Hello to all,

I hope someone can help me. I became disabled in March of 04 due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Major Depression Disorder, Fibromyalgia (or "Probable MS, since symptoms are so much alike, neuro and rheumy still are working this out, but for now they dx as Fibro for the sake of disability).

I had an attorney and we went through the many appeals process up to the final one which is the Federal Court appearance. I just received a letter from him saying that he is stepping down as my legal counsel because he thinks we have little chance at winning at the Federal Court stage. Devestated! So I called another attorneys office, gave them as much info as I could, they took two days to go over the info and called back to let me know that they couldn't help me either, but gave me a number for the NC Disability Attorneys number.

What do I do? My first counsel told me that I can refile, go back to work and if that doesn't work, refile again or appeal to the Federal Courts. But should I appeal to the Federal Courts w/o counsel? Oh, someone help me.

There are some days, I can't even wake up b/c of the CFS and other days I hurt so bad from my face, or my arms and legs. I can never hold a job. I would be fired just for my absenteeism.

Thanks for listening and I would appreciate any help...

M

((((((((((((((((((( M ))))))))))))))))))))

I don't have any advice for you. I'm sorry.

I did, however, want to tell you that I'm so sorry for what you're going through and that the attorney would step down in the last leg of this process. That's wrong.

You are in my thoughts at this moment.

KD

sorry about what you are going thru my daughter has fibro/ somedays she can bearly get to work- lives on lyrica the minute she gets home she is in bed until the next day - she is only 20 and it is sad to see her like this/
we got her sleeping under control / and her weight is improving she was down to 90 lbs / i know the pain and discomfort you are going thru/
she goes to yoga and had massages done weeky/
I KNOW YOU DON'T THINK YOU HAVE ANYMORE STRENGHTH TO FIGHT THIS BUT THERE IS AN ANSWER OUT THERE FOR YOU SOMEWHERE

Hi M,

I'm so sorry this has happened to you. I Would call the NC number they gave you and see if they can help. I have also heard of legal aide....called Florida Legal Services here....taking these cases.

I have many illnesses including MS but when I applied and went to my hearing, my only disability was severe clinical depression, and I won my case. It is very important to keep seeing Dr's and documenting. Also, it is very important to always get your own copies of Dr. reports, lab tests, MRIs, etc.

As far as the MS vs the Fibro goes, it is very common to have both. My spinal tap is normal but brain MRI showed plaques and then they ordered Evoked Potential tests which were abnormal and confirmed the MS diagnosis.

I suggest you go to the SSA website and bring up their Blue Book and it gives you listings of their definition of each of your diagnosis that they consider disabilities.

Margie

Contact your congressional aide in your county. They also can and will in most states help. Mine has helped me with my federal workman's comp 3 time and won. Hope this helps.

First, I want to add my "I am sorry" for your pain and frustration.

Have you checked with any local Law Schools? I have heard they help people in cases like yours.

Based on my experience with attorneys, he is saying he doesn't think you will win and doesn't want to put you through the pain (IF he/she are decent human beings).

Some attorneys might say that because they don't think they can make enough money.

My VA case has been struggling along for 20 years. My fault mostly. Just did not have the energy to fight with them. I am contemplating hiring an attorney and giving him all the "past monies" due me. I would hope that would motivate him. My attorney looked at my SSDI case and called me back, saying he wouldn't take my case because it was a slam-dunk. Save my money and file it myself. He was right. I submitted and it was lost. I resubmitted in Sept and got my check in January. Four months. 100% disabled. (Which I am in more than one category).

Could you make that kind of an offer to your old attorney?

He might be telling you he is in over his head too. Hard to say.

So...Law School assistance or offer all of the money you might get in arrears, or better yet, ask the old attorney if he knows of anyone who handles these difficult cases. If he actually makes a referral, the new attorney may owe the old attorney $$$$. So I would ask over the phone or something.

I personally wish we could go to a website to see what a lawyers won-lost record is in these cases. Not totally accurate, but it is one kind of a measuring stick. Maybe go to a search engine, type in your type of case and see if any national chains show up. I am told some law firms make a living on these cases and even have a file on who they might see in court.

Best wishes....you are not alone. I have had "One set of footprints in the sand" for some time.

It is so sad what SSD puts us through! I am sorry to hear that you are in a similar situation as mine was, prior to getting a fully favorable outcome. I fought for 4 years, exhausted the appeal process, and ended up in a hearing. The judge said he would make a decision after reviewing my case, and I finally heard from him a month later, I was finally approved. It was 5 mo. before I got the first mo. payment, and 2 mo. more before I got the backpay. I live in IN where there was a terrible backlog of cases at that time.

My list of diagnosis was a foot long, but at first they said that any one of them by themselves wouldn't be disabling. Not true, but I had to fight the system to get that through to them. I have several chronic conditions that I'll always have, and my spine is shot! Finally, the judge saw exactly what I was living with when I was face to face with him. Since then, things have gotten worse, but I won't bore you with all that.

I understand exactly what you mean when you said that it's almost impossible to find a job that would be flexible on their attendance policy. That doesn't exist! I jokingly said that if they had a cot in back, and gave me the right to come in late, Maybe I could work part time...lol Oh yeah, I would have to find a ride to work, because I don't drive, due to epilepsy...but that isn't disabling either....yeah right.

It's horrible that your attorney dropped your case like that! Sheesh! My impression of his decision is that he felt your case wasn't strong enough to win in the court hearing. Therefore, rather than putting anymore of his time into it, he gave up on you. This is only my impression. Who knows why he did that, but I agree with the others here, that was so wrong!!

With regard to your question about finding another lawyer, I would go ahead and call that number you were given. I'm sure that if you go to the yellow pages there would be lawyers advertisements for what they specialize in, and more than likely there would be lawyers listed that do take SSD cases. Usually those lawyers will take your case on contengency, meaning they won't charge you if you don't win. If you do win, they will only take 25% of your backpay if it totals less than $5,300, and by law cannot take more than $5,300 total for handling your case. I ended up having to go to the nearest big city to find an attorney that handled only SSD cases. I got his name from my caseworker through the medicaid/food stamp office.

I'm not sure if this will help, but wanted to share my experience with you, as it sounded somewhat like what I went through. I truly hope you can find the right attorney, and end up with a fully favorable decision!

Good Luck!
~Kimmy