The Cleveland Plain Dealer is running a piece with recommendations on how disabled people can improve their chances of being approved. I wish I could applaud it but I can't. Here are the recommendations they make that I have trouble with and my reasons for disagreeing:
- A Social Security attorney told them that claimants should print out the questions that Social Security will ask and decide how they'll answer them. I would say, no, just get on with it. Claimants don't need to be told to do this and that before filing a claim. They're already far too inclined to procrastinate. Persons with limited intellectual capacity who also suffer from mental illness file disability claims all the time with no advance preparation. Just get on with it.
- Another Social Security attorney recommended gathering your medical records before you apply. Again, this encourages procrastination. The average Social Security disability claimant has no idea how to gather their medical records or what to gather. As an example, it seems like half of my new clients tell me "I've got all my medical records." They're wrong. All they have are the billing sheets they were given when leaving their doctor's office. Those aren't medical records. They're just billing records which don't help in the least. Social Security and your attorney will gather the records. Just get the claim filed and hire an attorney. Almost everything else will be done for you.
- A third Social Security attorney recommends first getting your doctor on board with your disability claim. I'd rather have that support if possible but it's not essential. I'd say that anywhere from a third to half of my clients don't have that kind of support and I don't care that much. Some doctors think a person has to literally be a quadriplegic or in a persistent vegetative state in order to be disabled. Some think anyone who can't do their past work is disabled. Neither view is correct. Some claimants aren't able to get an opinion because they lack a steady relationship with a physician. Mental illness or poverty often put people in that kind of position. Some physicians tell their patients they'll help with a Social Security disability claim and then don't. I don't care. What's wrong with a person is more important than their physician's opinion. If you tell people they can't win without the help of their physician, you're telling a hell of a lot of very sick people to not file disability claims and that's wrong.
9 comments:
I have to disagree regarding #2. I am a parent and I work a lot with parents whose kids are disabled for a variety of reasons (most often genetic, metabolic disorders, CP and IDD for unknown reasons) and speak with them as they approach age 18. My experience is those who expect SSA to get their records are denied more often than those who have gotten them together. Maybe for those adults with a traumatic onset it's different, but at age 17, parents of disabled kids have a year to look over impact of their kids disability on the activities of daily living (and document them), get schools to do the same and then get a copy and/or have them do their various assessments as the child approaches age 18. They have the time to find those medical records that are relevant to the diagnosis and ADL impacts. For example, if IQ is in the listings, why not give SSA the IQ relevant records instead of hoping SSA gets them. If the listings would like a clinical diagnosis, having one that is dated recently in your hands to give SSA can't hurt. Better SSA confirm what you supply rather than fail to get what they need for whatever reason. But yes, once denied one can't procrastinate waiting for records. But the more relevant information you can give them at the interview in my experience means a better chance at approval or at the worst, a better foundation for the appeal.
My favorite is "My doctor put me out (or will put me out) on disability. As said, I'd rather have the statement from he doctor than not but no one's doctor is able to put them out on disability or deny them disability for that matter for the reasons stated. simply, the law's idea of what is disability rarely match what a doctor thinks disability means.
As to 6:09. Again, there is nothing wrong with having all kinds of medical records and directly submitting them to the SSA. I routinely tell prospective clients to bring me whatever records they have already to our first meeting. But I also tell them to not worry if they don'e and what I really need are the names and addresses of the doctors they see, hospitals they've been in, list of medications, etc. I would never suggest a claimant wait to file until they have those records because even if they follow through on getting them first, before filing or seeing a lawyer, the delay may cost them benefits based on limits to retroactive payments in many cases.
I disagree with your first disagreement, bullet point one.
As a rep who has been doing this for many years, I can't tell you how many times people come to us after a recon denial and I can spot the issue from a mile away. Typically it was someone that rushed through the application and didn't flush out a point. For example, someone that describes their past work incorrectly. Those are the cases that get approved in five minutes when you walk into the court and "clean up" the past work and win with the State Agency limits.
Or the situation where someone rushes through the medical evidence and doesn't name all of their sources. So they end up with a benign RFC from the State Agency.
The online application is daunting, even for me, who has helped a number of folks file. I think it's better for people to do it in small chunks, that way they don't get fatigued.
Of course, this is not great for everyone, like the examples you gave. However, there are a lot of people that could benefit from filling out a practice application.
Two days ago the headline was, why aren’t more of these cases be awarded earlier? It’s obvious that the answer is because there is little emphasis on the quality of the initial application. It’s a gigantic waste of time, money and human misery to not file the best possible application (rather than the earliest possible application).
10:28, it's not either-or. It takes several months for SSA and DDS to make an initial or recon level decision. So it makes sense to protect the filing date so the maximum amount of retroactive benefits are available and then add in medical records and other evidence as the claimant or rep obtains them.
Well if you are an organized person by nature (or more likely in the case of disability, the organized parent, spouse, or child) absolutely compile lists of medical treatment, medications (and who prescribed them), and your work history.
If you aren't broke (rare among claimants) shell out the money for functional capacity testing or neurocognitive testing. Problem is I've not seen either offered for less than $600, though if there is a pending/resolved worker's comp claim functional capacity testing may have been done or be scheduled.
Flat amazing how many people don't consider exams or treatment by worker's comp and jail/prison doctors as medical treatment. Generally the folks at SSA recognize each is very conservative so favorable records from either are gold.
Another big mistake is not getting time and attendance records from the last employer and performance reviews.
Show the agency that the claimant was showing up for work regularly and then started missing around the time they were diagnosed is great evidence. Showing that the employer considered their work satisfactory or better before their diagnosis helps clear any bias that the claimant wasn't a hard worker.
Of course many applicants can't show that even when they have a meritorious case but it should be fleshed out to help those it applies to.
When giving the SSA names of what doctors I had seen, the SSA was able to find out my history BUT used the medical records of the 3rd party QME quacks who said I had no disability, their reports were prior to me even being totally disabled and while I was still working. The SSA is quite capable of accessing all of a disabled person medical records that the disabled person is unaware of. It's how they use that data to deny benefits for over 2 years is yet. When one applies for social security, your also allow the SSA to have access to all of your medical records so the SSA can get whatever it is it wants.
I didn't find the article too far off base. I would have mentioned the points at which you start losing money by waiting to file, which is different for SSI and SSD disability claims. Also, personal circumstances matter. For instance, how long can you afford to wait for a decision before you can't meet expenses for basic life necessities?
It's tricky for people with newly acquired permanent disabilities who may not yet be sure if they can adjust to some kind of work, and in cases where it's not clear if a condition will improve within 12 months or not. Especially in SSI disability claims a lot of money ends up getting left on the table by those who wait to file.
I tend to agree with filing as early as possible, but as thoroughly as possible. Since the majority of claims are denied at the initial and recon statge, it helps to get in line to see an ALJ as soon as possible since the line is long and you're gonna have to get in line some day. Why not now?
Then if denied on initial, obtain the CD and look to see what is missing before the recon is filed and attempt to obtain that information as part of the appeal. At least then you know what SSA is basing the decision on. My father was approved on recon after we read the file and it was missing some very important and material information.
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