Got my decision....
 

Hi everyone, I have finally after 2 1/2 years of fighting got my SSI decision.. Denied !

So, I ask of all the members.. what is next ? Do I appeal ? This was in front of the ALJ appeals judge... I am soooo depressed right now ! I have fought soo hard to get all the records and therapy and meds and a diagnosis - now I have to do it all over again.... I would appreciate any help or words of advice, this has been the hardest thing to do especially that I can't work at all with all the pain .....

Oh, (((Dolfinz)))! I'm so sorry! Gosh, I know what you've been through already to get as far as you have. I had to go in front of the ALJ too, but that's where I finally won my case.

If you are unable to work, then I would say definitely keep pushing. It's getting harder and harder to get approved because of the way they're changing the rules. But I wouldn't give up.

One very valuable lesson I learned was to select an elderly and distinguished lawyer who was up for consideration to become a judge himself. After all my struggles, once we got to the ALJ, all this lawyer had to do was go in the courtroom and talk to the judge for five minutes and I got my approval. I never saw the judge myself. Apparently he was willing to take the lawyer's word for it that I was truly in pain and disabled by it.

I hope you have the strength to keep fighting this thing, and that you ultimately prevail. Remember, this is a right you're fighting for. Not just an entitlement. Good luck...

Idealist

Keep Pushing!!!
 

Dolfinz - I am so sorry. I can understand your depression but you need to keep trying. I am preparing for my ALJ hearing and I know how hard it is to work on getting all the information put together while in pain.

You didn't say if you had an attorney? If you did not, you definately need one. You simply cannot do it alone.

Again, I am very sorry and I hope you can keep going until you win!

nancyh

Thanks for the kind words.. I do have a lawyer.. She is o.k. it seems I got "the worst" judge... I will keep trying..

My parents are paying my bills because I can't get welfare.. Son still lives with me and it would be some stupid amount of money a month.. not worth the aggrivation.. and as far as food stamps.. 75.00 a month ? Well I will keep fighting, my parents want me down in Florida to fight it there..So..fight again !!

Keep fighting Dolfinz. You fight for what is rightfully yours. What advice does your lawyer give?

I haven't talked to the lawyer yet.. Tuesday, but she did say that if I was denied (apparently I had the Worst judge) we would fight it !

I have to, I have TOS and it is painful everyday.. My problem is do I fight from FL or here in Mass. ? I am trying to find out if a case can be transferred or do I have to file all over again ?? Thanks for all kind words ....

Transfer
 

Dolfinz;

My husband had that same question since he thought mine was taking a long time. I'm pretty sure he was told we would have to start all over in a new state. But, that might not be so bad. You just never know.

As for me, it will be 2 years in March. My attorney has applied for the hearing and now we wait for an open slot with the judge. Could be months. So I guess we wait it out together...

Best of Luck,
Nancy

Since you have a bad judge, it might help if you do start over in another state. Your lawyer will know. Good luck!

Hi all,
Thanks for all the help, it really does help to know your not the only one going through this.. I've been reading thru the 8 page Denial and I am soooo upset at some of the things the judge says.. Has anyone gotten a denial ? And if so, how many pages are they usually ?

I will wait till Tuesday to talk to the lawyer, but I am feeling pretty upset with her too. The last time we spoke, she began to tell me basically that I "blew" the case becasue of not permitting some Phych? report back in 2004 when I first filed? .. that was about 2 mos. ago.... and I am going to have to speak to her about moving to another state....((sigh, sniff,sniff))))

Mine was horrible. It made me bawl my eyes out. The ridiculousness of it shocked me. It said at one point..."no evidence of neurological impairment" and then later it said "because of seizures (neurological impairment), claimant should not drive or operate heavy machinery". The contradictions and out and out untruths...gawd it was just awful. I know mine was at least eight pages. I always felt that if they took as researching my case as they did writing that letter of denial bull pucky, caca, crap....I would have gotten it.

Chin up sweetie. Dust yourself off and don't let them get to you.

(((((((HUGS)))))) Thanks

I got denied one year ago now
 

and the judge denied me because I could doff my shoes and socks, and then put them back on. The only problem is............I WAS wearing FLIP FLOPS!!!

I fired my attorney, and got another, and am still fighting. Now the wait is for the Appeals Council ruling.
This month makes one full year since we went before the ALJ. :Sigh:

I hope to hear something SOON!

Dont give up! Keep up the fight! Unless you want to try a new claim and lose all the backpay you have earned. Sometimes the second time around is a breeze I hear, but nothing for all the time and trouble of the first claim :(

Hi allen..
So you are now waiting for a hearing wth the Appeals Counsel ? How long ago did you file your appeal ?? I guess I am just really disspointed because of all the hard work I put into it, but on the same token I can present new evidence ...

Actually you can file an appeal and file a new case at the same time. If you win your new case you dont get the backpay until you win the appeal but in the meantime you will have your monthly check. I am surprised that your lawyer didnt recommend this.

Unfortunately I am finding my Lawyer didn't tell me a whole lot .. So, I can appeal this decision and yet open a new one ?? Am I understanding this correctly ?

Yes you can and you can present your new evidence in the new case and hopefully be successful at the initial application.

Do I do this with the same Lawyer ? Gosh see how much valuable info I get from you guys !!!!

