1st app denied and sent to AC, 2nd app approved immediately, both combined n remanded
 

Applied for SS disability in 2007. Case was denied by SS, then denied reconsideration and denied by ALJ in 2010. Case was appealed to AC. New application was filed effective day after 1st ALJ denial. New case was approved by SS almost immediately. After 1 year of 1st ALJ denial, it was remanded back to ALJ by AC and combined both 1st and 2nd applications. Have been receiving benefits for 18 months that are now in jeopardy if ALJ rules against both applications. AC cited the inconsistency of 2nd approval effective day after 1st ALJ denial, along with judge's not giving enough weight to psychiatrists RFC and not considering my alcoholism ( I never admitted to even drinking in 1st hearing???).
Has anyone been thru this or know anyone who has? what was the outcome? What should I expect? As far as I know, SS nor AC or ALJ have asked for any additional medical reports, although MRI showing degenerative disc disease was forwarded to AC a year ago. My case is a combined psych/physical.

Do you have a lawyer helping you through this ?

If you were drinking during the ssdi application process, that may have impacted their decision(s).

From http://www.disabilitylawyers.com/res...for-alcoholism

"Social Security will try to determine if your alcoholism contributes to your disability (this is called a drug or alcohol addiction (DAA) determination). If so, you will not be granted disability benefits. But it doesn’t matter if your past drinking caused the condition, for example, alcoholic hepatitis of the liver brought on by drinking, just whether your current drinking is exacerbating the problem.

Consider an example. You have severe heart disease and apply for Social Security disability benefits because you can’t work as a result of your condition. If your drinking is found to exacerbate your heart disease, you won’t be granted disability benefits. However, if the SSA’s medical consultant believes that stopping drinking would not improve your condition, then your alcoholism is “immaterial,” or irrelevant to your case, and you could be approved."


And from another page on that site: http://www.disabilitylawyers.com/res...alcoholism-aff

"If you have physical or mental problems other than your alcoholism or drug addiction that are disabling, and the problems would clearly exist even if you stopped drinking or using drugs, you should qualify for disability benefits. This is true whether or not your drinking or drug use caused the physical or mental problems in the first place."

"They key in either case is that your drinking or drug dependence can’t exacerbate the problem. In SSA terms, the medical consultant assigned to you by the SSA will determine whether your drinking or drug use is a “contributing factor material to the determination of disability"

I had a suicide attempt using tanquilizers and alcohol prior to filing. At the hearing, I said I had not had a drink since the incident. The ALJ, in his unfavorable report, made no mention of alcohol abuse. It was the AC who used that as one of 2 reasons for remanding the case back to the ALJ. The other reason was the ALJ didn't give the psychiatrist and general practioners's RFC's enough weight in his ruling. I think it was just their excuse for remanding the case since the 2nd application was approved effective the day after the denial. Maybe they were embarrassed. Whatever their reason, now its been remanded to probably the same ALJ who denied it in the first place, with a chance to overturn the approval.