Qualifying for Social Security Disability
 

Here it is in a nutshell.

John worked for 28 years for the same company doing very physical labor. He does not know how to do any other type of work. He is 51 years old. During his employment he had been diagnosed with arthritis in his knees and back. Medical records will prove this. John was fired. Applied for unemployment and it was granted. Since his time on unemployment he has medical records showing that the arthritis is now in both knees, back, hands, shoulder and not verified yet, but probably his hips. He has seen our family doctor, the surgeon, an arthritis specialist and two physical therapist many, many times which are all in his records. His hope was that they would "fix" him so that he could work again without ungodly pain. He has 6 months of unemployment left. He has actively searched for work this whole time but can't find any that he can physically do. Should he complete the unemployment cycle or apply for disability? Losing the unemployment income will be detrimental to our already shaky finances but will staying on it hurt his chances of receiving disability later? The unemployment is just over the $1200 per month which means he can apply for Disability while receiving it.

My "unqualified" opinion (I do NOT work, nor have I ever worked, for the SSA) -- is this:

IF John doesn't have a high school diploma OR only has a high school diploma or GED, then, YES, he should apply. (College and/or skills training would be the "kicker" for his type of injury/condition, in my humble opinion.) His age just barely DOES help him. Of course being 55 or over would help more.

My suggestion would be that he STRONGLY document that he is IN PAIN and that IF he takes the pain meds to reduce the pain, he would possibly/probably endanger himself/others. (Read the little caution stickers on pain med bottles and you will see what I mean!) He would also need to get this documented by a doctor or other health PROFESSIONAL!!!

I'm gonna go and see if I can find anything in the SS Adult Impairments List to support my opinion.

I hope it is ok to "copy" and "paste" from this site. If not, the moderators will edit -- but, the link will remain and you can find the info for yourself.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabi...etal-Adult.htm

Here is the part about PAIN that I think is relevant to John:

d. Pain or other symptoms. Pain or other symptoms may be an important factor contributing to functional loss. In order for pain or other symptoms to be found to affect an individual's ability to perform basic work activities, medical signs or laboratory findings must show the existence of a medically determinable impairment(s) that could reasonably be expected to produce the pain or other symptoms. The musculoskeletal listings that include pain or other symptoms among their criteria also include criteria for limitations in functioning as a result of the listed impairment, including limitations caused by pain. It is, therefore, important to evaluate the intensity and persistence of such pain or other symptoms carefully in order to determine their impact on the individual's functioning under these listings. See also §§ 404.1525(f) and 404.1529 of this part, and §§ 416.925(f) and 416.929 of part 416 of this chapter.

There is SO MUCH info in this musculoskeletal system section of the Adult Impairments. If you have a compassionate and willing doctor, you might want to run a copy of the WHOLE THING (several pages long) and take it to him/her. He/she might be able to make sense of the medical jargon AND see which of the tests have been run -- and whether or not John has already "qualified". SOMEBODY just needs to MAKE SURE that it is SPELLED out CLEARLY in John's medical records IF he DOES meet the qualifications!! So many people are denied BECAUSE the words do not "fit"!

Hello Lorilie
 

Hello Lorilie and Welcome to Neuro Talk. I am sorry to hear that your husband John has lost his job and is in this situation. Many of us have had the same kind of delima. I do recommend that your husband go to a pain specialist. He can get his pain under control, and get another opinion on his conditon at the same time. This will help if you should decide to go for disability claim. Being treated with pain medications, and all your other documantion you will need to keep copies of. If you do seek a specialist, keep a pain journal. It will show your new doctor what John has to go through, and help with the evaluation process. I am not associated with SS or any other agency, just another member here who has gone through this process of being granted disability. This process did take a lawyers assistant that worked for an attorney who did nothing but this kind of case. This helps keep your case moving along in the system. It took an unbearable 4 years for me to qualify and numberous rejections. I qualified when I gratefully went before judge. I do wish you all the best. There is a social security forum as well on Neuro Talk to help with this issue. I wish you and your husband all the best. ginnie

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, not to judge y'all or your case because I have no reason or experience to do that but in hopes that you'll consider the questions I think Social Security would have.

From what I've seen in the news, a LOT of people whose unemployment is running out and who are at "that age" are applying for SSD to try to make ends meet. Unfortunately, that's going to be a strike against y'all, justified or not. The system has been flooded with applications so even if you have a good case, it's going to be delayed and it's also going to be considered with a hyper-critical eye.

They're going to wonder why John didn't apply sooner and why it wasn't an issue before he lost his job and before his unemployment benefits were soon to expire. Disabling arthritis doesn't usually happen within a short period of time (unless it's the autoimmune type). So you'll have to prove that when he was working, the arthritis was a huge problem.

Did he miss work a lot because of the arthritis? Did he try to modify his work? Did he try different jobs? Was he fired because of problems related to the arthritis? Make sure your application shows and explains all of this. Does he have at least a cordial relationship with his former employer? Try to maintain one, because SSA will contact the employer.

