Should I get a lawyer?

[Glenna1962]

I have been ill -this- time since December and numbness, tingles, pain is just not letting up. Recently had my first MRI's, MRA's, CT's and X-Rays done and some labs and other test. I have lesions, I have emphysema both lungs, disc bulges, back pain, blurry vision, MS Hugs in face, neck, back, chest and tummy. The past few years I have worked less and less and took work at home jobs just to avoid going out and dealing with the real world and now even with a current work at home job I can not sit long enough or think straight long enough to work
Today I completed the paperwork for disability and I know they will deny it...I also heard if you do work they for sure deny your claim.??How do you keep from losing your home, car and everything you own if you do not work through the pain while you wait for disability? Also the lady at the social security office said I do NOT need a doctor??? And that a doctor does not decide if I am disabled that they do? So I do not need a doctor?

[onlyairfare]

I have been ill -this- time since December and numbness, tingles, pain is just not letting up. Recently had my first MRI's, MRA's, CT's and X-Rays done and some labs and other test. I have lesions, I have emphysema both lungs, disc bulges, back pain, blurry vision, MS Hugs in face, neck, back, chest and tummy. The past few years I have worked less and less and took work at home jobs just to avoid going out and dealing with the real world and now even with a current work at home job I can not sit long enough or think straight long enough to work
Today I completed the paperwork for disability and I know they will deny it...I also heard if you do work they for sure deny your claim.??How do you keep from losing your home, car and everything you own if you do not work through the pain while you wait for disability? Also the lady at the social security office said I do NOT need a doctor??? And that a doctor does not decide if I am disabled that they do? So I do not need a doctor?

If you are seeking disability through Social Security, they will seek information about your medical condition from your treating doctors and then the Social Security office will decide if you meet the criteria for "total and permanent disability" based on those reports from your doctors.

Your own doctor's opinion about whether you are able to work may be different from what the government decides about your eligibility to receive disability payments. Private disability insurance policies may have their own rules about who qualifies for disability.

If you are on Social Security disability, it may be possible for you to do some paid employment up to a certain income level, and there are also sometimes programs for you to try to work gradually back into the workforce, or to help you train for a different job you can do, if because of illness you can't do your old job. Although you don't have to have an attorney to apply for disability, because it is a complicated task many people do hire an attorney to assist and represent them.

Some states have "general assistance" programs to provide some income support for some short-term disability, or for the time period while you are applying for social security disability. If your state has such a program, that may help you pay some of your living expenses while you apply for Social Security.

And if you claim is denied, you will likely have the right to appeal the decision.

Hopefully Mr. Feingold will come around and give you a more informative answer, but I hope that at least this is a start.

[Glenna1962]

Thank you onlyairfare

It has taken 16 doctors months to deal with my case, and testing and hospital visits and I have not improved so I decided on my own and did not consult any doctors that I would file for disability...My uncle told me the sooner the better because he had a friend that could hardly walk from back pain and it still took him three years to get his disability. I do not have three years to wait I will lose everything so I have to figure out another way but it is hard to work with fog brain, being tired all the time and then there is the pain...

Just wanted to say thank you for your reply to the post! That was very kind of you

[MSW1963]

I hired a local SS attorney and I'm not sure if helped my SSDI claim or not. I was 'fast tracked' once my claim was approved because I was sole support for myself and my young adopted daughter, some type of compassionate grounds.

My sx's were fatigue, cognitive, B&B incontinence, insomnia, not the usual physically disabiling sx's, I have no regrets about hiring an attorney.

I don't know what I would have done if I had to appeal, my copeing skills were at the maximum capacity just getting through doctor visits and daily demands of living. The attorney fees were deducted by SS from my award and paid directly to my attorney, SOP. I was glad to pay the 25%?

The most I was aware of my attorney actually doing was writing a few letters to SS to advise that they represented me and their fees should be disbursed from my back pay benefits. I know having an attorney didn't hurt, and I'd do it again before I'd risk having my initial claim denied.

Liquidating assets is probably within the SSDI allowed methods of providing for yourself during the approval process, when you are prohibited from working. It is a crule process to lose possessions that took a lifetime to accumulate, but it is our system.

[Glenna1962]

Thank you for the reply

Thank you for the reply
My mom applied for disability at age 50 and hers was approved within one month but she did have a lawyer.
I am 100000% sure mine will be denied and when it is I will hire a lawyer to help me fight this because I am not going to get better. As far as I know there is not a cure for emphysema or MS and the bulging disc and pain in my back I do not think there is a cure for that either... My main thing that I am suffering from now is the PAIN and the tingles throughout my entire body. Not to mention I am exhausted and the tremors. Not one doctor seems to be helping me all they do is send me to another doctor. I got a MR"A" recently and three doctors argued with me over which doctor I should see....umm okay.......anyway thank you for the reply!
Glenna

[Glenna1962]

I hired a local SS attorney and I'm not sure if helped my SSDI claim or not. I was 'fast tracked' once my claim was approved because I was sole support for myself and my young adopted daughter, some type of compassionate grounds.

My sx's were fatigue, cognitive, B&B incontinence, insomnia, not the usual physically disabiling sx's, I have no regrets about hiring an attorney.

I don't know what I would have done if I had to appeal, my copeing skills were at the maximum capacity just getting through doctor visits and daily demands of living. The attorney fees were deducted by SS from my award and paid directly to my attorney, SOP. I was glad to pay the 25%?

The most I was aware of my attorney actually doing was writing a few letters to SS to advise that they represented me and their fees should be disbursed from my back pay benefits. I know having an attorney didn't hurt, and I'd do it again before I'd risk having my initial claim denied.

Liquidating assets is probably within the SSDI allowed methods of providing for yourself during the approval process, when you are prohibited from working. It is a crule process to lose possessions that took a lifetime to accumulate, but it is our system.

I did speak to allsup and because this all so new they feel SS will deny my claim....I do not have enough medical history and out of 16 doctors they all have their own theory and want to treat or not treat any findings.... I do not know what to do I am beyond being exhausted and I was working from home......Taking a shower and shaving my legs has become optional because I do not have the energy to waste on those things. When I have a shower I have to sit down or lay down after to recover......This is insane.....I think I am becoming depressed and not sure how to handle it or anything anymore..

[fivepointstar]

Yes, get a lawyer. I had one and it took 6 years of battling those Administrative Law Judges to get approved. Good Luck

[Rich Feingold]

Hi, everyone. We lawyers can help claimants obtain disability sooner and increase the chances of eventually winning one's claim. A lawyer is supposed to know the legal basis of disability and advocate for the client based upon this legal basis. Representation involves more than just obtain medical records and reports.

Rich