun to excercise control over the SSA, or whether it appeared to you and your counsel they were still same old games? (And you wouldn't hurt ny feelings either way: I've long ago learned to be cynical. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, and all of that.)

Mike

The Cap on fees
 

Up until Jan 2009, I believe, or sometime around then the cap on attorney fees was $5300 anything filed after that is now $6000.

I filed in Summer of 2007 and was approved in Winter of 2010 almost 3 years.

Lots of patience is needed to succeed. I must say I never used my Lamaze Breathing more than since this whole nightmre started. From the accident to the surgeries,procedures, meds, etc., to losing my career, fighting a suite and then finally going for SS Disability....I have been fighting in some way shape or form since 2003.

It's really is hard to go through all the red tape but just think if we did not live in a country where we did not have a option to even fight for anything leave alone SS Benefits. So, at the end of the day I still appreciate that I breath every day and after 7 years plus I seem to have my life somewhat back in order. I still have my marriage and 2 great kids who I think have become better people for all that they have seen. My children are in High School and in College and I truly believe that if they did not see all I had to go through they would have taken life much more for granted.

Gabbycakes

I just wanted to clarify something here since there has been mention of lawyer fee caps, and I get the impression some people think I am talking out of my bottom when I say I had tens of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees.

If you are an injured Federal employee, and your employer (in whatever branch of the Federal government you work for) acts improperly with regard to your injury, workers comp, etc, you are forced into a very long and complicated legal process in order to compel your employer to act properly. Contrary to what some may believe, many branches of the Federal government do not treat their employees very well.

This entire process takes place both separately and together with workers comp and later with SSI disability. The process can go on for years. If it is not resolved, it is impossible to complete the workers comp and SSI that are intermixed with it. As far as I know this process only exists within the Federal employee system. This is why only lawyers who specialize in Federal employee law can take these cases.

So while there may be caps on lawyer fees for workers comp and SSI disability outside of the Federal employee system (and there may even be caps on workers comp and SSI within the Federal employee system, although I don’t think so, but that is not relevant to what I am talking about), there are NO caps whatsoever on this other Federal employee legal process that is intertwined with the workers comp and SSI process.

This is what happened to me as an injured Federal employee, and this is how I ended up with lawyer fees in the tens of thousands of dollars. Thank you to anyone who was concerned about posting correct information regarding fee caps for SSI. But the process I am referring to has no fee caps. It can go on for years and I have heard of cases accumulating legal fees in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Anyone outside of the Federal employee system would not have had this kind of experience.

God Bless You All.

Bernclay- :holysheep:

I apologize...
 

Never being a federal empolyee I did not have any idea that federal employees of any branch did not have the same access to benenfits from the goverment as any other American. That really surprises me I had know idea. Just out of curiosity why are federal empolyees treated diffenently. Did you have to agree to this when you took employee from them? I am just really, really shocked!

Again, I do apologize.

I could be off here a bit. I believe at one time not so far in the distant past federal employees did not participate in Social Security or only paid a small percentage compared to most others. I also heard from a relative who works for the fed that government employees are not allowed to add their 18-26 year old children to their health insurance policy which is a new or upcoming new law.

Hi BC........Yes, I was thinking you got scr*wed by your lawyer for charging over the SSDI cap, but as your posts went on it became clear that it was the federal job portion of your disability claim that made your experience so different than many of ours. I think a lot of us focused on the SSDI article that you pasted.

Most of us do have to wait years for SSDI, but we know the max lawyer fee going into it when we decide to get a lawyer's assistance or not. I know , in my case, it was soooooo worth it

For what it's worth, I found out on Monday that my SSD application was approved on the first pass, four and a half months after I filed it.*

So I may be forgiven if I am inclined to accept what the current administration is saying about its intentions to reform the system.

That said, I may have been lucky in drawing the two professionals with whom I dealt, the gentleman in my local Social Security Office who interviewed me when I dropped off over 300 pages of documentation after filing electronically the night before and who called me on Monday morning with the news, and my case analyst in the California Department of Social Services, with whom I struck it off from the start. My thanks to both of them for the courteous and professional nature with which my claim was handled.

