Hello,
The core of a successful application for SSDI is complete, accurate
information as to the disability and the effects upon the job and job
performance. [If you are being evaluated on a private disability program
every month, someone, your doctor, or the administrative people for that
program, think you need to be evaluated every month. Look carefully at what
the doctor has written and provide an addendum as to continuity of the
condition. They may be waiting for you to get worse as well as to get better
before your status has changed. Ask questions and....]
Get a good attorney. An attorney who does not work on your case, who
continually avoids you and your phone calls, etc., is not a good attorney.
Call your local bar organization (attorney professional grouping) and check
in the yellow pages of your phone book for lawyer referral programs. Some
states have lists of those fancy-dancy $500/hr attorneys who take certain
cases for free or at reduced rates as part of an ethical or pro bono
obligation as well as lists of attorneys who do disability cases. You want
a specialist, and look for one very carefully. Ask, ask, ask. There are PD
organizations and support groups which may be able to help.
Nancy, dont be afraid: fire your attorney and get a good disability
specialist for your state and SSDI. Attorneys are changed all the time, and
it does not hurt you or your case if you get rid of your current "lawyer."
And dont worry about the bill: if he has the gall to give you a bill, dont
pay it and explain why and then indicate that if he continues to try to
collect on the bill, you will report him to your state's professional
responsibility board. It is easier to get new attorney, and then contact old
attorney's office to make arrangements re: transfer of your file to your new
attorney. New attorney may even take care of that, and all questions about a
large bill, as a courtesy to you. Dont wait, dont walk: run to the best
disability specialist you can find. Money here is well spent, and many
attorneys who work with SSDI take their fees out of the back-pay, lump-sum
settlement you get from SSDI anyway and do not require you to pay in advance
(except possibly for expenses, if any).
A friend of mine does many SSDI applications and appeals. He said he would
work on the appeal for me, as a professional courtesy, but I had to do the
application. I grumbled and groaned, but I did it. I was a criminal defense
lawyer, and I did not want to do the application. In retrospect I was being
lazy. My application was approved in less than two months, and some time
was expended because I had to wait for a copy of my birth certificate to
arrive from out-of-state. All of my medical and diagnostic work was
completed; I attached a copy of my neuropsychological exam, and various
neurological reports to the application itself. I made certain all the
information I wanted social security to have was with my primary neurologist,
and I put him first in the list for release of information. For instance I
fed information from a speech therapist to that neurologist so that social
security would get it. I made certain that I had complete and accurate
information for release of information; I called each entity and I said
social security is going to contact you and I just want to make certain that
there will be a rapid and complete transfer of information without any
glitches. I made certain that I knew what social security would get from
each entity and what that would show about my disability and my ability to
continue to work. And it worked. And my application was approved by SSDI
very quickly. My state disability, because I was a state employee, built
upon SSDI but took much, much longer to be approved, but those delays were
not caused by me. I had a state disability insurance policy which requires
that I apply for SSDI and state disability as a means of minimizing costs of
the disability insurance, and of the disability payments, for the state.
BTW if there had been an appeal, and there was a hearing, I would have gone
without meds and without make-up, brought a driver with me, and done whatever
I could to show that I was sick, that I had PD, and that the PD interfered
with my ability to work. Rayiln you did exactly what you had to do on the
second try and without counsel.. You should feel proud. I admire what you
did. Katie
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