Binder and Binder
 

Anyone use this firm, what was your experience? Personally, I think they may be the worst I've ever seen, how many firms never call you back, and wait until a day before the hearing to read your file, and meet with you one hour before the hearing? Share your experience please.

It is my understanding that this is the way it is handled by most disability law firms.

Unless you have a private attorney in practice for and by himself that specializes in disability claims, your statement is exactly how claims are handled by the large disability firms.

This is NOT just a Binder and Binder practice. This is how it is done by many if not most disability law firms.

There is an intake interview, usually by phone, and the claimant never sees the attorney until he shows up at the ALJ hearing. There is little communication in the interim.

It is nothing like hiring a private attorney to represent you in another type of action like a civil case of some matter.

It is very disappointing to learn this fact AFTER your expectations are not met. It is not Binder and Binder, it is that your expectations were not the same as the way disability claims are handled by firms that specialize in them.

Sorry to tell you that Binder and Binder are no different than other firms but that is just how it is done from what I have learned.

This really shouldn't be a surprise, you've been with B&B a long time. They've always treated you this way. You had an opportunity to find a new attorney or non-attorney representative when you started your 2nd application.

Have you put your questions in writing? Have you requested an appointment with your attorney? Have you made any demands in writing and via certified mail to establish a paper trail?

You might still have time to find new representation before your hearing, if that's what you want.

You might also want to see if there is a local Advocacy Group for those with mental health issues. If you need help searching, you can send me a pm with your location.

Didn't know
 

You can actually find new representation before a hearing?

How serious are you about wanting new representation?

A new attorney or non attorney rep can always reschedule the hearing if they need more time.

If you parted ways with your attorney prior to your hearing, and showed up by yourself, the ALJ would give you the option to reschedule to find a new attorney or non attorney rep.

If your current Alleged Onset Date is within six months of your 55th birthday, you have a high probability of being approved via the Grid Rules, IMO. Have you figured out if this applies yet?

Onset
 

My new AOD is 3 months before my 54th birthday, the thing that worries me about Grid Rules, do I have enough going on physically to use them.

The physical impairments you list are generally considered to be manageable and would have to be incredibly severe to be accepted to prove a SSDI claim, but it's possible that your physical and mental claims in combination are enough for SS to use the Grid Rules. An attorney should be able to go through your file and determine if the Grid Rules are being used in your case.

So, if your attorney won't answer your questions, it wouldn't hurt to consult with another attorney or even a non attorney rep. If you do, you should bring a copy of your electronic file for him/her to review--I can't remember if you have it or not?

Do your physical impairments have any effect on your Activities of Daily Living? If you did not have the mental impairments, would your physical impairments have any impact on your ability to work?

I know it's often suggested to list every possible issue a person has, but if an impairment doesn't effect your ability to work, I think it can backfire with some ALJ's who might question your credibility by doing so. But I guess it's a bit late to worry about that...

Combined
 

Lit, a little background, with my combination of problems at my last job, I was under the family medical leave act for 8 years, on average I missed 5 months of work a year, fired twice for missing days. Although conditions like mine can be controlled, people fail to realize they are still there, with the medication I'm generally left with crippling fatigue, sleepless nights, lethargic days, inability to remember things, I'm at the post it note stage. I'm always amazed, your credibility is questioned when you need help, but I worked 37 years in a row, where were the questions then.

Both the companies I used did this exact same thing.
Denied both claims.

Was going to try Binder and Binder. I heard they were the best but does not
sound any different.

Sorry. I know how terribly frustrating this is.

I think I am going to get a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease or worse this month.
Hopefully, someone will help me after that because I am no longer able to even help myself now at all.

What a joke disability benefits are. You might have better luck if you tell them
your a meth addict and a hoarder because that is the only people that seem to
get approved. Oh, and also the fact of being a worker who earned benefits
for years and years seems to not help at all.

Good luck. :hug: don't let it depress you worse. Just assume you will be denied.

Someone listed a recommendation for an attorney in Salt Lake City in one of these posts recently: http://ssdfacts.com/forum/index.php?board=78.0

If you can't find it, pm me and I'll spend the time when I have a chance. (I'm not a member there so I can't search. I don't want to be tempted to spend any more of my limited energy on SSDI issues.)

I would not answer your questions if I didn't think you might have a legitimate claim, btw.

Are you saying those symptoms are a result of your physical impairments? They might be or they could be a result of your depression--or they could be a combination of both.

So, it's been 17 or 18 years since you worked a regular full time workload?

