Originally Posted by puppy66

Thank you for the information. If I make it through this whole ordeal it will be a miracle. How have you stayed sane through all of this? I find myself obsessing night and day over the unfairness of my hearing and I keep asking myself repeatedly why did this judge do this to me. I was denied at step one because I am working a few hours a week, which I might add some days about kills me but my kids need to eat. There are so many factors that she failed to acknowledge. Anyway, since the unfavorable decision, I have spent a great deal of time researching the laws, etc.., which I know I need to stop doing because it is consuming me. Just curious how you've managed to keep fighting and pushing forward? You are an inspiration for me to keep going. I truly believe I have all the medical evidence to support my claim and the work I have been doing truly is not at the SGA level and it is a very sheltered situation.

Thanks again for replying to me.

Originally Posted by russ1956x

Maybe Legalmania or anyone else can give an opinion. I am waiting for my 3rd hearing. My case started on 8/2/2004. My claim is for a herniated disk in my back, panic disorder, sleep apnea, hypertention, obesity. In my previous 2 hearings everything went well until we got to step 4 (RFC). The first hearing the VE said I was unable to perform any of my past relevant work. He added that there were "other" jobs that I could do with the RFC of "Sedentary", but could not be specific. The judge denied my case stating that there were jobs in the national economy that I could do. My attorney appealed to the Appeals Council and the case was remanded back to the same judge to be more specific regarding jobs that I could do. The second hearing the VE testified that there were no jobs in the national economy that I could do with my RFC of "Sedentary". By the way, I have working in the Accounts Payable field for the last 25 years working in an office behind a desk. When the VE was asked if there were "other" jobs that I could do, the VE replied "no" and added "with the added limitations, one being that I would need a sit/ stand option every 30 minutes, lift no more than 10 pounds, take a 15 minute break every 2 hours to lie down, he said that with those limitations he would not be able to do the job and he probably would be fired. The judge then without explanation asked the VE if my RFC was changed to "light", would there be jobs? His response was "yes" and cited a number of jobs. I was denied again by the ALJ when he changed my RFC from "Sedentary" to "light" and sited jobs that I could do. I am 55 years old now, and was 48 when I applied. If my RFC was not suddenly changed to "light" from "sedentary" according to the grid rules, I would have qualified for Disability at age 50 (approaching advanced age). My attorney appealed to the Appeals Council again, this time saying that the judge changed my RFC to "light" without any reason other than he did not get the answer we wanted from the VE when asked the hypothetical question. He gave no explanation for the change in his written denial. He changed it to "light" and therefore I would not qualify for disability under the grid rules. The Appeals Council agreed but did not reverse the decision but remanded it to a different ALJ for another hearing. It has been 12 months since the remand and my hearing is now coming up pretty soon. Now I get a letter that they are sending me to see 2 Social Security doctors (1 for my physical issues, and 1 for my mental issues). After the judge receives the reports from the doctors, my 3rd hearing will be scheduled. Now after all of this, my question, lol??? I just wanted an opinion possibly from Legalmania or anybody else what their opinion on all of this is. Should I be worried about the upcoming Social Security Doctor's exams? My attorney tells me that if my RFC is changed back to "Sedentary" I should be approved. I have written backing of all of my doctors that support the "sedentary" RFC. Again, all of the aspects of my case have been proven through step 3. We are stuck at step 4. I know I wrote a book, but sometimes I just need to air things out.

Thanks for reading and any responses are welcomed.

Russ :-)

Originally Posted by gilbert

russ,can't believe your going on the 8th year with your disibility claim and 3rd hearing..that's a long time..you must have a lot of patients because most people probably would have given up at this point.don't know if you read kelley's post on how she applied for disibility benefits in august and was recently approved after a few short month's.i told her in my reply that has to be one of the quickest approvals for benefits on this forum since most people such as yourself have been waiting years to try and win benefits.i told her that she should feel very fortunate about winning benefits so quickly and iam sure you would agree.gilbert

Originally Posted by puppy66

I agree with you on that one. She should feel very blessed and thankful. When I read her news, I will be honest to say that I had mixed emotions (decided because I am only human).... On one hand, I am very happy for her and that she did not have go through this grueling process, but on the other hand, I can't help but to think how could she be approved so quickly when some of us have legitimate cases as well and have to play this torturous waiting game, only to have the rug pulled out from under by the hands of one individual, that being the ALJ. Why some and not others? I know everyone's case has different circumstances and medical issues but it seems that some of the blatantly obvious disabled are having the door closed in their face. I feel like it is the SSDI administration's mission to strip a person down to nothing, until they have no sense of self or integrity left. Am I becoming more bitter about this, perhaps so!! How to let is go and come to terms with it is what I am desperately trying to figure out. I am stuck and can't seem to get past the disbelief.