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DISABILITY APPLICATION PROCESS

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A forum to discuss the Disability Application Process and learn from member's experiences internationally.

Location: subject-specific group
Members: 30
Latest Activity: Apr 22

OVERVIEW OF APPLICATION PROCESS

Filing for disability insurance isn't necessarily a "crisis" in itself. But job loss for many people is. Thus you may need to apply for help at a time when you are otherwise in the middle of a mess. You might find yourself dealing with a lot of distractions while you're trying to get financial help for your day-to-day expenses.

The disability process is different from country to country. In the US, it is also different for private disability insurance (which you have paid for, or which was provided through an employer) versus for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The central "contract" is the same. In return for having paid in a monthly insurance premium, an insurance company or government agency will partially replace your income for some identified period of time, after a medical condition makes it impossible for you to work.

For both public and private insurance, there is a waiting period after you have been forced to stop working, before you can apply for disability compensation (for SSDI it is five months). To qualify for disability under SSDI, you'll need to go through an evaluation called "Residual Functional Capacity" or RFC, and demonstrate a level of disability which will keep you from working for at least a year. There is also a maximum amount of money that you are allowed to earn from occasional or part time employment, without a decrease in your SSDI benefit. Disability payments and allowances for other outside income are generally not high. But everything helps.

In the US, it is important to know that the SSDI application process may involve as many as three stages which might require a year or more to get through. To start, you need to go to your nearest Social Security Administration office for pamphlets which describe what you do and what documents you need at each of these stages.

For the first two rounds of the process, you won't need a lawyer and in my opinion you might be well advised not to hire one. What the attorneys don't want you to know is that a Social Security representative can assist you with the paperwork by asking you the questions and then they fill in your answers, either in person or in a phone interview. You don't have to do anything. Then the Social Security personnel send requests to your doctors for your records. You are not involved in that process at all. Additionally, your attorney actually doesn't do anything until a denial is made and you request a hearing and they don't even spend a moment filling out your paperwork - their paralegals do. I was able to be approved on my first application without an attorney and it saved me thousands of dollars.

A lawyer' fee for representing you in the SSDI process can be determined in one of two ways, both of them set by the Social Security Administration, not State law. The nominal fee is 25% of any award that you get of SSDI payments previously denied, up to a maximum of $6,000 dollars. However, the lawyer may also petition the Social Security Administration for some other level of compensation after an award is made.

If you must change disability lawyers in the middle of a case, things can become both complicated and expensive. For background reading see The Social Security Insider. Be aware also, that some lawyers don't support first-time applications because they feel the awards may not be large enough to cover their expenses. In any event, if you and/or a family member can do this process for yourself without a lawyer's help, you might come out better financially.

Your disability application will need to be backed by letters from your doctor (or doctors). These letters must identify your medical diagnosis and describe any past or present treatments that have a bearing on your ability to work. The doctor will also describe your symptoms and reactions to treatment, showing how these symptoms make it impossible for you to take regular employment -- even working from home. Many patients report being required to be interviewed by another doctor who is appointed to evaluate you and confirm that the symptoms and issues in your application actually exist. To be awarded disability, you must demonstrate that you are expected to be unable to work for at least a year. And the doctors who support your application need to be considered mainstream practitioners. The findings of a Chiropractor or Herbalist will have much less credibility than those of an MD, Doctor of Osteopathy or Ph.D. Psychologist.

About a third of all first-time SSDI applications are granted on the first try. Another 10-20% are granted on a reconsideration application. The rates of successful application vary sharply from US State to State. Numbers quoted on the website of "The Ultimate Disability Guide" vary from a high of 52% approval on a first application in Hawaii, to a low of 23% in South Carolina.

If you apply for SSDI and are denied, and then you apply for reconsideration and are again denied, there is a second level of review before an Administrative Law Judge. At this level you should be represented by an attorney. There is yet a third level of review in an Appeals Council. Theoretically, you could go even higher than the Appeals Council in Federal Court, but such legal actions are quite rare.

