[finallywon01]

I just wanted to say to anyone applying for disability to NOT give up. I had a horrible attorney at my first hearing (applied in 2-09 & lost hearing in July 2010). Another attorney agreed to help me after I wrote him a 2 page letter. He appealed to the Appeals Council in West Virginia in August 2010. My case was remanded & I won at the hearing with the same judge. My pcp and cardiologist both wrote narratives and my pcp did a RFC this time. DON'T give up. Make sure you have support from your main Dr. You HAVE to have this. God bless.

severe cervical stenosis
fibromyalgia
rheumatic heart disease
depression
hypokelemia
SVT/Mitral Valve Prolapse
GERD

[bunz50]

Originally Posted by finallywon01

I just wanted to say to anyone applying for disability to NOT give up. I had a horrible attorney at my first hearing (applied in 2-09 & lost hearing in July 2010). Another attorney agreed to help me after I wrote him a 2 page letter. He appealed to the Appeals Council in West Virginia in August 2010. My case was remanded & I won at the hearing with the same judge. My pcp and cardiologist both wrote narratives and my pcp did a RFC this time. DON'T give up. Make sure you have support from your main Dr. You HAVE to have this. God bless.

severe cervical stenosis
fibromyalgia
rheumatic heart disease
depression
hypokelemia
SVT/Mitral Valve Prolapse
GERD

Congrats finallywon01 that's great news! You may get more responses on the social security board tho.
Bunz

[neema84]

Originally Posted by bunz50

Congrats finallywon01 that's great news! You may get more responses on the social security board tho.
Bunz

So i have been diagnosed with bipolar, major depression, ptsd/anxiety w schizophrenic epeisodes. I applied 10/09, denied. I had my 1st alj hearing 2/24/12, denied. The ssa dr said i had a GAF of 59, moderately impaired. My dr said I was GAF 49, severely impaired. I believe I can get a remand, because he said my dr said I was chasing SSA $. But i dont think so cuz he the one wrote schizo and severely impaired. Does any1 win at a 2nd hearing? This alj went against 2 seperate Dr.s both saying i was at least moderately prevented from work, giving 'great weight' to diagnoses he wanted to use, but not to diagnoses that coincide with my claim. Should I get a 3rd dr opinion? I have Binder&Binder, should i get a new lawyer? The denial was pretty harshly worded. He mentioned my criminal history as a reason not to grant it (which I feel is bias and against my civil rights), and totally misquoted everything i said. Should i just quit? Plz help Can a judge give no weight to 2 doctors opinion, one of which is a ssa Dr?

[Leesa]

I wouldn't give up. Keep trying. Did you have Binder & Binder the first time?

Don't give up. YOu could still get approved. They shouldn't discriminate against you due to your past. m That's illegal, and if you can PROVE they did, you can sue the daylight out of them.

Best of luck & let us know how it comes out. God bless. Hugs, Lee

[Spiney95]

I spent the last ten working years in the mental health field. The GAF, while helpful, is subjective at best. One clinician's 50 may be another's 60. It's all about the clinician's perception of your dx., and how it is impacting your level of function. The clinician also determines t he score based on his/her training, experience and bias. 59 is supposedly the higher end of moderate impairment in at least one area of function.....work, education, interpersonal relationships etc.

Also, what might be a cautious score for one dx (or set of dxs) might be wonderful for another. Let's say you have a client with an IQ below 50 and behavior disorders. After skilled talk therapy, family support and a good behavior modification plan, the client's GAF is 59. The client is now having infrequent conflict at home or school or workshop. It's party time. Another client with average cognitive function, and your cluster of problems, would be a concern to me with a 59 GAF that was not improving.

Request another hearing. Get another psych. evaluation from your community mental health clinic. I have little use for the evals. submitted by SSA contract doctors. When I first filed for disability, I had an orthopedic eval. by a local chiropractor. The bozo never laid a hand on me and submitted a report that implied that I was faking my problems. He gave my pain doc a copy of the report he was going to submit and my pain doc called me and asked me to come pick up a copy from him. I waited a week and then called the disability ombudsman, read all of the various reports that private physicians had submitted and the radiology report from my latest MRI. She was appauled when I was finished, particularly concerning the fact that I received no real physical exam. BTW, it may be a coincidense but Bozo lost his contract shortly thereafter.

I know it isn't easy but don't throw in the towel. If Binder and Binder have been representing you from the beginning, dump them. I understand having to get to the hearing stage. They try to wear you down so you will give up. With your dx, I should think you would have been approved at the first hearing.............if your representative was doing his/her job. Good luck.