I have seen a couple of references on other threads lately to Social Security Disability. Makes me wonder how many others have been successful in obtaining benefits dring treatment and post-treatment. Even though we felt we had all of our evidence for need (including letters about the cancer and prognosis issues from the ENT and Radiation Oncologist that were hard for me to read) well presented, my husband was denied benefits (he qualified as far as meeting requirements for what had been paid into his account, etc.)

The financial side has been tough - I have had to pretty much take over the complete financial burden, which is big with 2 kids in college.

Just wondering what others experiences were regarding SSDI.

Thanks,
Anita

Anita,
I don't have much experience with SSDI but I have an attorney in my firm who does so he responded to your question:

"Speaking as an ex-Social Security Office of Hearings and Appeals Attorney, the disability process is a long, complex exercise.

Generally, whether or not someone is disabled is a 5 step analysis:

1) Whether the person applying is working or as the gov. says, "performing substantial gainful activity." If they are, they cannot be disabled.

2) Do they have an impairment that the gov. considers a "Severe Impairment?" In other words, does the impairment impact the person's ability to perform daily activities. (Most impairments are severe and meet this threshold, but it's still a threshold and needs to be met.)

3) Do they have a Listed Impairment? The SSA has listed certain categories of impairments and once you meet the listed impairment, you are found disabled. In order to be of listed severity, the disability is usually incredibly severe.

4) Can the person perform their past work? So, if the claimant has a bad back but used to work a sedentary desk job, they will be denied at this level, because technically, they can still perform sedentary work...

5) If they cannot perform their past work, is there any other job in their general regional area that they can perform. And, here's where most folks lose their case. Just because the claimant has an impairment, doesn't mean they can't perform some sort of work, like ticket taker, cashier, proof reader, etc... So, if the person has an impairment that limits him from speaking, is there any other job out there that someone can do without needing to speak. The gov. will call on vocational experts to provide all types of simple jobs that folks with all sorts of impairments can still perform.

Once a person applies, they can either be approved or denied. If denied, they can ask for a reconsideration. If denied again, they can ask for their case to be taken to the Federal Office of Hearings and Appeals, where an Administrative Law Judge will give them a hearing and again, apply the above 5 steps.

The claimant's need to understand that appealing is part of the process and should not be frowned upon. However, each step takes months and can take at least a year in total from the time the application is filed to the time the person is finally found disabled.

The claimants can seek lawyers and/or consultants to help with the process. But they will pay a percentage of their back pay to the firm that helps them become disabled."

Let me know if either of us can help further.
Amy

Hi Anita,

I had my father in law approved by both SSI&SSA within 2 days of each other.The whole process took about a month.I"ll be happy to share any knowledge I have.Please email me @ patriciagallagher@msn.com .I look forward to hearing from you.

Patty

Hi Anita,
My SSDI claim was approved in less than 30 days also. I am in the regulatory affairs business so I was very careful to review ALL of the filing requirements and bring in all of the supporting documentation. I didn't bring in any letters from the doctor - just actual medical records, i.e., actual diagnosis, scan results, lab tests, anything to validate that this was an actual experience. This is key. If you just show up at the social security office with no documentation - good luck! My claim was forwarded to the State of California which did the actual investigation. I don't think they really care about the prognosis. Your claim is renewed or reviewed periodically. If there is a change, then you are required to report. Cancer fatigue was the justification. It was a cookie cutter. It is hard to be functional at anything when you are asleep or weak most of the time!

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. Yes, Gary, we did supply all the actual records, pathology reports, etc. along with letters from the doctors. It was actually a big project to get all the records from all the different entities involved - along with everything else we were dealing with (as I'm sure you can understand.) I think back to how very sick my husband was for so many, many months and I have difficulty understanding what constitutes a disability - if not this.

Oh well, if the money issues end up being the worst of the lingering effects of all of this, I will be thrilled.

Anita

I went practically crawling into the SS office. I insisted that because of my "compromised immune system" that I couldn't sit in waiting room with all of the "sick" people - I would wait in the car and they would have to come and get me. The State of California people were pretty sympathetic - who knows? I would would try again. Like your husband, there is no way I could have worked for a long time - I deserved SSDI and so does he.

I went practically crawling into the SS office. I insisted that because of my "compromised immune system" that I couldn't sit in waiting room with all of the "sick" people - I would wait in the car and they would have to come and get me. The State of California people were pretty sympathetic - who knows? I would try again. Like your husband, there is no way I could have worked for a long time - I deserved SSDI and so does he.

Hi Anita210,

I had what Gary had as far as type and location of my cancer. I had surgery while Gary had Chemo and Rad.
I applied for SSDI in early October and was approved in late December. I had a pech muscle from my chest used to reconstruct my throat. I had a PEG tube in for nutrition and I was on quite a bit of meds. I was approved for 1515.00 per month starting in January. No back pay. I will receive my 1st check in late Feb for Jan and each month thereafter. When I feel well enough to return to work I will let them know.

Sure seems like your husband would qualify.

If you need more info please email me and we can exchange phone numbers if you want to.
Best of luck. Danny Boy!!!

Dan,
Thanks for your input (and thanks to Gary and Amy, too.)

Now I'm really starting to wonder about my husband's denial. He had surgery and radiation x 37 and chemo x 4. He was in bad shape. But we just run out of energy for dealing with all of this - insurance, etc.

Dan, I am thinking of you and praying for good results tomorrow. I feel confident that you will recieve good news. Part of the downside of this forum, for me, is that, now, I have my husband to worry about and also many other good people on this forum to worry about.

Anita