Mike


* I had delayed an almost inexcusably long time in or to file my claim, so long that my eligibility to seek federal disability compensation actually expired the year before I filed, but there is a procedure in which you can seek an immediate determination that the intervening years without gainful employment shouldn't count against you, so long as you can make a credible showing that you were disabled during the time you were not working. The fellow who interviewed me when I showed up with the documentation made that determination on the spot (a February 2004 letter from Robert Schwartzman, MD may have been helpful) and literally re-set my clock on the spot, both for determinations of social security and disability eligibility.

Where I had been receiving annuity payments since 2003 under an old "own occupation" private disability policy, I had foolishly delayed filing for SSD because I didn't think I could meet its more stringent standards. That is, until I was sufficiently aware of the impact of the CRPS on my organizational abilities and the like that I asked my psychiatrist if I had reached the point where he now considered me to be disabled under SSDI tests, and he said yes. Before filing I also confirmed that with my treating pain management physician, as I understood that his opinion would be most likely sought in the course of evaluating any claim I might file, and he gave me the green light as well.

Then it was just a matter of assembling records, including making records requests to places that treated me years ago. However, it was apparently worth the effort where my claims analyst told me that my assembly of the records meant that it was one less thing her office had to do, thereby allowing her to expedite the claim.

Mike, I am glad to hear of someone else who had their records when they went in to file. I go to my appt. on Monday. I have a stack of records from my family doc, rheumatologist, neurologist, orthopaedic doc, 2 pain management doctors, bronchial specialist, eye doctor, massage therapist, physical therapy, foot surgeon etc.

I am having trouble with the pain psychologist. She keeps saying she will send a letter to me, but has not. I just now called and asked again.

The letters and records say the problems I am having with movement, etc, and my diagnosis, but none say in so many words that I cannot work. That concerns me.

I have been complaining for at least 6 months about my lack of concentration and being unable to read a novel, or make sense out of printed material. No where in my records does it state that. I have been on Namenda twice because of problems thinking, but all it states is that it was prescribed, not why.

One thing I don't know about is should I make a note on the records when something is obviously wrong. Such as they say right arm and it is left arm.

Mike, congratulations! I am so glad to hear that your ssd went thru so fast. I think it was because you were so prepared and knowledgable.You definetly deserved it to happen so quickly, you help all of us so much with your knowledge and help us keep our heads on straight(If that is possible)Congrats again, Go and CELEBRATE!!!
Your friend Wendy

Congrats fmichael! :)

Daylily, Do NOT alter the medical records in any way, make your notes on a separate piece of paper if you feel the need to do so. Medical documents are legal documents and as such should not be altered in any way.Lisa

MIKE, CONGRATULATIONS! I am so happy to hear your excellent news, Lisa

Mike!

I am so happy that the system has seen the light and granted you what you deserve!
I hope this brings you some peace of mind and in doing so lessens the burden of this life-changing disorder...even though we may accept the changes..
You give many people inspiration and encouragement with your good news!!
:hug: Many hugs from Hope4thebest :hug:

Lisa -

GREAT CATCH! (I missed it completely.) That said, I ran across the same problem when I was assembling documents for my application and came up with what was a nice little solution.

Last fall I was hospitalized overnight for a suspected TIA (transient ischemic attack, a.k.a. a mini-stroke). As with each and every hospitalization I had in the last few years, I pulled a complete copy of my chart a few days later: most places give it to you free of charge. I then had the "pleasure" of reading what a two-faced jerk was putting in the file, dictating one thing while telling me another. Primarily, it was just a matter of a staff neurologist earnestly listening to me; while his notes made clear that he had trouble finding me credible although he saw "no reason for secondary gain" on my part. No big deal, it ticked me off, but it was of no consequence.

However, another report by an internist was more problematic, in which I had allegedly "denied any edema." There were any number of problems with this: (1) I didn't see the internist until the following morning, the report at issue was dictated by his PA in the ER under the internist's name, (2) I would have never "denied edema" had the question been raised and (3) why else would I have been on at least 40 mg. of the diuretic Lasix every day, if not to counteract fluid retention in the body? I figured that what happened was that when dictating the report, the PA realized that he hadn't asked me about edema, so he just filled in the virtual blank based on his recollection of how I looked and, lying for hours on a gurney, there may indeed be little edema in my feet: gravity would be more likely to send excess fluid elsewhere. So what I did was fax a letter to the doctor, going over these points, and asking him to insert an addendum in my file, knowing that he would be unlikely to do it. But it didn't matter. At that point I had a photocopy of my letter to the doctor which I then clipped to the record at issue when I turned over my documents. Not only was my position clearly set forth in the record, but having been faxed to the doctor, it should become part of his file as well!