Here's where it gets confusing--if you're claiming a mental impairment, you were able to work the first (approximately) 20 years without an issue. If you were in an accident or had an illness, that would make sense that your function declined. But you've never claimed that, you've just mentioned getting older. (Not that you have or need to reveal your entire medical history online, btw. But, this is why an attorney that has access to your whole file is in a better position to accurately answer your questions.) SS will want to know what changed in your early 40's?

If you played football, were a boxer, or had a brain injury or injuries when you were young, or developed early Alzheimers, (or perhaps you have an undiagnosed disorder that has led to a decrease in cognitive function) than you need to have a Neuropsych evaluation.

Or, was severe depression the main reason for you missing work? That one issue is certainly enough to qualify by. An ALJ will want to see weekly psych appointments and that you've followed all instructions such as taking meds if prescribed.

Since your current Alleged Onset Date is not connected to a significant birthdate, it would sense that there is new medical documentation from that date. Did you perhaps begin seeing a therapist more consistently at that time?

Not that it matters, but you've previously said you started your job in 1979. And I believe you stopped in 2006? That would make it 27 years, not 37 years.

Sad
 

Lit, it started out as Seasonal Affective Disorder, once the type 2 diabetes kicked in, things got progressively worst. I forgot to mention, in June I had cataract surgery as a result of diabetes, my other eye is developing same problem. 2009 was the time I began to see physchiatrist. 2010 I picked up hypertension. At 59, I'm picking up something new every other year. Have you ever heard of Jeffrey Delott?

Well than that's probably why your attorney amended your Alleged Onset Date, it's around when you started seeing your psychiatrist. It might have even coincided with a particular report.

If you had cataract surgery this June, that is many years after your Alleged Onset Date, so I don't know if that will have any effect on your claim.

People's health does tend to decline when they get older, especially when they're overweight. Issues like type II diabetes rarely effect a person's ability to work though. Even something like cataracts are not necessarily career ending nowadays due to advances in surgical techniques, like they would have been in the past.

Are you still driving?

Jeffrey Delott the attorney? No, I just did a google search. I'm in California. Maybe start a thread here and on SSDfacts with the title "Referral request for NY attorney."

You may have had a serious cognitive issue your entire life, but if it didn't impact your ability to work previously, you'll not likely be approved for SSDI for it now. If your cognitive issues developed when you were in your 50's, it's very likely you'll need a diagnosis for it to be seriously considered at this point, since the validity of your iq test was questioned.

Combination
 

My attorney will do Otr by Friday, with physical problems and the elephant in the room my Major Depressive Disorder, who knows. To be honest, all of my doctors have filled out and sent in every report imagineable, there is nothing more I feel i can do, but try to get better. The only thing I see at this point, if they try and say I'm been malingering for the last 8 plus years I've been involved in the process. By the way, Lit, when I say I've worked 37 years in a row, I flipped hamburgers after school and worked as soon as I graduated from high school, never had a year I didn't work, where was the malingering then.

I started babysitting fulltime the summer I was 11 watching 3 kids, and always had a "job" after, but unless you're paying into SS, those jobs don't really "count". So, my first "real job" started when I was 17.

If you stopped working at 50, that would make you 13 when you first started working, which is an unlikely age to have a regular job. If you go into your hearing and say you worked for 37 years, an ALJ might do the math very quickly and wonder if you're trying to manipulate her by being dishonest.

And Ray, when you consider you haven't worked a regular fulltime job in something like 17 years, that is not the same scenario as working the same job or two fulltime, with no breaks, for 35 years before experiencing an injury or illness and having to essentially retire a few years ahead of schedule. It doesn't mean you don't have a legitimate claim! But, it is a different scenario.

So, apparently your attorney talked to you yesterday?

Your symptoms/timeline simply don't make sense as related online. As I've said, that could be because you're leaving out information--which is fine. But, an ALJ will in all likelihood ask the same questions if there is not a diagnosis that explains the iq drop. And I have to assume there isn't otherwise the ME would have "validated" your iq score. You need to be prepared for these issues to come up at the hearing.

Your doctors simply fill out the forms and reports and probably don't understand SS rules and regs, let alone important facts in your case, like your Alleged Onset Date. You can give SS a truckload of documentation, but if it doesn't help document why you weren't able to work at the time of your Alleged Onset Date, it might not help.

There is something you could do--you could undergo a Neuropsych eval to get an accurate iq score and/or determine the reason for any cognitive issues.