Be aware that once you have "won" an SSDI case, you also need to be mentally prepared for a periodic review by the Social Security Administration to determine whether you continue to be disabled. If all of this looks like an obstacle course to you, then you have a lot of company among disability applicants.

For additional information and insights, I suggest that you visit the Ultimate Disability Guide, above.

Discussion Forum

medical documentation for SSD

Started by GoAskAlice. Last reply by kg Apr 6. 4 Replies 0 Likes

I'm getting ready to apply for SSD. I have all my medical records spanning 3 years. Needless to say I have nearly 500 pages of medical records.My question is: What is the best way to present all the…Continue

SSDI is different than SSD

Started by GoAskAlice. Last reply by GoAskAlice Mar 14. 4 Replies 0 Likes

Let me first say I am just starting my research and application process for Social Security Disability. There seems to be confusion in the postings on this thread. That is SSD and is federal through…Continue

Tags: Disability

Is this done ? Disability for TN/Bipolar/ADHD/SEVERE ANXIETY DISORDER

Started by Phoebe. Last reply by Lisa (iamrite) Jan 19. 8 Replies 0 Likes

Hello. I was not diagnosed with any of these conditions after I left work 2 years ago for retirement. I had worked from the age of 16. My last employment was for 17 years. I do not collect…Continue

Tags: ADHD, Anxiety, retired, Bipolar, Work

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Moderator Comment by Richard A. "Red" Lawhern on April 13, 2013 at 4:39pm: Johanna, suggest that you read through both the introductory text above, and the links embedded in it. There is also a section on disability in our article on "Coping With Crisis", under the Face Pain Info tab of our menus. The more you read, the more you'll be able to leverage from the input of other people in this group.

I wish you wellness.

Red Lawhern, Ph.D.

Resident Research Analyst, LwTN

Comment by kg on April 13, 2013 at 3:08pm: So, two more batches (like 40 pages) of questions from SS last week, that took 3-4 days to fill out, xerox and send in . Making headway. Exhausting, but I expected that. Good thing they repeat questions, because I found an error on one of my answers already submitted.

Comment by GoAskAlice on March 30, 2013 at 8:09am: Tim, you stated-

"I really thought this ailment was a simple bump in the road of life as others I have encountered and a pill or simple procedure would get back up to full speed to work in today's environment. I now know that was merely a dream on my part."

That was my thoughts too. I think all the doctors (N,NS,GP,etc) lead us to believe that. My journey started with a meningioma (brain tumor) and the NS told me I would be off work 4-6 weeks after brain surgery. All the doctors, and their national recognized experts in their varies fields, act like it's no big deal. Or worst, that it's all mental on our part. In hindsight I now believe we are lead down the path of unrealistic expectations.

Comment by kg on March 29, 2013 at 6:23pm: Yeah, it's 4 pm and I'm done! Let's see, I started thinking about filing for disability last Jan., collecting records and finally deciding to file, read tons of information, some out-dated or inaccurate. At least done with the on-line apps.. They did give me the address of the nearest SS office to mail or take my medical records to after I pushed submit on-line. However, before I saw that I talked to two different agents on the national phone line who gave me conflicting advice on where to send them. I have a couple of short records to copy and if I can get it speedily, my PCP's records. Mail them and pay for it, or get lost trying to find the place in the next town (even with a map, I'm hopeless, worse the past 5 yrs, plus the anxiety involved). I wasn't able to get an attorney to help with the application part, but if you can, it's worth it. You still have to look up a ton of personal and medical info on your own. I think I just stressed too much over the process, was so worried I would answer a question wrong and would be automatically denied, plus was anal about reading everything I could...who knows, maybe that well help in the end. I'll keep you updated on the next step. Should I be upfront and tell them that I didn't have a Dr who would fill out the RCF form or hope it's missed in all the medical records I send them?

Comment by kg on March 29, 2013 at 3:17pm: Oh, criminy, I accidently erased my whole message. I feel like crying. Well, here's the short version. Thought I was done or just about filling on-line disability, but found I had to fill out the adult disability report also. That took me two days to do, leaving just the remarks today. So I hand wrote four steno pages of remarks, only to find out that I am only allowed 2000 characters, including spaces. So I have to whittle it down. It's almost like they shoot you down before you can even tell your whole story.

