tdiu Ssdi After Awarded Tdiu

[ncjoe1970]

My hearing is coming up next month for my SSDI claim. I have been on TDIU since March 2011 and my lawyer swears we have a very good chance of winning this case because I am already receiving TDIU from the VA. I have been turned down by Social Security before but have never had a hearing.

Most cases I see on here have already been awarded SSDI, before they received TDIU. I'm the opposite. Anyone else had a case like mine ?

[ncjoe1970]

Day by day brothers and sisters. Hopefully this case will be the last step on the road to recovery. I have a very supportive wife that has stood beside me the entire way and has helped me maintain some kind of sanity throughout this.

Thank you all for your words of advice and wisdom. I wish you all the best.....

[free_spirit_etc]

"but also awaiting decision on On The Review Request. Attorney says this OTR Request is currently with the judge, who can make a decision based on my current record, in lieu of a hearing."

On the Record Review can be a good thing. That generally means that there is enough in the file to grant the claim without a hearing.

But even if the judge doesn't grant it on the record, doesn't always mean something bad. Sometimes the judge just has a couple of questions they want answered. My friend was just granted disability last year. Her attorney kept saying he didn't understand why the judge didn't just grant it on the record. Before the hearing, he requested an OTR decision, but the judge still held the hearing.

Since my friend's disability started with a work injury - there was quite a bit in the record that was "against" her claim -- mostly old records from the workman's comp doctors. But one old record from her OWN doctor, was what bothered the judge. Her doctor wanted her to get an MRI, but when she checked on it she was told that if she got tests / treatment from anyone but the workman comp doctors, that workman's comp would not cover her medical bills. The doctor wrote in her medical records that she refused to get treatment for her back condition and that she didn't want to get better. When your treating physician writes something like that in your file -- it is not a good thing. That was what the judge asked her about. She explained it to the judge - and told him she did get the tests and treatments - just not from THAT doctor.

Granted, I don't see how what you did or did not do over 10 years ago has anything to do with whether you are able to work now. But her doctor had painted a picture of someone who didn't want to get better (i.e. someone who was trying to be disabled).

The judge granted her benefits the day after her hearing. Her attorney called and told her that he had never seen the judge issue a decision that fast - but when he checked his cases the next day he saw the judge had already issued a favorable decision.

So even if the judge decides to have a hearing -- they might just have a couple things they need answered.

Edited September 24, 2013 by free_spirit_etc

[ncjoe1970]

I have walked out on and even cussed out several doctors over the years. The VA Psychiatrist, whom I trusted, that had me on 360 1mg Xanax a month, then started treating my seizure disorder as a "side effect" for years. After that, I stopped trusting any of them. When one of his staff members follows me to my car and begs me to get a 2nd opinion before he kills me, woke me up. The people at the rehab clinic didn't believe me at first when I told them how many Xanax I was on. It was a loooooong road to recovery.

Edited September 24, 2013 by ncjoe1970

[ncjoe1970]

And now after two years of waiting I receive an email from my attorneys office that it most likely will NOT be in October because there is a serious backlog. Tell me there is one judge for every 100+ cases....

I am so sick of this shit !

[free_spirit_etc]

{hugs}

[doubleD]

Can you get VA disability and SSD at the same time?