SSI question 100% T&P TDIU

[anayafather]

I just had my appeals hearing with my ALJ I presented her that I am 100% TDIU PTSD 70 Back 40.  I have a caregiver as well as my mental health doctor who wrote her opinion that I cannot maintain employment. What are my chances for a favorable decision. Thanks in advance

Edited April 21, 2021 by anayafather

[broncovet]

100 percent of Vets who give up too soon, or dont appeal at all, usually lose out.  Go get you some "energizer bunny batteries" and stick em in there and go again, until those energizers are dead, then have a spare set just in case.  I burned out 3 cents of Energizer bunnies, over a period of 17 years to get mine.  

[Carl the Engineer]

SSDI 5 year rule is pretty hard and fast.  I don't know anyone who has beat that.  So, if you haven't worked in the last 5 years from filing, your out.

Also, SSDI is for the inability to work, which is what IU is for, so that should work to your favor.  Same thing.

Now, 100% scheduler, is different, as you could be 100% for a bunch of disabilities, but not one that was enough to trip the SSDI malady list.  Yes, they have a list.  If your ailment is not on the list, then you have to fight for it.  Multiple Sclerosis is not on the list, ask me how I know.

And, as I understand it from my wife's legal aid, the first look is a clerk to see if on the list, deny, then the appeal is looked at by medical person, deny, then off to the judge.  

Did the judge give you any hints at the hearing?

Hamslice

 

[Rivet62]

On 5/11/2021 at 2:09 PM, broncovet said:

100 percent of Vets who give up too soon, or dont appeal at all, usually lose out.  Go get you some "energizer bunny batteries" and stick em in there and go again, until those energizers are dead, then have a spare set just in case.  I burned out 3 cents of Energizer bunnies, over a period of 17 years to get mine.  

I know this is an old post, but what you say is true. I first filed for SSDI in 2007, but had no medical coverage because I had no idea I could qualify for enrollment at a VAMC. Funny that, because if it were the IRS wanting to inform me that I owed them money then no problem: I'd know.  My healthcare was finally realized at a VAMC just 25 years after discharge from military. I ran out of batteries for my 2007 SSDI claim. I applied again in 2012, but still no records. I discovered I submitted an Intent to File for vets disability in 2012... well... no current medical records. Then after enrollment into a VAMC things got shot out of a cannon and I applied again in 2015 for SSDI and was reflexively denied. With that denial I had my arms loaded for my first visit with an SSDI attorney. She looked at my situation and said she has little to work with, lack of documented work difficulties. This was back in 2015. She said, we can submit an appeal to SSA but the chances are not likely. She said, if we go the long route then she can guarantee we win the appeal in roughly 3 years. I went the 3 year route.  She said, SSA wants to see that you've tried everything. That shouldn't be hard, I thought. I had tons of failed re-training attempts. I just need a well documented, and I mean well documented, current record of work difficulties.

I thought... there's no better place for documenting workplace difficulties than federal employment. Ha!  So, I took my attorney's suggestion and got myself into my state's Voc Rehab office. Long story short, they weren't going to devote too much to retraining me. BUT, upon my request, they did issue me a Schedule A certification that I could use for federal employment! That gave me the preference points I needed to get hired at my local VAMC. And from there I let nature take its course. They pumped the paper out, showing workplace difficulties, sick leave, LWOP, FMLA, medical transfer, sick leave, LWOP, FMLA, and finally medical resignation. And in between all that, the papers...inter-office memos on actual VA forms for the purpose. Nothing was scribbled on scratch paper. LMAO.

At about the same time I initially applied for SSDI, I also applied for vets disability. Fortunately, I had the work credits, and recent credits because I had a sit-down job from before (I soon lost that).

Let me repeat. SSA wants to see that you've tried EVERYTHING. Use every little shred of life's difficulties.

I won my SSDI in July 2018. I won my vets 80% in February 2018.  

I mean if you want to move this to a new thread then ok. I'm just responding to sidebar Ad for a topic in Hadit.

[Rivet62]

On 5/11/2021 at 8:33 PM, Hamslice said:

SSDI 5 year rule is pretty hard and fast.  I don't know anyone who has beat that.  So, if you haven't worked in the last 5 years from filing, your out.

I guess I was right on the edge with that, without fully realizing I was right on the edge. One of God's angels must have whispered the idea to apply again for SSDI, because as it turns out I was right on the edge when I sat down in the local SSA office for my work records. I had to give my potential attorney a copy of those records before she agreed to represent me. Yeah it's a hard and fast rule.

On 5/11/2021 at 8:33 PM, Hamslice said:

Also, SSDI is for the inability to work

But that's it. It's black or white, with no shades of grey in between. Advanced age, 59 years or older, is the closest thing to a shade of grey for the SSA. If you have vets IU then you still have to fight for SSDI because SSA seems to decide by percentage of possible job titles across the country. If my work experience and education shows that I might qualify for say... 3 different job titles (occupations) but the number of those positions is less than 10% nationwide (guess-timating), then you are disabled according to SSA rules. Advanced age factors into re-training possibilities and it factors into the likelihood of gaining an entry level position.

[Rivet62]

On 5/11/2021 at 8:33 PM, Hamslice said:

SSDI 5 year rule is pretty hard and fast.  I don't know anyone who has beat that.  So, if you haven't worked in the last 5 years from filing, your out.

I know this is an old post, and if it gets moved to a new thread, then ok. I'm responding here for anyone who happens to run across this topic searching the internet...and maybe they'll join Hadit and contribute. Heh. That's how I ended up here.

Anyway, if it were me, having to overcome the 5-year rule, I would look to small non-profits for part-time employment, preferably those that are grant-funded to help vets.  You can find these through the social workers at your VAMC, or through your VAMC's HUD-Vash office. Even if you are not a client of HUD-VASH you will find tons of cards, and flyers, and brochures of smaller non-profits that are funded to help vets.

With a smaller non-profit that serves vets you can negotiate your hours to comply with vets IU, and they hire all the time. I worked briefly as a cashier in a thrift store at such a non-profit and they took the social security and Medicare contributions out of my checks. That's important for building up your work credits. Larger non-profits, like the Salvation Army, are hard and fast on a 20-hour part time weekly schedule, and that might compromise your vets IU. 

It's important to get checks where social security and Medicare are deducted. 'Back to work' programs like a VAMC 'Comprehensive Work Therapy (CWT)' program will not deduct social security or Medicare...BUT that is a way to make more money (a little above minimum wage) that's not counted as income because it's therapy. It might reverse your IU though, if it is shown that the therapy is successful. If interested in the CWT program you can message your primary care doctor for a referral. CWT is for mental therapy. They disqualify for physical.

Other work therapy programs exist with Goodwill. I think these are less threatening to vets IU, but check it out first.