And in light of the fact that you have six months in which to complete the online application along with the far, far lengthier medical and work history report, with your benefits typically going back to one year before you started the application, there's no reason why, after beginning the basic application, your next order of business isn't to order copies of all of your medical records. That way you accomplish two things. First, you have plenty of time to spot and address any truly meaningful mistakes in the record: and even if the doctor never responds the problem may well be effectively neutralized. (Just be sure that you are sending out letters and therefore highlighting problems only if they truly matter.) Secondly, and as mentioned before, the more records you turn over the easier you make the job of your case analyst: someone you want to be on your side.

Finally, picking up on another point that was made, it is essential that you discuss the filing of a potential SSDI claim with your current treating physician(s) before you do so, on the assumption that each will receive a short questionnaire seeking his/her views on your disability. Hopefully there will be a meeting of the minds. But if not, and as loathe as I am to suggest doctor shopping, it may be time to move on and fully establish a relationship with a new doctor before filing, assuming that enough time remains for you to avoid losing your disability eligibility in the interim. That of course will not prevent whatever state agency contracts with the SSA to perform its disabilty evaluations from seeking the records if not the opinions of the problematic physician, but I can only believe that the "older and colder" the problematic professional relationship, the better off you will be.

Mike

I wanted to thank you for sharing this article.I found it very interesting. I am still waiting to see if I can qualify for disability. I am at the point right now with my fight that it has to go to a judge. I have been waiting a long time to see wether I will ever qualify. the disease has put me on a walker,and I can't get a doctor to diagnose whether the rsd has spread to my right arm,shoulder and lower back including my legs and feet. I get burning pain and just pain overall and loss of balance so I need a walker to help me keep myself stabilized from falling.I don't have much feeling in either hand especially all my fingers.I have pain just like everybody else but just can't get a doctor to diagnose whether it has spread. I think it has because there are a lot of symptoms that are the same as my original injury site which is my left,dominant,hand/wrist which has moved up into my shoulder including that entire arm.I deal with it every day and take one step at a time.I can't push myself to hard or I pay with more pain later but sometimes that is what I do because I don't want to let go of my old life where I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I know I have to but I am struggling to let that life go. I do seeki psychiatric help which is helping me a lot but I still have a lot of times that I just don't want to release who I was to who I am now.If it is this hard for me I know it has to be tuff for my husband and my 14 yr. old daughter.There is a lot of stress in my home but I have to deal with it no matter what. I love my family and I will do what ever it takes to keep ahold of my family. They are my #1 priority.I love them more than this entire world and would do anything to go back in time and change what happened. We were so happy then but now it is very stressful because of the things I cannot do,but I try to deal with it the best I know how because I love my family.

Sincerely,
Tracy

Hi Screwballpookie.

I am sorry that you are having such a rough time. Here are a few things from my own experience that you may find helpful (or may not, but I will ramble anyway).

Three years ago I was completely beaten down by my CRPS and was ready to give up. Through a lot of hard work and proper treatment I have managed to bounce back a considerable amount. So if things seem terrible, do not give up, there is always a way to bounce back. You just need to find your best treatment and what works for you.

I can also relate to not being able to get a doctor to diagnose the CRPS spread. I had many, many years of various doctors reporting my CRPS spread, but it did not get officially added to my accepted condition until an IME doctor put it into his report years later. So again, it may take a long time, and it may be frustrating, but do not give up.

If you are having trouble with your doctors it is well worth your while to research and seek out the absolute best CRPS specialist you can find in your area. I did this and there can be an incredible difference in the quality of care that you can get from a top specialist. Being very proactive and searching out the best CRPS doctor can go a long way.

You mentioned pushing yourself and letting your expectations of your old life go. In my experience, while it is true that I had to accept new realistic parameters for my ability, it was also very helpful to me that I did not give in to the CRPS. Sometimes that drive to be what I once was, gives me the motivation to fight through the pain and expand what I am capable of doing. It’s a delicate balance of course, and different for everyone, but don’t let that drive to be your old self go away completely, it can be a very helpful motivator.

You mentioned stress and the love of your family. I have found a few things very helpful for me and my family. Once a week I talk to a therapist who specializes in chronic pain. While it may not fix anything, this is very helpful because I get to vent out all the built up pain stress to the therapist, and this keeps me from taking it out on my family. My family members also talk to my pain therapist when they want to. This is also extremely helpful since watching a loved one suffer with CRPS can be just as devastating for the family as for the person with CRPS. Sometimes a combined session is helpful because everyone gets to vent together in a neutral space, and it also helps the family to better understand the CRPS.

The love of family is just as important as anything else that may be done to treat the CRPS. For me, the love and support of my family has been one of the most important factors in keeping me motivated to fight my CRPS. Doing whatever I need to do to keep their stress manageable is very important. I intentionally isolate myself when my pain is terrible so that I won‘t take it out on my family, and so they won‘t have the stress of seeing me when I am in obvious agony.

I hope that some of this may have been helpful to you. Don’t give up, there is always a way to bounce back. God Bless You.

Bernclay- :holysheep:

It's not your fault, but instead those who abuse it that created this mess
 

If we didn't have so many people who are trying to figure out a way not to work for a living, people like you wouldn't be going through the horrors of getting disability in the first place. After years of watching people get disability for every reason under the sun, the brakes had to be hit. Sadly enough, there's a lot of people who are getting head first slams along the way.

While many end up with attornies as they seek out disability, I had my first check in my account 90 days after I signed the application and applied, so not everyone is turned down. It's all about documentation by the doctors and how well Social Security understands your situation. The better your diagnosis is explained and what your future holds, the faster your claim will go through. Now with all the cut-backs and budget problems nationwide, I have a feeling we're going to see even more people who really do need help being denied what they've earned. It's a hard time to be ill that's for sure.

Best of luck, Bob.

Bernclay,
I want to thank you so much for your input. It does help alot. And yes I will try some of your suggestions just to see what happens. The one thing I know is that my daughter and my husband will not see my psychiatrist with me first my daughter gets tired of hearing about it and my husband tells me he has no time for that sh**. We will deal with it as things happen. I have no support from him with my wc case either.he always tells me to try to get my attrny to get his head out of his butt and get us some money. Right now we are paying over $600 in meds a month and he is tired of it. He thinks if he snaps his fingers that we will get paid back all the money we are owed in meds alone.I try to tell him that it don't work that way that he should know because we have been fighting since 2003.he just gets angry and walks away.I have even gone as far as printing off a couple page summary of what I am going through which he would be able to understand without so many doc terms and he refused to read it. I also printed on off for my daughter that I found on a kids sight that a 13 yr. old at the time had set up and her mom had rsd and she really broke it down so kids could understand and be able to post like we do here about how they are feeling and she did not read the paper or even seem interested in the website. I found it very interesting to see if from a kids view point. So see I can't get my family to even try to understand it.My husband did go with me to one of the IME's that I had to go through and just watched and at the end of the visit he asked if this is a killing disease. The doc said that not a fast one but it will shorten my life span. Nothing else was said after that. Not even in the car. It's as if he really didn't care.Sorry that is just how I portray it from her and him. It is just not fair.I am trying so hard to get them to understand even a little of what I go through and they won't even do it. Now if I knew of any websites or books or anything that would help me understand I would definitely get the book go to the websites or whatever else there may be for me to read so I can understand what they are going through.If anyone has any suggestions please let me know because I will definitely check it out. Thanks again for everything and I promise I won't give up I will keep fighting. God bless you...

Sincerely,
Tracy

Hi again Tracy.

(I tried to keep this short, but hey, it's me…)

I am very sorry that you are having such a rough time. Many of us in here who have had CRPS for 10+ years can think back to a time when things were very rough like you are describing now. I know that does not make it any easier for you, and I know you may not be able to see it now, but if we lived through it to see better days, then you can too. Don't give up!

