ANA Discussion Forum

AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: Cheryl R on May 11, 2009, 07:25:42 pm

Title: Rejected!
Post by: Cheryl R on May 11, 2009, 07:25:42 pm
I recieved the letter from the Social Security Disabilty today with pretty much what I expected!    Rejected!          Ok, now will appeal and think have done better thinking of how to talk about myself and what I may have forgot.         I can do a different type of work they think.             It must not have sunk in that it is not safe for me to be out in winter icy weather!       Most places do like you to work year around.            I wonder if next time they will say I have to move to the SW US!            I really didn't want to open the envelope but took it pretty well after some time of being the sad and mad part.             So now try again and see how it goes!                                    Cheryl R
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Kate B on May 11, 2009, 07:29:23 pm
Cheryl,

I wish you had received the news you wanted. It sounds like you have already decided on a next step by working through the appeal process.    I wish you the outcome you want in the second round.

Kate
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Kaybo on May 11, 2009, 07:51:02 pm
So sorry Cheryl - good luck with the appeals!

K
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: saralynn143 on May 11, 2009, 08:16:52 pm
Well that stinks. My suggestion is to start asking around and find out if there is a social security issue lawyer in your area who would take your case pro bono or at a reduced rate.

Best wishes,
Sara
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Sue on May 11, 2009, 08:39:59 pm
Yeah, it's hard to get Disability for an AN.  Just ask Cap' Deb!  It's nuts.

Sue in Vancouver USA
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: saralynn143 on May 11, 2009, 08:43:18 pm
LADavid managed the feat. You might PM him for tips.

Sara
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: leapyrtwins on May 11, 2009, 08:53:23 pm
Sorry to hear this news, Cheryl.

As Sue mentioned others, like Capt. Deb, have had a hard time getting disability - but she eventually did.

So keep up the good fight.

We're cheering for you!

Jan
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: wendysig on May 11, 2009, 09:14:27 pm
Well that stinks. My suggestion is to start asking around and find out if there is a social security issue lawyer in your area who would take your case pro bono or at a reduced rate.

Cheryl,

My thoughts exactly.  The IRS is very good at taking our money and the Social Security system and some politicians are very good at handing it out to people who have no right to it, but when someone like you comes along who really needs and deserves the disability benefits they are entitled to, they tend to give you a hard time.  I hope you are successful in your appeal.  Somtimes it takes help from an attorney who specializes in this field to get them to see it your way.

Wendy
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: LADavid on May 11, 2009, 11:49:14 pm
Cheryl
PM me.  I need to know more.   I might have some suggestions.  I got my disability on first pass in three months.
David
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Brendalu on May 12, 2009, 04:42:53 am
Cheryl,
It took me over three years and three trys to get Social Security Disability.  I finally got it just weeks before my hearing.  Don't give up, that's what they are hoping for. I hired an attorney and he said the same thing to them in letters that I did but far more eloquently.  I think it depends on what your jobs were prior to the surgery and what part you can't do.  The being out on icy roads won't count for anything.  Weather doesn't figure into whether or not you can preform a job......................plus we had snow and ice this past year here in the good old Southwest!
I am keeping you in my prayers.
Brenda
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: LisaP on May 12, 2009, 05:19:13 am
Cheryl,

Good luck, don't give up, it took a friend of mine three times to get disability due to his mental illness.

Best wishes,

LisaP ;D
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Jim Scott on May 12, 2009, 12:26:13 pm
Cheryl ~

I'm so sorry to learn that your claim for disability benefits has been rejected by the Social Security administration.  Unfortunately, I believe they tend to turn down the majority of original claims, unless you're very fortunate, like our own Social Security maven, LADavid.  I know you won't give up and I believe you'll be successful - but you have to remain tenacious.  It isn't easy.

My wife went through the Social Security Disability grinder back in 1996-97.  She suffered from serious spinal problems, Crohn's disease and fibromyalgia.  She had reams of physicians statement attesting to her inability to work (she had a supervisory position at a major insurance company in Hartford) but she was turned down, twice.  She finally engaged an attorney who specialized in Social Security claims.  It took over a year but my deserving wife was finally victorious in her quest and was 'awarded' disability status and a monthly benefit from the bureaucracy she'd been paying into for over 25 years.  I trust you'll have even greater success and in a much shorter timeframe.  Don't give up!

Jim
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: ppearl214 on May 12, 2009, 12:41:14 pm
Cheryl,

I know this is frustrating as all heck..... but, as you have also witnessed, LADavid and Capt Deb and others here, with perserverence (did I spell that write? ;) ) were able to achieve, even in appeal processes! Go get 'em! Keeping my fingers crossed that is comes through.

Please hang in there!
Phyl
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: GARZAP on May 12, 2009, 05:36:37 pm
Cheryl,   I don't work for Social Security Admin, but I do work for DHS (Welfare) we make people apply for soc sec as a condition of eligibility.  Allmost everyone is denied the first time.  You need to appeal.   
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: cin605 on May 12, 2009, 06:43:51 pm
I got approved this month,i applied in Oct. .I am confident you wiil get what you need.I also hear they usually deny the first time.
I actually got approved through determination services it got sent out & picked for review sent back to determination services who had to prove to the review board my case all over again in march.
If i can help you w/ any info pm me.
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Crazycat on May 12, 2009, 06:45:44 pm
I know what you mean Cheryl.

