ptsd Ssd Hearing

[ATVer]

Taking the advice from the people on this site and applying for SSD back in June 2010 for PTSD, got denied and i appealed. I now have a hearing at the end of February. Just wondering if anyone had any advice for me? I have most of my ecidence in, i will be getting a letter from my psychologist and psychiatrist before i go to the hearing, so that is more evidence i will have for my case. I also have a SSD lawyer that will be going along with me as well.

Right now i'm 40% SC, 0% hearing loss, 10% tinnitus, and 30% PTSD with the VA, but have an appeal in for that. I'm young, at 26 years old, and haven't worked since 07 due to my service connection, dealing with it day to day sucks. My psychologist told me to write down how i think PTSD affects my work, relationships, and daily life and he'd write me a letter, will the letter need a GAF score in it or does SSD use that? All my evidence is coming from my VA file that they have already, i just have a bit more to add with these letters. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[Ethan'sGrandma]

ATVer,

My son, although a bit older than you (he's 30) recently was approved for SSDI benefits on a re-application. He has not bothered to request a higher rating from VA, so remains at 40%, but still was approved for SSDI. I was allowed into the hearing as a witness, so I observed what they (judge and vocational expert) seemed to be looking for. Besides a few questions about treatment, Activities of Daily Living, and what he actually did on his last job (they already had all that information in documents, but asked them to him directly, again), the most time was dedicated to the vocational expert's opinion. They tried to come up with at least three low skill jobs he could still do, but the doctor's residual funtioning capacity documentation, along with his attorney's pointing all the wording in that, was what sealed the claim, in my opinion. I have to say that the vocational expert in this case was very fair and honest about what the expectations of any employer would be, in opposition to my son's abilities. So in the end, when the judge asked if there was any job in the economy, taking into consideration his limitations, and for low skill jobs, if there was a job he could do, the vocational expert said, no, there was not. In their going back and forth with the job capability, many things were looked at, such as pace, concentration, getting along with co-workers, authority situations, ability to timely get to the job, ability to perform a job (time-wise) to any employer's standards, etc. It's interesting how the vocational expert changed his opinion (at first he did find three jobs available in the local economy that were doable) after the attorney pointed out from the doctor's documentation the limitations that would not jive with substantial gainful employment. They also discussed percentages of work time lost allowed by employers and the attorney was able to successfully argue that the % would not match with the limitations. The last statement from the vocational expert was that even if my son could get a job, he most likely would not be able to keep said job, due to his limitations. I further found it interesting that the vocational expert stated that employers are in the business of making money (he made note of it's all about the money), so they are not going to keep someone that is costing them money. Previously, he'd been denied through the hearing level, and it was not reviewed at the final step, so this was a new claim. Now, if he wants to fight for an EED, he would have to sue in federal court, but even the attorney is of the idea to just take the awarded benefit and run because as with everything, one never knows what the outcome of that would be which could also jeopardize the awarded benefit. Now, what I did make note of in the approval letter, which I suspect is based on his age, was the recommendation by the judge that he be reviewed in a year due to possible recovery. That doesn't mean it will happen that soon, but she did recommend that. So, there is always the chance that, although, you don't have a higher rating from VA, you could still succeed with SSDI. BTW, my son never was sent to a compensation exam by SSA, but all the medical information was from VA records. However, the attorney did not want to rock the boat with that because, as he shared with us, the more people involved from their side, the more likely the decision would be unfavorable. The evidence, as in all types of claims, is what's going to be the impact, including the residuals the doc's note. Additionally, a prepared attorney can help a lot. On the last claim (denied) we did not feel the attorney was prepared. Best of luck with your claim!!

[ATVer]

Thank you for that post, i have a better idea of what i'm walking into now.

To update my thread, i had my hearing that was in February moved back for to tomorrow (May 30). So i will be going to my hearing in the morning. It was put off because the SSA only had records for me up to 2010, so i got the rest of my VA records from 2010 to present send to my lawyer along with a second doctor opinion letter, from the one i'm seeing now, and a mental impairment questionnaire filled out by the same doctor. So i guess we'll see what happens. I'll keep everyone posted.

[ATVer]

Well, my lawyer seemed to think it went pretty good. About wore me slick today in there though!