I am sorry that you are not getting the support that you need from your family. CRPS is bad enough without that unfortunate, and sadly not uncommon, problem. I can only speculate, but it is very possible that your family may feel hurt and scared by what they are seeing, and their reactions (anger, indifference) are just their defense mechanisms.

Regardless of the reasons, you are the one who is suffering and in immediate distress, and your very first priority has to be to try to help yourself. You will be able to address the difficulties with your family later. But you must treat yourself as the priority now. If no one else is focused on alleviating your immediate pain and symptoms, then it falls to you unfortunately, and you must be the one to make sure that you are getting the care and treatment that you need. That is first, everything else is second.

For me, my CRPS caused a complete collapse of my financial and social support structure. Somewhat similar to what you describe, it was up to me to find a way to organize my effort and find a way through. So figuring out how to do this is very important.

Just a note here about my own experience. Over ten years ago, when I got injured on the job and ended up with CRPS, I was living with a woman and we were planning on getting married. Needles to say my CRPS, stress from intense pain, losing my job, money problems, losing my apartment, 8 year workers comp / disability battle, confusion and struggle to understand what was happening to me, and cycling though many doctors (some bad, some good) and treatments (many useless, some helpful) to find proper care, completely destroyed my relationship and it evaporated. I was left with no real options and my parents had to take me in (I can not imagine a greater humiliation for a grown man, one moment strong, in control, on top of the world, the next moment begging for a place to live).

While my story is not a perfect comparison to yours, it is similar in that no one was helping, everyone ran for cover, and it was up to me to take control of my treatment and find a way through. For me, a big part of regaining some control, was retreating from all the extra stress around me, and finding a relatively (not perfect) quiet place where I could regroup, and start to get myself organized to treat my CRPS (and fight my workers comp battle).

Obviously being married and having a grown child is certainly more complicated than what I described. I am only suggesting that you may find it very helpful to figure out how to retreat a little from the extra stress all around you, so that you can get organized and focus on taking control of your CRPS. Selecting out a room in your home, where you can lock the door and just be quiet and alone when you need to, may be very helpful for you. Using this alone space as your "CRPS treatment center" (or my "CRPS office" as some in my family describe it) can be extremely beneficial for both controlling your stress and for getting organized to find the best way to treat your CRPS.

I find it can be very difficult to focus and get things done because of my constant pain and fatigue (especially in the earlier years). When I want to try to work through a complex problem (similar to what you are going through now), it can be very helpful if I write things down. I make lists of my symptoms, medications, problems, possible solutions, goals, etc, etc. It may seem tedious, but I find it is the only way I can focus through the pain and be proactive to find solutions and solve my problems (for example, I organize whatever I need to say to the doctor and write it all down, then when I see him I am sure I will address whatever problems I am having). Keeping a daily pain / symptom / medication / treatment journal is very useful for this.

The most important items on my lists were to find the best CRPS specialist (I saw many, many, many doctors before finding the right one), find the best pain therapist (again I saw many wrong ones before finding the right one), find the best lawyer for my workers comp battle (I spoke with at least six before finding the right one), find a quiet place to get organized, and most importantly to be my own advocate and be as proactive as possible with my treatment. This is a long battle (as you already know), and you have to get control in order to fight through it systematically to get positive results.

It is extremely important that you get the information and support that you need, and that you don't feel like you're alone in this. Many people in this forum have suggested http://www.rsds.org/index2.html as a good starting point. I have also found this forum itself to be full of very helpful people and useful information, and it can be a good substitute if you are having trouble finding support elsewhere.

I hope this may have been helpful to you. God Bless You.

Bernclay- :holysheep:

Bernclay,
I want to thank you for everything. You have helped me a great deal. You make so much sense and i need that kind of support,especially with everything that i am going thru.I can't thank you enuff. You as well as everyone else on here have been such wonderful friends and so supportive. It is so wonderful to be able to come to at least one place that I can feel cared about. Thank you all so much.Have a great memorial weekend!

Sincerely,
Tracy

You’re welcome Tracy. I am glad my posts were useful to you, and I am happy to be of help any way I can. I am sure everyone else in here will also do whatever they can for you. Keep us posted on how you are doing. Happy Memorial Day. God Bless You, and God Bless All Our Brave Men and Women in Uniform Defending Our Great Nation.

Bernclay- :holysheep: