My main thought pertaining to an attorney is that if you can do a quick consult (not necessarily retain) you can get the “lay of the land” so-to-speak when it comes to avoiding obvious pitfalls. And then you’ve got somebody in your pocket if that first denial comes in. I also think certain conditions are more amenable to favorable results, while others require some effort (as it should be of course, but on the other hand it can be tough to navigate while dealing with a difficult condition).
@cycleride , very good post with great information. Thank you. We spent most of the day at the hospital doing pre-surgery paperwork. ugh. But while we were there, I got a copy of all paperwork. It looks a little thin, so I will review tomorrow and then followup on Wednesday while I wait for his surgery to be over. Gotta have something to do at the hospital.
H does not qualify for VA, I don’t think- he was only in for 3 years and this is not service related.
thanks everyone for all the information, I figure it doesn’t hurt to ask SS, the worst they can do is say no.
I found SS people pretty helpful when I was getting benefits for DS. I didn’t get an attorney. He WAS denied the first time, but I figured out it was because I put down incorrect information about a 529 account (it shouldn’t have been listed as one of DS’s assets, but mine instead). I resubmitted, and he was approved! We never used an attorney. The paperwork was extensive, though. We are SO thankful for SS benefits - they’re enough to cover his living expenses plus a little extra, and we never have to worry about his medical bills again. I know people complain a lot about “the system,” but it’s working for him.
ChuckieDoodle, I am so sorry to hear about your husbands’s cancer. Sadly, my husband was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer last July, and died July 18 of this year. It’s horrible to watch your spouse go through something so terrible, so my heart is with you both.
I learned a thing or two about SSDI during this time. This past March, my husband was in the hospital for 21 days straight and, though he thought he would be going back to work, I knew he never would. A friend who once worked in the disability area for our state office told me then that I should make Jeff apply for SSDI, but he was truly convinced he was going back to work, and he didn’t want to apply. Finally, in May, he agreed to apply. My friend was so very helpful in a process that, from what I understand, can take months to get approved. This is what he told me to do:
When completing the application, make sure you list everything that’s going on with your husband, give doctor’s names and numbers, and don’t be afraid of sharing too much information. They need to know it all. It took us 4+ hours to complete the application online, but we made sure to list EVERYTHING. You won’t want to leave anything out and take a chance on slowing things down. Jeff’s doctor offered to write a letter of support which we attached, and we made sure to let all of his doctors know that they would receive a request of information from the SSA and we hoped they would respond quickly.
Once the application has been processed, call your congressperson’s office and tell them you want a congressional inquiry regarding the status of the application. This will red-flag your husband’s account and expedite the application approval (or rejection, God forbid!). The woman who took my information at my congresswoman’s office was incredibly kind and called us several times to follow up. When my friend told me how many people apply each year for disability, I simply could not believe it! It angered me to learn about some of the crazy things for which people applied for disability, especially knowing how it clogs the system for those with valid reasons. I digress … plus, I’ll just get angry all over again.
If you know anyone who works for the SSA or in a state office, call them and ask them to make calls on your husband’s behalf.
My husband’s application was approved in just under five weeks which I am told is a very fast turnaround. Because there is a full five month waiting period from the time of approval to the time of the first check, my husband would not have been eligible for payment till November of this year.
I encourage you to go ahead and get moving on the process and I wish you luck! Please update with your husband’s progress. You’ll both be in my thoughts and prayers.
So sorry @SplashMom and @ChuckleDoodle and everyone who has had a loved one become disabled and then have to fight a bureaucracy. This thread has a lot of helpful pointers and documentation is the key, plus being persistent so your paperwork doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
We had to file paperwork so D could remain on our family policy as a disabled dependent. We had our medical insurer, our US senator’s office and me regularly call the Office of Personnel Management to keep the case from getting buried at n all their paperwork. It is key to keep dogging them and have others keep calling on your behalf or the case can easily disappear. It was a tremendous relief having the paperwork finally be retroactively approved just BEFORE we were told D’s medical bills would go to collections! It did take months of persistence but it was worth it for us.
Splashmom, I am so sorry. May your DH’s memory be a blessing.
My brother did not get an attorney; we knew he was in the Compassionate Allowance category. He has no medical insurance, but his docs were terrific in getting the documentation together quickly for SS. He called me with questions about the application itself and had the approval in under two months from the time he submitted it.
In my situation, leukemia plus a major heart attack, I expect that applying for SSDI would be a long process and would probably require an attorney at some point for the appeals process. I’m working PT now so am earning credits again, so if anything happens down the road, I should at least have the requisite quarters of current eligibility. (I had been in and out of the workforce and had gotten to the point where I didn’t have enough current credits, so I wouldn’t be eligible, regardless of my health status.)
Chuckledoodle, if your DH saw a different set of doctors with his last bout, contact them about submitting medical history, too.
Update. Good news. H got a lump sum payment to cover the past 5 months! We are going to call tomorrow and see if all the paperwork has been completed and ask how long he will be receiving benefits. Thank you for all your help and suggestions, especially @SplashMom - your encouragement was very helpful. I think I submitted his application about a month ago, so they were very fast with the response.
From a health perspective, H is doing as well as can be expected. He went today for his punch biopsies and scheduled his next surgery for 2 weeks from Monday. He also has an oncology appointment set up for the beginning of December. He was feeling down about not being able to work for the past 2 years and having me juggle the bills so this SS disability came at the right time. Now if the refinance on the house goes through, we will be sitting pretty…or I will as H won’t feel like sitting at all in the next few weeks.
ChuckleDoodle, I’m so glad that SS has come through for your DH. That’s a big burden off your mind and his, I’m sure. Hope his treatment and tests go well.
