ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Insurance => Topic started by: wendymenard on June 07, 2012, 02:46:32 pm
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Hey Everyone
I had surgery on October 25, 2011..I am 7 months post op. I am on long term disability until August...my surgeon thinks I will be able to go back to teaching in the classroom fulltime by then LOL I am laughing because I cannot stay in a classroom for an hour without getting fatigued, disoriented, and overwhelmed.. My facial muscles are still not working completely, the tinnitus is bad and gets even worse around kids..my neck, head, and shoulder stiffens up and hurts really bad when weather changes..I cannot concentrate on one thing for long without forgetting or getting tired..my thing is I am NOT reliable anymore to be a classroom teacher who has not help...I have a master's in education and I am still paying on that school loan too. My medical bills are still coming in and my husband and I are barely making the bills each month.My question is should I contact a lawyer to see what my chances would be to collect disability? Any info would be appreciated...thanks :o :o
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Hi, Wendy ~
I'm sorry to learn of your AN post-op issues that are negatively affecting your quality of life and keeping you from teaching.
It would be worth your time to contact an attorney that specializes in Social Security disability cases. He (or she) would best be able to answer your question based on the information you would need to supply. If your school or union medical insurance policy offers a disability clause, that should also be looked into.
I wish you a better recovery and luck with your attempt to obtain disability benefits.
Jim
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Hi, yes talk to a lawyer. Also order the paperwork and start to fill it out. Make copies of everything. The paperwork will seem redundant. Fill out each form like you never answered it before. They want complete forms.
My surgery was January 2010. I sent the paperwork in April 2010. I got my rejection in late November 2010. I hired a lawyer in Dec. 2010. I had my hearing 3 weeks ago. Things take forever. They say everyone is rejected the first time. I am still waiting to hear the decision on mine. Talk to your student loan bank and find out about student loans and disability.
Good luck, Karen :-[
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Thank you both for responding..Sometimes I feel like people think we wanted this tumor..I would much rather be teaching and have never gone through all this but it is what it is...I have a name of a referred disability lawyer so I will give her a call...Thanks
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Hang in there and let us know what happens. I never thought I would be in this situation, I thought I would be able to just, " power through it", yeah right.
Karen
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Yes you have to contact an attorney it is well worth it along with a doctor that would help with all your post op problems along with the paper work my neurologist was very helpful in assisting me with SS. As far as the surgeons they felt the incision looked good tumor removed I should get on with my life !! There are many doctors that still do not realize how this affects our lives and think that we should just toughen up and continue with our jobs they do not understand how difficult it is and it is definitely not our choice to not continue in our professions that we prepared ourselves to do up until our normal retirement age it is not like we want to be on disability and never work in our fields again????.. I was denied at first but with the attorney I was granted SSD which SS as well do not comprehend the issues some of us have after having an AN.
Best Wishes,
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I contacted an attorney and they pretty much told me that my husband makes too much money a month so they will not represent me..We are making ends meet but medical bills take all our money each month...should I just accept this and move on or do I look for another attorney?
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I contacted an attorney and they pretty much told me that my husband makes too much money a month so they will not represent me..We are making ends meet but medical bills take all our money each month...should I just accept this and move on or do I look for another attorney?
Wendy ~
Seek another attorney. Your household income is not a factor in determining your eligibility for SS disability benefits.
This link to the SS website may be helpful to you. http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/dqualify.htm (http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/dqualify.htm)
Jim
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Continue to look. We know someone who is on disability whose husband makes decent money. She was accepted about a year ago. My appeal was denied. Time for the next round.
Karen
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I am so sorry, that you are having to deal with this, as having the tumour and then having to deal with the aftermath of surgery isn't enough. Keep trying, It takes a while, I know people who get SS first time and others who seem to qualify don't get it. I think it is a bit of a crap shoot. Keep us posted, my thoughts and prayers are with you
Lou x
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I am so sorry, that you are having to deal with this, as having the tumour and then having to deal with the aftermath of surgery isn't enough. Keep trying, It takes a while, I know people who get SS first time and others who seem to qualify don't get it. I think it is a bit of a crap shoot. Keep us posted, my thoughts and prayers are with you
Lou x
It some cases being denied the first time it helps having a lawyer to appeal it is well worth it they get paid from the SSD monies and there is a cap that they can charge and if it is denied again the lawyers do not get paid so you have nothing to lose to try it with an attorney just find a reputable one. You also need a good caring doctor to help as well with backup documentation of your limitations one of the main ones if you cannot sit or stand for more than an hour or two and would not fair well even with a desk job.
I just added this now I did not realize I posted to your question before and did not see about what the lawyer said about your husband...First if this was a good lawyer and does many SSD claims he would know that your husband's salary has nothing to do with you 2 separate things you are applying for SSD on your work credits not your husbands I would definitely find another attorney !!
Best Wishes,
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Thanks everyone I thought the same thing..it should be based on my work not my husbands..does anyone know of a good attorney in the Atlanta area for disability? Thanks Jim for the link I will check that out as well..
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I heard from someone whose job is working with disability paperwork that people need to apply twice for disability. I also noticed that this type of problem is listed. When I asked my doctor about it (I was Watch and Wait) because I am extremely miserable, he thought that some people were declared about 5-7% disabled but he said he was not an expert, that the ENT surgeon might know more about it. I am hopeful that after my surgery next week and recovery, that I will be as good as new (minus my hearing in the left ear!) and I won't have to worry about disability! Yes, I know, I have my rose colored glasses on!
