Don A...
I had two denials in 2 years before obtaining the services of a lawyer who was
a SSD specialist.
I was then required by SSD to have a physical and mental exam ("Do you hear
voices in your closet in the dark of night?" All the time, thanks for asking)
<grin>
The doctor was an internist who said his brother-in-law had PD and HE didn't
look at ALL like me, so OBVIOUSLY I didn't HAVE the disease (I'd had it for 15
years at that point) and the psychological tester (the "mental testing
person") said I wasn't depressed (who ever claimed I WAS?)
My attorney told me to stress that I no longer had the use of one arm and hand
and that I had memory impairment. He also said to DEMAND (because that was my
right) a movement disorder specialist from SSD, not a generalist or even a
mere neurologist. I was further instructed to demand that SSD send me to a
LOCAL physician for evaluation, not one an hour away from my home.
I did that and got the world's oldest neurosurgeon who'd never had a patient
with PD in his 50+ years of practice, so he claimed<deep sigh>. He "borrowed"
a medical suite close to my home from another doctor. The "mental testing
person" asked me to try to remember the words, "ball, tree, & house," and I
just up and told her that THOSE words would be forever imprinted on my mind,
because so much hinged on them. But if she gave me words that I ordinarily
used in MY everyday life... more complex words... then there WAS a memory
impairment. THAT, for some reason struck a chord in her and she said I had
some short-term memory problems.
I went before the "Hanging Judge," 3 years after filing my initial SSD claim,
and was treated like a defendant in a murder case. It was up to ME and my
attorney to PROVE to the judge that I had a degenerative neurological disease
and that it had reached the point where there was NOTHING I could do in the
work force because of having the disease.
I thought I was emotionally well prepared for the meeting with the judge, but
he had me reduced to tears in moments. Finally, my attorney asked the judge
to look at my right hand, and the judge commented that he was unable to see it
because it was in my lap. The attorney then asked me what my right hand was
doing in my lap, and I said I was forcibly HOLDING it there, because if I
didn't, since I was SO distressed at the moment, the arm would be flying all
around without any control. I told him... really actually was sobbing and
hollering at him by then... that this was the MOST humiliating experience I'd
ever been thru in my life, and I deeply resented being treated like a criminal
by my own government when I had only asked for something which was my RIGHT as
an citizen.
THAT was something the judge apparently understood, and he wrapped he session
up pretty fast at that point. Three months later I was declared to be
disabled by the judge, and was awarded SSD and Medicare benefits.
NOTE: NOW I'm working full-time out of my home, and am going off SSD.
Believe it or not, tho my benefits were scheduled to stop in June, they're
STILL sending me monthly checks. I have tried to return the money to them but
they've said to hold onto it until they sent me an accounting. So I'm
waiting...... and waiting, and the money is just sitting there collecting
interest.
IF one earns over $600 a month of income, the overage is to be reported and
one is then subject to the cessation of benefits after a total of 9 months of
the start of employment - whether the work was steady or intermittent.
Medical benefits stop after 36 months of employment.
Barb Mallut
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From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, March 14, 1997 1:33 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN
Subject: (LONG) trouble getting approved for disability status - help
yhelp ayudar me
This is a long post, Unless it interests you, pass it by. Sorry for the
length, Thx, the Ratman
Tribe of Parkinsonians.... I am having a very difficult time with the SS
disability approval process. I left my job last April, filled out the
appropriate Long Term Disability insurance carrier forms to my company's LTD
carrier's liking, had my neurologist sign off on them and got approved for
LTD.
After the 4th or 5th month the insurance company "encouraged" me to seek
disability status from Social Security so the govt would pick up part of the
costs. Well I filled out the forms and then took all the info I had
submitted to the LTD carrier and cut and pasted it to fit the format the SS
board and our State's Dept of Econ Security wanted. Then, I waited.
Eventually, their reply came back stating my request had been denied. Talk
about giving water to a drowning man. I felt abandoned; I felt like I was
rapidly losing control of my life. At this point, the gist of their reply
seemed to hinge on the following mantra
>>>
we have reviewed your medical record and it shows you have received treatment
for your condition and that your condition does limit your ability to work.
It does show that you may no longer be capable of performing work such as you
have done in the past. However, based on your age, education and past work
experience, we conclude that your are still able of performing other work
which requries less mental or physical effort.
<<<
Okay, round 2. I hit up our own John "the scribe" Cottingham for some
archival information on what the govt is looking for. To be able to outfight
your opponent in such verbal jungle warfare ... you have to think enemy,
sleep enemy, eat enemy, walk enemy, be enemy. I tried to take the
information I provided previously and shape it more in the way that (I
thought) showed my limiting factors and problems caused by my disease. I
also asked my neurologist, a excellent and well respected doctor who holds a
position in the national NPF organization, to write a letter describing the
symptoms I had, the problems my Parkinson's caused me, why I was essentially
not able to go the distance anymore. Granted, I have my good periods, but I
also have my bad periods and net/net the confusion and exhaustion I
experience make it too unpredictable and difficult for me to hold down a
regular job anymore..
Now, almost a year after I left work, my appeal comes back denied. I am
between a rock and a hard place. At the end of the year's time since I was
actively working, my company formally terminates me with all rights and
privileges thereto appertaining (in other words... take a walk) . I become a
ward of their LTD carrier and am offered continuing health insurance if I pay
the group rate myself... of course, all this is also contingent upon my
being approved for SS disability benefits. If this approval is denied, I
have no idea what happens.
What am I doing wrong? What is wrong with the system? I thought the purpose
was to provide a safety net and protect the worker. Instead I feel like
their goal is to humble and humiliate. After being a computer systems
analyst for a number of years it now appears the govt's intent is for me to
rachet my income down to match my impaired and continually declining
abilities until some dismal level is reached at which I am a drooling zombie
incapable of making change. Then upon meeting their criteria I can be
cashiered out of the system at 60% of a drooling zombie's salary. Well, as
the jazzman Les McCann sings "Compared to what?!?" What the hell kind of a
system is this?
According to SS, my next appeal is a court process. I think I am now faced
with procuring the services of a Disability process consultant and/or a
Disability lawer (probably both).
My questions:
1) have any of you out there had to go this route?
2) what are the chances of success as such appeals escalate? (ie. does it
become harder and harder to win based on their recognition that you have been
denied previously?)
3) does anyone have any good and hopefully tested suggestions on how to make
this process work?
If you deem your information on the above topic and the topic itself worth
group bandwidth, then fire away. Otherwise would those who think they can
help me please send their responses off line and directly to me? I would
appreciate all candid remarks and suggestions you can make. If due to
circumstances you wish your information or suggestions to remain private or
your identity anonymous I will gladly respect your wishes. I realize that
while this is a subject of interest to almost all of us on this list it is
also a very sensitive issue. I can still joke about it because I usually
joke about anything whether that is a good course of action or not but time
is running out and I am in a big, big jam..
Thanks,
Don Anderson ([log in to unmask])
