Social Security Interview/Process..?
 

Hello,

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the correct section/thread..

So feel free to move it.

Could you guys please tell me what an interview with someone from Social Security entails? And what should be done to prepare for it? Is it done in person or over the phone? And how far back will they go or want of your medical information? - meaning will they speak to every single Dr. you have seen?

Whatever you can share with me I would be very grateful.

Thank you Everyone.
I hope you have a good night.

WindWalker

Wish I could offer you some info but my contacts with SS for disability was limited so far to sitting forever in their office just to hand them some medical records, and once I talked with them on the phone when they told me they had not received the records from one of my doctors. I filed online and only had contact as I mentioned. After I was denied and prior to filing an appeal, I tried to call them and that went nowhere for me. I was repeatedly transferred to the voice mail of a specific person that never did return my calls. That was when I hired a disability attorney. I now let him deal with them since they have ignored me.

I hope your interview goes well and am sorry that I can not shed any light on that matter for you. There are several people here on Neurotalk that are well versed in matters of dealing with SS. I think the amount of help and cooperation one receives from SS personnel depends on where you live. The people in my location are horrid and mean. I sat for hours just to hand them something as they had removed the drop box for fear someone would put an explosive device in it. Seeing how the people are treated here, I guess they would worry about that. I am sure most of their offices are much better or at least I hope so. I just live in the wrong part of the country I guess.

Well, it is way too much to try to summarize in one post. Start by reading the posts in the top part of this board.

ID info; marriages; children; obscure places you may have worked; worker's comp info; address; work history; earnings history; medical history; diagnoses; tests taken, when and where; medications currently receiving;

When did you last work? Why did you stop then? How much work did you do before you stopped work? Where are your treating doctors' records?

It is helpful to understand the difference between the date a condition first bothered you and when it stopped you from performing substantial gainful activity. That date is a combination of stopping work and medical condition. That is your alleged date of onset.

SSA is mostly interested in medical records in the year or two before your date of onset of disability and any records after that date.

Be as thorough as you can. Provide addresses and phone numbers and approx. dates of treatment.

It is your life. You should know the answers or know how to find them.

Hello,

Thank you for the replies. Just trying to understand disability and the entire process is giving me panic attacks.

Not to sound naive but I don't understand what to expect the very first meeting? Am I expected to call my Dr.'s and ask for their notes? and bring them? Or does S.S. contact them? I don't understand how I am supposed to get all the info. from at least 10 years or more of everything.. do they even go back ten years? Or just five?

I'm ready to just not even do this anymore..so overwhelmed.

What's the difference between SSI and SSD?

Thank you,

WindWalker

Hi windwalker
 

Because the system is so overloaded, and complicated to boot, I always think it is best to have a representative to take you through all the processes. They know what will be asked, and how to prepare for anything SS might ask of you. Also they know the system and how to keep you case moving along. doing this by yourself, has not proven effective for the most part from what I have read on NT. I had a rep. and it was an awful process anyway, but at least he kept at it until my resolution before a judge. It is worth it to have someone in your corner. This rep. I had worked for an attorney and did nothing but SS cases. He gets paid when you do, so there is no up front charges. He also helped me to keep my sanity when I was denied a few times. ginnie:hug:

It can be an overwhelming process until you get used to the process. A lot of disability attorneys do not want to get involved at the initial application phase and will only jump in AFTER you are denied at the initial level. That does not mean they ALL work that way, just most in my experience.

As far as your medical records, you supply the SS rep with the names and address in your interview and they will contact your docs and obtain the medical records. You WILL need the names, addresses, and possibly the phone numbers of your docs.

SSDI is disability and SSI is supplemental coverage if your income is low enough. ( I believe they also consider your assets in determining your eligibility for SSI.) I am not sure but that is what I think I remember reading during my research many months ago.

How far back do they go? Well, 15 years, for your employment. Your medical records? I don't know. I would guess from the date of onset of your disability.

Be sure to check out the sticky notes listed for this forum. Another great source is "Disability Secrets" on the internet. Just google disability secrets and you will find huge amounts of info. You can read just some of it at first and then as time permits, read more as you begin to digest all the matters.

Do you have an appt already scheduled? Do you know if it will be a phone interview or an in-person interview? I understand that they will do either. Some sources say that the SS employees are very helpful. I did not avail myself of their help so I can't say if that is true or not.

Additional Comment
 

If you could get a PAPER copy of the application form and have it in front of you during your phone interview, that would be very helpful to both YOU and the SS representative doing the interview. Look it over before your contact with them so you can be prepared.

I will look and see if it is available online from a source other than SS.gov as that will throw you into an online application, if I remember correctly. That is how and why I filed online. I did not have a paper copy. That is also why it took me so long to complete it. If you file online, you can start it, and then come back to work on it later. It took me weeks to complete mine online but I am very slow and needed to go look up stuff. Any reason you don't want to file online?

When you get to specific parts that trouble you, you can always ask here for help. While no one here can tell you how to answer, the people here can at least help guide you along the way.

Go for it
 

If you are qualified for disability, you should file for it, and the sooner the better. I got stumped on one of the very first questions. Date on onset? I have chronic conditions that did NOT disable me until they progressed over many years, finally forcing me out of the workplace, when I could no longer perform my job duties. It wasn't like I had an accident or sudden injury, so I did not have a "date" of onset in my mind. I finally took my best shot and used the date I quit my job. That really was the date that my conditions prevented me from performing my duties.

Hope things work out well for you. Keep us posted.

The date your condition stopped you from engaging in SGA which is often the day you stopped work is almost always correct. It could be earlier if you had short attempts to work and then had to stop because you were too sick or hurting too much to continue and then started up again a few months later. Unsuccessful work attempts. Short in duration.

I agree that a representative can be helpful for some people and they know what will be asked, but they still don't know how to answer the questions because you have to give the rep the information to give to SSA. The rep will not know anything you haven't said to them. The rep may spend more time with you or the rep may have a formula method that they apply to all cases. The rep could collect a fee for just answering questions for you without doing any really complicated work. However, for some people, the peace of mind is worth it.

FOUND it
 

I found the paper copy online. If you google disability application in pdf, you can print out a copy of it. You have to look for the pdf application otherwise you will be directed to the online application process. Left a message for Windwalker at your member location.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to reply and share your experiences. It sounds like this will be a long and lengthy process if one chooses to even go through it.


Thank you again,

WindWalker

Have you checked out the paper form? Do not let it intimidate you. If you are deserving of disability benefits, do not be frightened off by the process. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.