LK
1.5 CM Translab surgery scheduled for 3/13/13 (at least it is not on a Friday!)
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Just because you don‘t meet the professional requirement set by your employer to do your job does not help your
disability claim
I had a tumor sitting on my fiscal & acoustic nerve. Did surgery and they did not get all of it . Then I had radiation to stop the growth of it causing hearing loss on the left side, chronic headache , dizziness & balance problems.
I came to the realization I must live with the side effect. This would be my new normal it was not going to chance..
I returned to work . Struggling to
work 12 hour days as a pharmacist. Then I found a enlarged lymph node in my neck, same side of head as acoustic tumor. Had surgery and it was found to be positive for metastic melanoma stage 3..
Returned to work. Seemed to cause increase in my side effect also cognitive issues.
I took a leave of absence. I did not think I should be filling prescriptions It was not a decision I made lightly. . But I was termed 3 months later.
Do not return to work if you are not sure . Prudential LTD will use that against you. Saying you are not disabled because you came back work.
Was give SS Disability first try on my own. Prudential LTD denied me long term disability even with a lawyer. Make sure you can handle your job before returning to work,
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I heard that denial happens the first time and to try again. I had surgery 3/13/13. My short term disability says I should be able to go back to work at 6 weeks. But they said to get an updated note even though the return to work date is June 13th. I don't see me going back in 4 days.
I understand the overwhelming feeling with sound and motion or activity around me. Good luck.
Lauren
15 mm AN diagnosed June 2011
Translab approach 3/13/13
Mayo Clinic MN
Dr Driscoll and Dr Link
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Many people fail to make the distinction between SSDI and SSI, two different forms of disability insurance. SSDI is for those who have worked and paid into the system over the years. There are and should be no stipulations regarding property and assets for people applying for SSDI benefits. However, there is a cut-off point at about 7 or 8 years; that is, if you haven't worked over the 7 or 8 years preceding the time you file, you may not be able to get on SSDI and instead have to settle for SSI which is restrictive in terms of how much in the way of personal wealth you have in your name. The amount of money paid-out every month by SSI is also limited, never exceeding around $800 a month.
As an example, people on SSI cannot own a home, have more than one vehicle registered in their name or have more than $2000 in the bank.
With SSDI, the length of time you've worked and the amount of money you've earned determines how much you'll be paid every month. SSDI recipients are also paid a year's retroactive pay upon being accepted. It is from this money that the lawyers are paid (automatically by the Government) a percentage, usually no less than $5000.
SSI is a form of welfare for people who have either not worked enough or not worked at all—such as developmentally handicapped persons. But health care (with the exception of small pharmaceutical co-pays) is covered in its entirety. Retroactive checks for SSI recipients only go back as far as when the claim was opened.
For those on SSDI, it's a different situation. There are no restrictions on personal property and assets because they have paid into the system. The entitlement, as the monies and property you have, has been earned.
Also, those who are put on SSDI are automatically put on Medicare, regardless of their age. Your financial status at that point will determine whether you can also qualify for Medicaid (state provided insurance) as a secondary "back-up" and what is referred to as "extra help" from Medicare, where all deductibles and prescriptions are covered (with the exception of small co-pays).
Jim was 100% correct when he advised "Seek another attorney. Your household income is not a factor in determining your eligibility for SS disability benefits". That is, unless perhaps the person in concern was being considered for SSI rather than SSDI.
But as we all know, SSDI can be very hard to get. Social Security is a bureaucracy. Claims are often automatically rejected on the first attempt regardless of the severity of the person's case. The key is to always keep the claim open by continually appealing it every time it is rejected. And by all means, find a good lawyer who specializes in disability claims. They really do get results.
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Concise, direct, yet---very personal, well-thought-out and generous writing you posted. Someone should, "Thank-you!"
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I kindly "thank-you" Paul, for your many well-thought-out AN forum posts and tight bonding friendship (soul-mate) over the years. (closing-in on seven years for you and me) Our time is valuable and you have shared much interesting data for all of us here. Jim (moderator)
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I will share my personal experience with you. I applied for SSDI myself and was approved. It was easy. But, FIRST, you must understand what disability means to the government. There are no exceptions. You cannot do the work you used to do. You cannot do some other type of work. Your disability will last at least one year or result in your death.
So if you worked in the circus and walked a high wire and you cannot maintain your balance, then you cannot continue doing the work you used to do. However, if you can sell tickets for entry to the big tent, you can do some other type of work. However, if your physical therapist says you are doing so well, you should be back on the high wire in 6 months, then you will not get disability. If you are dying, it takes about 6 months to get approved, and you will get about 6 months of payments and then die. Generally the deck is stacked against you. Before you fill out the multi-page application form, ask yourself if you are disabled according to the government rules.
If you really believe you are disabled, then apply. Do not write on the forms at first. Write your answers on plain paper and read it two days later...does it still make sense to you? Rewrite it, reread it, rewrite it, reread it...does it make sense? Can you demonstrate that you cannot do your old job, or even do a new job, or are you dying. These are the questions YOU have to answer.
SS will get your doctors information, physical therapy, etc. You will be sent to a government contract doctor to test you, maybe more than one doctor. I went to two contract doctors.
They will contrast your report vs your doctors statements vs the contract doctors statements and make a decision.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART IS, DO MATCH SSDI DEFINITION OF DISABLED?
There is no retro active pay. You will be declared disabled when you are approved by SSDI. It has nothing to do about when you quit working. If you have an attorney, generally they will paid by the SS. I was on SSDI for two years, and then started on medicare on my second anniversary.
You are filling out a legal document. It is a felony to lie. Do not make any false claims. Do not expect your congressman to help..it is out of his/her hands...there are rules. If you have to reapply, they will contrast your first application vs your second one. That is why it is important to write and reread your application several times over.
I hope this helps someone.
James