Talk to your lawyer about it and see what she says. Wether you keep the same lawyer or not would depend on how you feel about her after you talk about where you go from here.

Thanks HeyJoe... I appreciate it ! Thanks to all of you.. I will talk with my Lawyer first, then adress the medical issues with my Dr. but I will let ya all know an update soon. Thank You all again for the encourging words...

Hugs,
Dolfinz

Let us know when you talk to your lawyer. I'm anxious to see what she has to say.

There were many posts on the old braintalk board about filing a new claim while the current case goes before the appeals council, but those posts have not been recovered. Here is a web site that addresses the issue:


http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/new...s-council.html

Hey Joe thanks..

Well I did speak to my Lawyer today, she is home sick today. She hasn't read the full decision yet, but she pretty much knew that the Judge was going to deny. She said that if she appeals again, she now needs to prove that the Judge made a mistake in his findings and yes new evidence will help. She did say she does feel that I may of Filied to early becasuse alot of my medical records up until 06 are negitive results..

Also the laws are changing soon in Massachusetts and if I file a new case and still Appeal and got denied at either level it would abolish the other claim. So I have alot of decisions and thinking to do .. I will meet with her next week and discuss this further. It would certainly make it easier if I was to Move to Florida because there I could do both at the same time ! ARRRGGGHHH this is soo frustrating .... Thank you to everyone for guideing me

Biggest of hugs dearie!

Thanks Julie :)

Under the new rules the appeals council will be eliminated and replaced with a type of quality review board which would choose which cases it wants to review, you could not appeal to them per se. If they dont review your case and reverse it you have to go to federal court. It is starting in the Boston area and will be all over the country eventually.

Thanks for clarifying that for me HeyJoe .. Again I guess I have alot of decisions to make .. I will update all of you after I see my Lawyer.

Again , I stress the importance of this web site, because all of you have made such a difference in my life . I have learned so much from all of you. If it wasn't for you all I would not be where I am today !

Thank you for all the help !
Dolfinz

Denial report
 

Hi Dolfinz,

I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. I just came onto this site to ask some questions because I just applied a couple of months ago. I haven't had a denial from Soc Sec, but I've had other "bad reports" from work comp doctors that "twist" your answers, etc. VERY FRUSTRATING!!

I sure hope all goes well with your appeal. And I agree with Julie. Maybe moving out of state and starting "fresh" is a good idea.

Actually, I wanted ask if anyone knew why I am being sent for a "Mental Status" exam by Soc Sec. I just got the letter today. I don't have an attorney for Soc Sec. Just for Work Comp, and I honestly think he has a SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS! LOL! I have to laugh or I'd cry!

Hang in there!

Denise

Hey Denise, everyone else..

Denise.. I wasn't worker's comp but I am sure that it very frustrating. The best thing I did was get a lawyer.. there are some Lawyers out there that don't get a fee unless you win.. maybe the same for Worker's Comp Attorneys ? you should get one if you can... Good Luck and Take care.. I am learning that this process is very slow.....

Sorry it took soooo long for reply
 

I just went cold turkey off the pain meds this month. Whew! What a nightmare that was!

I looked back in the paperwork, and I went to court in Dec 05, filed the appeal to the appeals council in may. I did hear from them in Oct, said I could update my file for the last time. Now waiting to hear back on decision.

My attorney told me not to file a new claim, as that would give them a reason to deny me some more just to make sure I dont get backpay. I agreed with him, as I have come along ways, about 3 1/2 years now, and could really use the backpay.

It is pretty rough living I will say that. But I have a real good attorney now, fired the first one, for letting the judge rip me up in court while she sat silent. Kinda looked like they had an agreement before hand for her to remain silent. She never let out a peep as he threw out all my medical records as evidence, and only used the ssa doc's stuff. It was totally biased, and illegal the way he handled the decision.

Hope everything works out for ya! ;)

Dolfinz, Don't give I just won mine after 4 years. Hang in there.

Got back from Florida...
 

Hi everyone.. I have been in Forida for the last 8 weeks tending to my mother who had back surgery.. Anyway I did speak to my Lawyer(in Mass) and she filied the appeal, but as her ususal self felt that there was nothing to go on ! She is telling me that any NEW info I get can't be used unless it is new films, x-rays , that sort of thing.. I really am getting annoyed witht he way she talks to me and tells me that because I didn't let her use my Physc? notes that I blew my case.. as I told her I didn't know because she didn't explain things very well that it would hurt me , plus she told me my therapist didn't giver the right paperwork in the first place! Go figure !

I feel as tho I should just look for another attornery because this one certainly does not know how to communicate with her clients !! How is everyone else doing.. ? I have been in such pain since I have been back !!!!!

Dolfinz

New news
 

I got a letter from the appeals council saying they remanded my case back to the ALJ Last month. Then about 2 weeks ago got a letter from the court telling me that I will be seeing a different judge because the other one retired.

The last one that retired probably got a binus for denying me lol.

Anyways my attorney tells me it should be in 90 days or so, and to now update the files. Keep me in your prayers all!. By the way, I was denied in Dec. 06, and they got my appeal in may. So it took a year so far just for the appeal to get back here.

Keep the faith!!!

Hi Allen, I have you in my prayers. I wish you luck and god speed. You have been through a lot . Pam