From KIDX in Idaho:
This is 45-year-old Susan Mattson.
She's worked for over 27 years at Basic American Foods in Shelly.
Susan's survived two aneurysms and several seizures.
But she may soon loose her home and a farm that's been in the family for 137 years.
Susan Mattson: "The week of my brain aneurysm I had almost 100 thousand Dollars saved and 55 thousand dollars worth of cattle. The cattle are gone and the savings is almost gone."
Her medical conditions have cost her almost everything she has, not to mention her health.
Susan Mattson: "An average day for me is very very painful, depressing and most of all I hate my government."
She's been turned down for Social Security disability three times now and has filed for a federal judge to hear her appeal.
The one-time athlete has never taken advantage of the system
And she has one question.
Susan Mattson: "Why do I continue to be denied government disability? Why? I want someone to tell me why."
One doctor has sent letters and medical records to the government on her behalf since 2006.
Dr. William Domarad: "I see her for an ongoing neurological condition for which she takes medicines every day."
Susan also suffers from chronic rheumatoid arthritis and has had hip replacement surgery twice.
Dr. William Domarad: "I believe that she should qualify for disability. I believe that she's disabled."
Susan has survived having her right hip replaced twice, a broken back and a many other injuries.
She continues work full-time at the potato processing plant and looks forward to the day when she'll get an answer to her question.
Social Security Officials would not comment on her case.
Yes, I know. If she has been working full time all along, she is supposed to be denied. Probably, she has not been working the entire time. That is one of the problems with the lengthy delays at Social Security. Claimants make efforts, sometimes heroic, to go back to work. Usually, the claimants cannot sustain the employment. Occasionally, the employment is deleterious to the claimant's health. It can often be a significant complication to the Social Security disability claim.
1 comment:
It may sound like a catch 22 but if she is still working full time, she does not qualify for disability benefits. SSA has to follow the current definition of disability which means she can't work for at least one year or her disability will result in death. She needs to talk to someone from SSA so that they can explain the situation to her and her doctor. There are questions to consider, for example, is she really able to perform her job or is her employer subsidizing her wages.It is a shame that she hates the government because we really are there to help. But there are rules to follow. If she has access to the web, have her check out SSA.gov.
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