My question is: All the doctor reports, MRI's etc. that I have made copies of, where do I send them? I called the main SSA office and they said to send it to my local, well one town away, office. But eveything I've read had told me to send it somewhere further down the line. Does anyone with expertise know where to send them? I have no case number. I'm afraid it will get lost in the pile, since I am submiting my app on-line. thanks.

Comment by kg on March 21, 2013 at 11:58pm: I'm exhausted, collecting all evidence I can. Had a problem today, my PCP who was supportive, has decided not to fill out the RCF and since my neuro won't, I don't have any Dr. back-up on paper. See a new neurosurgeon in the same group as my last one early next month, well see what he has to say about everything. Today I finished writing out my "remarks", where I have 750 characters to describe my problem and the problems it causes. Not much room, but after two re-writes, got it done on paper, need to type it in still.. Have decided to finish filling out on-line I think, since I don't have anything exciting to hand in by hand. Save it for the interview or exam or appeal if it comes to that. Will call SS and cancel my apt. I was nervous about filling in my application in person anyhow, and since it's basically done. no sense in getting lost in the next city over, looking for the SS office. So, that's my update. Any comments?

Comment by pamf on March 4, 2013 at 8:06pm: Hey KG! At least things are moving..... and in the right direction too. So, there is a company out there, they have a website and they too do it all for you. Its www.allsupp.com . Go giver a look and see if it'll work for ya..

Comment by kg on March 4, 2013 at 6:27pm: I've gotten all my records except the one I want the most, my neurologist, (but I did have a good apt with my PCP and she supports me). Got the neurosurgeons, dentists, endodontists, and acupucturists and have started filling out the disability request online as I couldn't find a lawyer to help, just like lots of people have said, they only help after you've been denied. The application may only take a healthy person 30 min. to fill out, but I've been at it all day and am exhausted and still have a long ways to go.Everytime I call SS for help on a question, I'm put on hold for 10 minutes.My face hurts, I'm ready to stop and pick it up Wed. I wish I had a lawyer to do this.

Comment by pamf on February 18, 2013 at 5:56pm: Hi kg ..
Tim. . Reading your story sounds exactly like my life. After a 25 yr. lucrative telecom career, now what do I do to fill my days? I was able to get long-term disability thru my employer but now the insurer is pushing me to file with social security. So like you, Tim, I've filed with an atty. last month. I'm hoping the ride is smooth. I know that anytime I have mentioned to anyone who has any understanding of medical issues or neurological issues, my struggle with TN the reaction is always the same. "Oh my God" then it's "whatever you need ".
So in short KG, get all your records from your doctors. They are just a phone call away. And you have to weighb whether or not this neurologist is giving you a sense of comfort, a level of trust and frankly at this point telling you what you want to hear? There are plenty of Dr's out there. Maybe get a second opinion about your diagnosis and filing... I was diagnosed in 2001. I went 11 years working and AGAINST my neurologist's advice I did the MVD. And damn if he wasn't right. There was no loop around the nerve. So I did that for nothing. I then did the Gamma Knife. FOR NOTHING. So now I am back to where I started from. Oral meds and praying everyday I don't get that shock. No one knows the anxiety but us.
At least there is us... keep us posted...

Comment by kg on February 18, 2013 at 5:06pm: Gosh I hoped someone else was in this mess of disability, should I or shouldn't I ? Feeling guilty, feeling tired and not wanting to get into the mess. Have only received records from one out of five places asked. Do I have to wait for records? I heard that made it go faster if I had them when I went to the SS office to apply. Is it better to apply on-line? Then I guess I don't even need them yet. I contacted a laywer today and was told I had a good case, but they only help if you need and appeal. Is it different from law office to law office? My next appoint with my neurologist (who is not behind me in filing) is not until mid March and I still haven't even gotten an appoint with my neurosurgeon. I've finally decided to apply, but when and how? Geez I'm a mess. Help.