Social Security Disability Filing after LTD
 

I have CRPS and need to apply very soon for social security disability. I will have the option of utilizing the group my LTD insurance plan offers for filing and following me through the social security disability process. It is no cost to me if I use their attorney. I would like to know if others have used this type of service through their LTD insurance carrier and if you think it was a good idea or a bad mistake! Thank you!

What?????? They don't take their fee off the top of your back pay if you win? :eek:

*wear are my smelling salts?*

I would file first for LTD they will invariably require you to file for SSD. I am assuming you will get approved for LTD and since it normally takes much more time to get approved for SSD you would benefit by having the income from your LTD plan while you go through the hoops with SSD. Plus, once you do get approved for SSD even if your offset for LTD payments hits the max, the LTD plan will pay a minimum of $100/month.

Regarding using the LTD carriers group to help with the process of obtaining SSD. They should help you with no cost but please double check. The reason they offer this service is because SSD payments will offset the payments they make to you under your plan so of course they want to help you get approved!

Good Luck

Thx Zookester! I have just been approved for LTD payment through my prior employment policy. It was a long road, but my claim is approved! And yes I understand the LTD carriers group will help me now, at no cost to me. The attorney of their choice would get paid by my insurance carrier because it helps the LTD insurance carrier to get me approved for ss, so they get the offset of payment from social security. However, I wanted to know if anyone has heard any cautions about going this route. I am just concerned because if you get something for free, the old saying is "you get what you paid for". I must decide very soon if I want to use the service offered by the LTD insurance carrier or hire my own attorney that I pay for myself. Money is a concern but the most important thing is that I get social security benefits approved. Zookester, have you, or anyone else here, been in my situation and could you share if yours was a positive or negative outcome by using the LTD carrier's group and their attorneys? Many tx!

I'm glad you got approved for the LTD congrats on that aspect!

Here is a few things to consider. Often your LTD benefit amount is much higher than what you would get from SSD and if that is the case with you then it would make sense to file for SSD on your own without any attorney. Or if you would rather have an attorney do it for the sake of hassle then I would definitely choose the one offered through your plan. (please read your plan through carefully and if you don't have a copy of it then you would need to ask for it in writing.) If on the other hand your LTD is much less than what you would receive through SSD then for speed it might be better to use an attorney. As you mentioned the LTD carrier has motivation to help you get approved so this shouldn't cause any issues the bonus is that from what you said you wouldn't have to pay them out of any benefit amount.

FYI - you will regularly need to provide your LTD carrier with updated medical records and other forms of documentation to support your claim even after being approved. This can vary from every 3 months to 6 months or more depending on the carrier and the language of your policy. So, my advice is to keep copies of all your medical records, medication lists and a journal of your limitations affecting daily living as you go along to make that request easier to fulfill when the time comes.

Hope that helps,
Tessa

This is an occasion where it is much preferred to use the free legal service because the LTD company is not limited to how much they can be billed by an attorney. --Whereas if you hire an attorney on your own, he or she is limited to only receiving a percentage of your back pay.

If this is confusing, call me.

thx LitLove!! - will call you this weekend ... I will send you an email just to confirm your phone no is the same.

Let me also share some additional insight from one attorney (an LTD atty that does not do SS disability;I asked him in an effort to get an unbiased opinion). I talked to him late today. I asked him (I will call him Jim) his thoughts on pros and cons to using the no cost attorney offered to me by the LTD insurance carrier versus me hiring my own attorney. Jim had pros, and the cons he shared were: you will have to sign multiple disclosures; you will not have much control; the atty, although he should be motivated to get benefits so they get paid, may do half *** job, odds are he will likely not be as forthright, nor as communicative with you as a separate atty firm would be. Jim said if you are depending alot on getting ss and medicare, it is best to hire your own atty.

Jim continued, they will give the LTD insurance carrier everything they develop, whereas if you are in total control, you might opt not to give the LTD insurance carrier everything.

Any personal actual experience from you members is also most appreciated! tx

You need to find out where the LTD is going to refer you. Many LTD companies use Allsup--a non attorney rep option. You should check them out regardless. Generally, the reps are former SS employees.

You might want to file on your own. You're capable of being an excellent advocate for yourself. Many attorneys won't represent you until the ALJ hearing stage.

I will tell you my experience, but it is kinda opposite of what you are going thru. I have RSD/CRPS throughout most of my body and my last day worked was Dec 28, 2012. My employer had STD and LTD benefits. I was denied STD benefits and appealed several times. I was finally approved STD benefits in Dec and LTD benefits were approved the following week....it only took a year :mad: While in the process of filing my appeals, I went ahead and applied for Social Security Disability. I applied in April 2013 and was approved on first application and within three months. I filed my SSDI claim on my own. I had all of my medical records because of filing for STD/LTD, so I am sure that helped. I have a friend who is a disability analyst at Social Security and she told me not to get an attorney until it reaches the hearing stage. She said that attorneys delay the entire process and do nothing but cause problems. She said once an attorney is involved, everything has to go thru the attorney. They probably delay things purposely to increase their payout. She did not have anything about my claim being approved, my claim was actually farmed out to another state because of the huge backlog.

I tried to find an attorney to handle my STD/LTD appeals and only found one who was willing to help, but his fee was $4,000 up front. What incentive would he have if he received his full fee up front...no thank you!! I filed all of my appeals on my own, so glad I did.

It was a hard, stressful process, but it paid off doing it myself. I did not have to pay anyone! I know you will not have to pay the LTD insurance carriers attorneys, but they may get paid their hefty fee from the insurance company no matter what they do or how long they take. It is hard to say. I would definitely check them out, research them and ask many questions. You have to feel comfortable with it.

Good Luck!!
Nanc