Has he tried to work since he got fired and failed at jobs because of the arthritis? That would help his case a lot. SSA wants to see that you tried to keep working.

In my case (I have autoimmune arthritis), I applied shortly after I first got sick upon the advice of my docs but I was denied. Instead of fighting/appealing the decision, I moved to a warmer climate, changed jobs, and even went back to school to change careers. I held on for 15 years and managed to keep working in some capacity until the disease process became too advanced, I was struggling to make it through the day, I was missing 25 percent of my scheduled workdays, and I was out of options. I applied again for SSD and was approved in a couple of months.

My situation was probably a bit odd and extreme, lol, but I was a single mum who was absolutely determined to keep working somehow and I did, for as long as I could. I was too sick to fill out the SSD application so I went to the SSA office for help and they filled it out for me. They were most interested in my diagnoses, my job skills and experience, how many days of work I had missed because of my illness, and how I tried to modify my work duties. They wanted specifics on that.

It sounds as if John is afraid of failing at a new job. Understandable, but SSA won't think it is. He needs to try to work in a different capacity or be trained for something else. He may fail at it but he does have to try.

Good luck to y'all! And if he does decide to apply, set up an appointment at SSA for help. The application is long, taxing, and confusing if you're ill.

Good post tea time
 

You are correct teatime. I moved south, and worked until my body would not allow more. I also have immune problems that manifested many years ago and held me from my full potential in the work force. I had documentation from medical issues for many years. You are right, the agencies are looking very critically at baby boomers close to retirement ages, and it is getting harder to get benefits. I live in Florida, where this issue is very much in the news. It was a very difficult journey to get the benefits. ginnie

When I first got sick, the doctors thought I had MS because of the mobility problems, headaches, visual disturbances, etc. But I had no MS plaques in my brain! That's why I refused to accept it. One of the neurologists thought I'd do better in the South so I came to Texas on vacation, found a job and moved! And I did do better for a while but it all came crashing down on me in time. It wasn't MS, it was Lupus!

It is a tough process but I don't know what I'd do without SSD! Or Medicare! I'd be dead, I guess. When I was approved for SSD, I couldn't believe I had to wait 2 years to get Medicare! Going without proper medical care like that really set me back and made things worse!

I don't think most people realize there's a 2 year, 4 month wait for Medicare coverage after your disability date. I exhausted my savings paying for COBRA as long as I could but I was still left with several months of no health insurance! And you don't get disability payments for the first four months after your disability date, either!

Hi teatime
 

I do indeed know about lupus. I was tested for that too at mayo clinic. I have 4 auto immune diseases, all related. I had savings from my parents as they knew I was sick. Unfortunately I could never get health insurance at all because of these pre-existing conditions. The medical situation robbed me of all two generations saved, for, and the security of my future in this home. It took 4 years for me to qualify. I had issues of # of quartes worked. During my life I had a home business, and worked my scedule around my health issues, and my parents care and deaths. There were quarters missing, and of course that took more investigating and questions on why that quarter was missing. I was in a trial study for many years.
I am sorry you are dealing with lupus. What are you currently doing to help the course of this illness? Were you treated with auto immunosupressants?
Please do keep in touch with me. These things we have are related.
I have medicare/medicaid, but I may not be able to keep my home. We sure get nailed with trouble in life don't we? Take care of yourself. ginnie

Lorilie if your husband can no longer work because of the effects of arthritis, pain and medication, then start the application as soon as possible. It takes a while to go through the process. Many people are turned down at the first application and have to go through the appeals process.

When you fill out the application do it on paper not the computer and explain how the arthritis, pain, medication effects etc. affect his ability to sit, stand, crawl, bend, lift, concentrate etc. which is the reason he can no longer work. dont just list medical conditions. relate how those conditions limit ability to do work. This is very important. This is what SS is looking for, the ability to work and why its limited not just what diseases or conditions. Dont forget to explain the limitations placed on him by the side effects of medicine and pain. lack of concentration, fatigue etc. good luck.

ssdi vs unemployment benefits
 

social security disibility is not like unemployment benefits.for ssdi,you have to qualify,and it can be a long drawn out process with many denials and appeals before you can actually win benefits.if you win..the fact that he's getting unemplyoment now while trying to get ssdi benefits might work for him since he's not working or it can work against him in social security's view meaning that he's recieving income now and they might say something like come back and see us when the unemployment runs out.that's how it works with ssi anyway.ssdi might be different.

Unemployment rules differ from state to state. Speak with your local Unemployment Agency and read your local laws. In some state's it's an issue and in some other state's it's not.

Is your husband capable of physically working at a non-construction job? If not, have it documented. Has he been to a Voc Rehab Agency? If they're unable to help him, that is one way to get additional documentation, but they might be able to retrain him in spite of his injuries...

your right about how each state does.its how they did me in my state to.even though i could not do my construction job any longer.they tried and see if i could do non physical work.like retraining me.but i cant sit or stand for certain amount of time and my age(that again:wink:)....:D:D