Disabled? Not so Much?

10/19/2014

In order to receive disability through Social Security, you have to show proof to the Social Security judges of your disability(s).  People can file for disability on their own, but that is not a wise choice.  You need someone in your corner.  Someone who knows the ins and outs of obtaining disability awards.

You have seen the commercials on television, where some nice man perched on the corner of a desk (who wouldn't believe a man sitting on the side of a desk?) and telling you that his firm can and will get you a disability award from SSA.  And, unfortunately, people believe these ads.  They believe that this firm, and hundreds just like them, are in business for the "greater good", which is b...s...  I believe, and I could be wrong, but I doubt it that firms who advertise on television, have only one thing in mind, and that is, how much money they are going to receive from representing you.  Everybody knows that attorneys do some pro bono work, but if that's the only kind of work that they do, their bottom line in the ledger isn't going to look very good.

Last year, my employer's long term disability carrier, hired an independent company that handles the paperwork for people who are disabled.  This third party company is/was amazing.  I only had to sign a few pieces of paper and my doctors sent in reports on my mental and physical health.  Luckily, I was given my disability award in just a matter of months, not years like some applicants do.  

I believe there are two types of people filing for disability: (1) people that are actually disabled and have a doctor(s) report to back up that disability; and (2) people who have lost their jobs, have no unemployment insurance left, or some other scenario that possibly isn't backed up by a doctor's report.  

The paper today had an article about disability claims clogging the system.  The paper reports that 633,000 applications are pending and the average time to process a claim is 109 days. If you don't receive an award, you can file your first appeal which generally takes 107 days.  There are 170,000 applications pending appeal.

During the third appeal you have expert witnesses. This process takes 422 days and there are 990,000 pending appeals. Finally, you can appeal to the Appeals council, which reviews the claim without meeting the applicant.  This takes approximately 374 days and there are 150,000 appeals pending.

In most cases, an applicant waits 1,012 days before receiving an award, or denial of same.  That's a long time for people who are genuinely disabled and unable to work.  Some disabilities are easier to prove than others.  In the beginning of my claim processing, I remember telling my doctors that there was no way I would receive an award for my mental condition.  Mental conditions are harder to prove than let's say a leg that's missing.

I genuinely feel sorry for those individuals, who have a legitimate disability, and have to wait their turn, while the SSA employees wade through mountains of questionable claims.

P