Don't believe all the bull cocky about getting on SS disability.
Federal SS disability approval is EXTREMELY HARD to get!
First off, it takes years.
For sure 2 and more likely 3 full years, and THAT is IF your disability qualifies at all.
SS administration WILL deny you several times no matter how disabled you are.
Then, you have all the paper work required by the social security disability administration from doctors that will be the nightmare in itself.
Form after form required by SS administration.
Doctors poo-poo-ing their filling out of forms because they just do not want to do it, AND claim not to have the time nor the desire to fill out YOUR forms.
Then... when the doc should get around to actually filling out forms, but only after YOU hound the doctor office FOR WEEKS and MONTHS, then only will you discover either the doctor ~or~ the SS administration lost the forms: SORRY, WE NEVER RECEIVED ANY FORMS.
Doctor: WE SENT THEM IN.
SS administration: WELL WE NEVER GOT THEM.
Doctor: WELL WE SENT THEM IN.
SS administration: WELL WE NEVER GOT THEM.
Doctor: WELL WE SENT THEM IN.
SS administration: WELL WE NEVER GOT THEM.
And mind you THIS is YOU doing all the leg work and telephone work.
No one will fight your battles on your behalf besides YOU.
The doctor doesn't give a damn. The SS administration doesn't give a damn.
So now... you will wonder did the doctor lie about filling out the forms?
Did the doctor lose the forms?
Did the doctor actually ever send in the forms?
Did the SS administration lose the the forms?
Is the SS administration trying to drive you insane?
That mystery alone will take 8 to 12 months to figure out and hopefully correct.
You, again, must hound the doctor(s) daily, weekly, monthly to get the doctor to re-fill-out the forms all over AGAIN, then re-send the forms back in to SSDI all over AGAIN.
Will they cooperate?
Don't hold your breath...
This will not be easy.
At least another 8 - 12 months totally wasted time.
All while YOU have NO income coming in per-SSDI requirements.
And if you should become employed even for one hour or one day, the SS administration will drop your claim like a hot potato if they find you have worked.
So plan on living penniless and in poverty down your parents basement or a friends basement until hopefully you get approved three years down the long hard road.
Getting a lawyer is usually pointless as well because that attorney will not get much further than you can yourself, plus, they will take most if not all of that first huge SSDI settlement check.
If and when you should EVER get SSDI approved, that is...
And that attorney will end up as just another telephone number on your daily list to call, hound, every day, week, month trying to get answers. ANY ANSWERS!
The attorney will require YOU do all the paper work, leg work, calling of your doctors to get things in motion or more likely re-motioned when everything seems to have just stopped. Then... your attorney just takes all your settlement money.
To even be considered for SSDI you absolutely CAN NOT be working.
So if you are able to sponge off relatives, or live with relatives for pretty much 2 - 3 years with yourself poor as a church mouse, then you have hurdled at least one major obstacle.
In the end, you have to really be disabled. And with an SSDI qualifying disability.
Which IS NOT easily done!
You MUST prove exactly that to social security disability with doctor statements, and tons of medical records, and also with employer sourced work history records.
HA HA--- Good Luck with THAT cooperation !!!
Most people just simply give up. THAT IS FACT!!!
Most people are not able to get the doctors to cooperate even if they do deserve disability.
Most people do not have the durability to go thru this hard painful lengthly process.
It will drive one 100% totally insane.
In the old days, during the 1980's and early 90's, AIDS was about the only disability that was fast tracked by federal SS disability SSDi.
Usually, one could get fully permanent SS disability approved within 3 - 6 months.
But with todays HIV medications and treatments, SS disability no longer considers HIV nor AIDS as life threatening or as an disability qualifying event.
Those cases today where SSDI will qualify HIV people are very rare, and that person and the doctor(s) must prove treatment is failing and or not working.
Which failing testament is very rare occurrence with todays advanced HIV medications.
Sad fact is, most people that do or should be on SS disability regardless of illness and disability, die far before federal SSDI approves them for SSDI disability.
Another fact, it is easier to get "partial" SS disability and keep working.
Where your income from employment is supplemented by SS disability, with reduce working hours.
I.e. a full time employed person that becomes disabled and limited SSDi approved can cut back to 20 - 30 hours a work week, with SS disability making up the difference in loss of pay.
BUT... employers DO NOT like the SS administration to regulate an employees working hours. Where that employer needs a 40 hour full time worker, but that employee can only work 20 or 30 hours a week.
So that employer WILL find a way to kick your ass out of the company.
One way or another, you will lose your job in the case where the employee can no longer work their assigned 40 hour week, even after SS disability has approved that employee for limited disability along with a limited work week.
At one time in California, Im not sure about current situation, but at one time old CA had their own type of state disability that was a lot easier to get and qualify for.
Especially for short termed disability lasting only 6 - 12 months.
Thousands of CA state workers took advantage of the generous CA disability system.
It was pretty easy.
Any teacher, any state worker, any police officer, any fire fighter, any state social worker could claim STRESS from their job and qualify for CA disability.
While collecting CA disability, they applied for permanent federal SSDI disability.
If one could get approved for permanent federal SS disability, waiting for that 2 - 3 year SSDI approval, then one could at least survive on their CA supplied state disability checks until approved for permanent federal SS disability.
But that ease of getting CA state disability was what eventually bankrupted the state of California and resulted in Gray Davis recall. At least that was one of the reasons CA went BK.
So I have no idea if CA state disability is still the same now, still easily obtained, or not.
But that was California.
Most all other people not resident in CA have to go the federal SSDI disability route.
Which is still a nightmare. Especially for those really hurting and truly disabled.
Yeah, its a common "takers vs givers" baloney stereo type bull cocky that getting approved for federal SS disability is some cake walk.
Don't believe it.
Only a moron will lead you to believe differently.
And 99% of Fox News.
Oh, add in there Mitt Romney, naturally.
It takes years for SSDI approval.
You must have full cooperation from a doctor.
You must be totally not working due to your disability for the entire duration of the approval process.
And, you must actually be disabled i.e. unable to work at all.
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