It's one thing for a person who is stricken with an A.N. to already be well along in a career and firmly employed in a situation with all the necessary benefits as many people participating in this forum can attest to. After a necessary recuperation period that can vary from person to person, it really isn't that difficult to pick-up where one had left off—providing that the job doesn't entail climbing ladders and hanging off of scaffolding from dizzying heights.

In my case, I was back playing music as soon as I was back on my feet again regardless of being half-deaf and left-side impaired. I could still play and play well, better than most or even all of my peers on the circuit I'm on. Why? Because I'm good at it and I've been doing it all my life. It's what I do. It's not much and it certainly isn't getting easier as I get older but I can do it by virtue of having done it for so long. It's like forgetting to know how to ride a bicycle.

What's killing me is that I cannot work in music as I had for so long due to a number of reasons and especially, due to the fact that I have only one ear left and the hearing in that ear is starting to fade. By continuing to put my self in hazardous, noisy situations, I'm really only pushing my luck. What's more, the work isn't even there like it used to be.  

Try, however, putting everything on hold and learning a new career in this condition (impaired) in a highly competitive and limited marketplace for jobs while also being over the age of fifty. Not gonna happen.

It is however, an entirely different situation for those of us who were not already employed in a decent situation, but are somewhat out-of-step with the working world as well as over the age of fifty—and in the worst recession economy since the crash of '29. Not only are we expected to dutifully jump through these hoops and navigate through what is an almost impossible obstacle course (for almost anyone) of finding a job with a decent wage, but we're expected to find one that will avail us the necessary medical insurance that will allow coverage for a "preexisting condition".

Another thing that amazes me: I must know about ten different people who are receiving SSDI or SSI benefits that outwardly, have nothing wrong with them. I'll ask on occasion, "What's wrong with you?" Nine out of ten will reply, "I'm depressed". I'm like, "Huh??" Then there are some who are receiving benefits because of substance abuse problems. Fascinating.

We, on the other hand, have major league brain surgery with accompanying nerve damage and a host of weird difficulties that go along with it and we're considered good to go even over the age of fifty. I know a guy that has been receiving SSDI for years because he can't lift one of his arms over his head.

Keep trying and keep that claim open because if and when you get approved, you'll be paid all the money that has accrued from the date you opened it. Good luck.


Paul
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: lori67 on May 12, 2009, 06:55:37 pm
So, Cheryl, what's wrong with just finding a new job in a different field in a place that doesn't snow, or rain, or get windy and just letting them know you can only work on days you don't have wonky head or a headache or some balance issues?  I'm sure those jobs exist everywhere, right?  ???  (You do know I'm only kidding, right?).

I don't know a lot about how the "system" works, but I have heard that you need to jump through hoops sometimes.  Get that appeal going and hopefully it won't take them too long to come to their senses.  Good luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Lori

Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: stoneaxe on May 12, 2009, 07:48:25 pm
It's amazing that people with real needs seem to have such a difficult time and people scamming the system do so with ease. Good luck in your quest.
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: cin605 on May 13, 2009, 12:35:08 pm
cheryl..did you get my pm??
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Cheryl R on May 13, 2009, 12:41:32 pm
I see i did and will answer you back.
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: cin605 on May 13, 2009, 01:04:12 pm
ok..thanks!
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: wendysig on May 13, 2009, 03:27:31 pm
So, Cheryl, what's wrong with just finding a new job in a different field in a place that doesn't snow, or rain, or get windy and just letting them know you can only work on days you don't have wonky head or a headache or some balance issues?  I'm sure those jobs exist everywhere, right?  ???  (You do know I'm only kidding, right?).

I don't know a lot about how the "system" works, but I have heard that you need to jump through hoops sometimes.  Get that appeal going and hopefully it won't take them too long to come to their senses.  Good luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed for y


I don't get headaches but do you think I can get a job like this too?  (I knew you were kidding and so am I).  Social Security does like to make you jumb through hoops.  One of my brothers was disabled and had a very hard time getting money out of them.  When he finally did, they gave him as little (I don't remember how much it was and he has since passed away) as they could.  Not enough to live on though.  We (my other brothers and sisters) ended up subsidizing his income to make him comfortable.

Wendy
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Cheryl R on May 13, 2009, 05:11:04 pm
I thought I should add for a good laugh that I wrote subject as rejected because I couldn't remember the word denial!    It came to me the next day.       Maybe I can tell them that when appeal.     
Lori, I would love how you describe the perfect job.         Would gladly accept if you are handing one out.           Only can delete the headaches and add tiredness when been too active.   Do jobs let you take naps?              I don't everyday.
                                                               Cheryl R
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: Captain Deb on May 19, 2009, 12:59:51 pm
Sorry that you got denied, but as a few others have said, everyone gets denied the first time around unless you are comatose.  A lawyer for disability will cost you nothing unless you win and then it is 25% of your initial payment or $4900, whichever is less. He will charge you a small fee for acquiring all your medical records.  I believe that is by federal law.  Good luck!

Capt Deb
Title: Re: Rejected!
Post by: cin605 on May 24, 2009, 02:57:51 pm
Cheryl,
Hope things are moving forward for you.