GBS and Social Security Disability

    • Anonymous
      October 23, 2006 at 2:11 am

      Okay all,

      I finally caved in and went to Social Security.

      I applied for disability. My questions is: Have any of you gone the disability route?

      I have the BEST disability lawyer in AZ.

      Just wondering.

      Sean

    • Anonymous
      October 23, 2006 at 8:30 am

      Hi sean, hows everything? haven’t seen you on in a while. i was a state employee and i am getting disability through the state. i was approved the first time but i have to go to my neuro 4 times a year to have paper work filled out. then at the end of the year i have to have a recheck by the state dr who gets final say as to my future disability approval-i only see him once a year. i have heard it is sometimes difficult to get disability from ss. there are alot of people who can’t get the approval the first time, ss makes them go thru another #@** just to get the approval. i’m praying yours will be a short quick journey. Good Luck and take care.

    • Anonymous
      October 23, 2006 at 9:19 am

      Sean.

      I applied for and eventually was declared disabled. The process is slow, I always knew the government was slow, but not quite like this. November 3rd is my 3 year helliversary of being hospitalized with CIDP, at the 2 year mark I started receiving my monthly SSI/SSD checks. Coming up on year 3 and I am still waiting for the 2 years of retroactive pay.

      I tried going it alone but finally gave in and got a lawyer, I was glad I did. The process as I said is slow, frustrating and alot of work, let the lawyer do it for you as you are, the amount of money they can get is capped anyway.

      Be patient and best of luck to you. If I can help in anyway email me jerimyschilz at hotmail.com

      Jerimy

    • Anonymous
      October 23, 2006 at 11:16 am

      i was approved immediately. didn’t need to even bother with the lawyer, but i did just in case. unfortunately you have to wait 6 months without pay. once they see the diagnosis of gbs, they usually approve you. i gave them all info. in date order. spinal taps, chemotherapy, i.v.i.g., etc. they never even called my drs. to check it out. hope you get approved as quickly as i did.

    • Anonymous
      October 26, 2006 at 6:59 am

      Sean,

      I tried to bring up the weblink for this but couldn’t.

      Winter 2004/05 GBSFI Newsletter, [I]The Communicator,[/I] [B]Understanding Social Security and Disability Rules,[/B] By Owen Katzman, Administrative Law Judge, Philadelphia Office of Hearings and Appeals

      The concept of disability as used in the Social Security Act is really quite elementary, but it differs from more well known concepts of disability as used in Workers Compensation cases. In workers comp cases, the worker has to prove that he/she cannot perform his/her past job. Under the Social Security Act, the claimant must prove that he/she cannot perform any job that exists in substantial numbers in the national economy.

      A “disability” can be physical or psychological in nature, or a combination of both. Your disability must be established by medical evidence. You cannot just walk into the agency and pronounce yourself disabled; you must establish your disability by medical evidence (in the form of treatment notes from doctors or psychologists, along with appropriate testing, like x-rays, MRIs, cardiograms, EEGs). Once you show that you have a medical condition, the agency will accord greater weight to your complaints about what you can and cannot do, so long as your complaints are reasonably consistent with the medical evidence.

      Procedurally, there are multiple levels of appeal available to an unsuccessful claimant. Don’t just assume that a denial at the first step is the end for you. Agency statistics show that more than half of all appeals filed at every appellate level are successful.

      Initially, your claim will be evaluated by a State agency formally designated by the Social Security Administration. That State agency employs doctors whose job it is to evaluate the medical documents and other materials that a claimant submits. In most states, a person who is denied can seek reconsideration, and a different doctor employed by the State agency will take another look at the case. If the case is denied at the reconsideration level, you can appeal and ask for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). (The reconsideration process has been eliminated in some states and may be eliminated in all states in the near future.) Your hearing before the ALJ is usually the only time a claimant can appear in person and explain the facts of the case.

      After the ALJ issues a decision, there is one appeal left within the agency and several levels of appeal within the Federal court system. [B]END[/B]

      Hope this helps in some way.

      Best regards.

      Jethro

    • Anonymous
      October 27, 2006 at 3:53 pm

      Well, I decided to go the lawyer route.

      He is confident in my case….salivating all over it in fact.

      So, I will keep y’all posted.

    • Anonymous
      October 27, 2006 at 5:15 pm

      Hi,

      All you can do is make a choice and go for it. The reason for ‘the salivating all over it’ by the lawyer is, like most, it’s 15 minutes of work asking the doc for one missing document that will complete your qualifiers. Of which there are four, I believe, that SS has to have up front. Probably spotted it at first glance with your case. Recovered money, taking 25% of that, is standard across the country for lawyers to charge. Is that about right with your lawyer? Price may have gone up since mine was approved. Keep us posted.

    • Anonymous
      October 27, 2006 at 7:55 pm

      The maximum amount that the lawyer can get is capped so the most they can get is $4000 or something like that, regardless of how much your retroactive is. I ended up being owed something like 2 years of retroactive and my lawyer just got the max amount.

    • Anonymous
      November 6, 2006 at 6:25 pm

      Well…the good news is…things are on cruise control now.

      The rep from Soc Sec said I was “The most prepared applicant” she had seen in a while.

      I was diagnosed 2 years ago, and thus won’t be on the LONG wait some have experienced…so, that is good news I guess.

    • Anonymous
      November 7, 2006 at 12:51 am

      sean my fingers are crossed for you. 🙂

    • Anonymous
      November 7, 2006 at 10:59 am

      That is great news Sean, glad to hear that.

      Jerimy

    • Anonymous
      November 7, 2006 at 9:44 pm

      [QUOTE]The maximum amount that the lawyer can get is capped…Jerimy[/QUOTE] The Administrative Law Judge has the power to award more than the capped amount. I assume it depends on how complicated, and to what degree the Judge feels the attorney worked on the case.

      Jethro