Den Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 http://www.crowe-shanahan.com/newsletter.html You will find some good info here..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadIt.com Elder john999 Posted December 6, 2005 HadIt.com Elder Share Posted December 6, 2005 If you have a good SSA lawyer he will send you to certain doctors to bolster your case if there is anything lacking. The good SSA lawyers practice in front of the same judges all the time. Probably if your lawyer thinks you will win then it is a done deal. I don't think SSA lawyers take cases they know they won't win. I think it is a bit of a racket but what isnt'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLEDGE Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 From my experience, SSA will give the claim to the state that you filed in. The state WILL turn you down twice. Two denials are standard procedure. After TWO denials you begin to deal with the Feds in your next appeal, an Administrative Law Judge. After TWO denials you are legally allowed to retain a lawyer. The lawyer gets a percentage or a maximum amount based upon your retro after you win. You will normally receive 3 times what the lawyer gets, or more. Lawyers wages are limited, you aren't. My lawyer received the max allowed by law because I got lots of retro. I thought the lawyer was my best shot and I won with his help. There were over 40 exibits in my case before the judge. About 30 would not have been thought of or procured by me. Good Luck to all future claimants, sledge Those that need help the most are the ones least likely to receive help from the VA. It's up to us to help each other. sledge twkelly@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim S. Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 (edited) Sledge: I guess I must have been one of the exceptions to the rule, or I am worse off than my Dr's want for me to know, I was approved for SSDI on my first try, all the information was based on the records I supplied from my VAMC medical files, personale letter from a close friend and one from an ex-employer who had to let me go due to problems whch cause problems with my work, whch was supported by a private psychologist. If the Evidence is their and is well supported, then if you are turned down on your first try, then I lawyer who does only these type of claims is the route to go, you are not bound by when you can use a lawyer as you are in a VA claim. The more your claims shows a consistant picture of disability that prevents you from doing any type of work, and the longer you are unable to work, the better your claim will be. Also I would try to support your ability to do things in and around your house, whether pain, fatigue, and/or side effects from medication you are taking effect your everyday living. All in all, I think you have just as good a chance as the next person to be awarded opon your first try, but not every SS office is created equal. Some will play hard nose and make you jump through all the hoops first and other will be more apt to look at the total picture and see what makes your claim worth approving. Oh ya, I would make a list of the Dr's who have treated you and for what, sending copies of any and all medical files, even if you believe they will get them from say the VA or your VAMC or Dr's That way you will know for sure that they have copies of everything and nothing is lost in the mail sort of speak. They may ask for addition information or for you to clarify something, so do what they ask and as soon as possible return the requested stuff or your claim may be delayed that much longer. good luck even if luck has nothing to do with it. Jim S. :D p.s. I should have read more of the question upon what your answer was based. Don't wait to re-apply, get yourself to a SSA claims lawyer as soon as possible, so they may submit an appeal. If you wait and re-apply, you will loose your effective date. In a SSDI claim, you cannot ask for an earlier effective date once your appeal period is up and should you win on your second new application. You loose out on being paid for the time you applied and then let the appeal period laps and the time you re-applied. Plus their is a six month lag period in their somewhere that you are not paid for also. Keep appealing until you have no place else to appeal to. Edited January 9, 2006 by Jim S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Berta Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Ron you should get it. You may need to get a lawyer to help. Ron- I sure hope you are within the time frame to file for an SSA reconsideration- You certainly -in my mind qualify- not for retirement benefits but for their disability benefits- The SSA has a list of lawyers they work with-however- with the evidence you have I don't think you need a lawyer- they could get 25 % or more from your award- We were turned down by a SSA lawyer-both the SSA and this lawyer were very negative about my husband's reconsideration chances- They had already made a SSA award on a NSC (at that time) stroke and he did get SSA benefits but they never considered his PTSD-30% at the time. SSA law- which I read and copied at the SSA office stated that the SSA Must consider all disabilities- they didnt- I also was able to look at his SSA files- the stack was about 3 feet high- they had more evidence on his PTSD than the VA had- they had records from a NJ hosp on his PTSD that both the VARO and the VA in Newark told me did NOT exist! I realised that, since Rod had a claim in for higher rating on his 30% PTSD at VA ,continually denied-that the evidence was here-300 miles away from the VARO- We filed the Reconsideration and 3 months later the SSA awarded Rod over 17,000 in retro as they deemed him 100% for PTSD with a date earlier than the stroke. I called the laywer and told him how much money he had lost by not helping us- he was surprised- he didnt understand much about PTSD and told me in the future he would not forget this if he got a similiar request for help from a vet. We sent the VARO the PTSD SSA Award letter- (Spring 1993) they still managed to screw around with his claim, never awarding 100% SC PTSD until three years after his death. If you are over 55 I think you might qualify for some help on your application for reconsideration-through possibly a senior citizen program in your county- vet reps and SOs really dont understand SSA stuff- Did the SSA send you a Reconsideration form? Did they consider all of your disabilities? And did they in fact have the info they needed from the VA? When the SSA asks the VARO for info , there is good chance the VARO will screw that up- does the SSA have a copy of your VA award letter? By the way- are you getting Special Monthly Compensation for anything from VA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts