He is doing a light duty version of his previous VERY PHYSICAL job. There are MANY jobs that are sedentary or not physically challenging, so he wouldn't require a 'light duty' version of them.

Finz there are people i know that were placed on light duty , were forced to stay on light duty, applied and were approved all while they are on light duty. you are making a blanket statement that if you are on light duty it is proff that you can do some job and i am telling you that i know from personal experience that that is not always the case.

obviously the change isnt to favor the claimant.

ELA, On the whole regarding this issue.....I'm not saying anything.....I passed on what SSA says.

Regarding light duty specifically, I have not said no one on light duty can get SSDI. I have repeated what SSA says about anyone who can do SGA and pointed out that there are jobs out there which are not very physical so they would meet thesame physical requirements as what would be considered light duty in another job.

I was a home care/hospice nurse. There were occassions in the past that I was on light duty, like after I was in a car accident while pregnant and at risk for preterm birth. They had me reviewing charts. That was my light duty assignment. That was the same job as all of the nurses who worked in Quality Assurance did every single day. The same job. It was light duty compared to what I normally did, but it was a 'regular' job in inself.

Or....to put it another way, if you explain to me exactly what your friends who were on light duty did in an 8 hour shift, I bet I can name a job which would have the same level of physical activity. Think about it.....there are jobs for security people that just involve sitting or standing while watching security cameras and making a phone call if you see something hinky. That would be considered easier than the light duty that I did.

I couldn't do that easy security job now. If I could, I'd be doing that(and making more money than I am now) rather than collecting SSDI. I'm not saying Lana could do that job. I AM asking if he can do a supervisory job now, which is light duty compared to what he used to do, why couldn't he watch the cameras and make a phone call ?

[QUOTE=finz;747682]
I couldn't do that easy security job now. If I could, I'd be doing that(and making more money than I am now) rather than collecting SSDI.


you and me both

the light duty these guys were doing often involved them going to physical therapy during their tour or to doctors or for treatments besides whatever else they were assigned. what they were assigned varied widely, its a large organization.

finz, I understand the points you are making. And yes, in most cases a person can move from a physical job to a non-physical job when they have health problems. With me, I get pain in my knee and low back pain when I am standing and moving around and I get the Sciatica pain when I sit down. So my day consists of balancing the time I can stand and the time i can sit to get through the day. I cannot do this for much longer. When this job is over I will still be employed but I will be expected to be more active and I will just not be able to do it.

[QUOTE=echoes long ago;747702]*****************************************

But you know that was their employer just being nice to them, right ? If they were going to the doctors and doing therapy within their work day, they were NOT in fact working a full time light duty job.

Laga....pain is a big 'issue' with trying to get approved for SSDI.

I ABSOLUTELY understand what you are saying in that regard as it is pain that limits my activity too. I did eventually prevail with SSDI, but it was a tough 3 year battle. The SSA seem only to want to hear that we can't sit or stand because of an objective reason.....not that we technically can stand, but are limited because of pain.

Knowing that and SSA's own policies regarding if you can work, I would not apply while I was still working.

Obviously, many people here disagree with that.

You have to do what you think is right.

I will not apply while I am still working, only after I get the knee done. I don`t think it will have to be to much of an objective call on SSD`s part. I have x-rays and a MRI that shows my lower spine is now corkscrew shape because of degenerative changes.

I think its going to come down too if you can stand or not stand for 6 out of 8 hrs. You stated earlier that you were able to stand for an hour at a time on a bad knee,so I would think a replacement knee would allow you to stand for longer periods.