Saturday, January 14, 2006
Whirlwind visit with lawyer....
Yesterday, Dan and I went to see my lawyer. We already knew each other slightly since he had given a speech to my fibromyalgia support group last year and I'd talked to him afterward and had gotten his card. He has 20 years of experience helping fibromyalgia patients with their SSDI claims. It was a good sign went I walked into his office and saw a "Fibromyalgia Aware" magazine on the coffee table. He also brought in an old copy of "The Sjogren's Handbook". I told him there had been a new edition printed last year, and he said he'd have to get one.
I showed him the denial letter from Social Security, and he was amazed they denied me despite 10 different specialists saying I couldn't work. He was even more amazed when he saw the favorable CE report. He knows the doctor that did the exam and said she hardly ever issues favorable reports. So we started talking about what we could do next.
My heart sank when I found out it is now a year long wait to see a judge. The lawyer had an idea about a way to try to speed the process up, though. He could ask for an on the record decision. That is when someone with a very strong case has it reviewed on the basis on what's already in the file without a hearing (and usually several months sooner than the hearing would be). I was told there was about a 20 to 30 percent chance of being approved this way, but I figured there was no harm in giving it a shot. If they won't approve it early, I just end up waiting my turn for a hearing anyway.
We went over some things the denial letter overlooked. They did not list my peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunnel or hearing loss among my impairments and didn't cite the neurologist who did the EMG as a source in making their decision. The records for all of that are already in my file. They also didn't list my edema, but I haven't really had anyone specific treat it other than to tell me to wear granny hose, so it would be hard to prove that needing to elevate my feet is one of the things preventing me from working. We also looked in the Blue Book (Social Security's list of disabling impairments) to see if gastroparesis was in there; it isn't.
The lawyer thought it would be beneficial to see if we could show several of my doctors the favorable CE report and see if they would write letters to Social Security agreeing with it. He also recommended that I make an appointment with my "second opinion" rheumatologist since I hadn't seen him in a year and maybe a more current evaluation would be more compelling. He also suggested I have one or two of my docs besides my primary rheumatologist (he already did one) fill out residual capacity reports (reports listing my limitations). And he intends to write to my long-term disability insurance company informing them that I am appealing my Social Security denial and that I have representation. Well, that's the official reason for the letter; the unofficial reason is that by them knowing I have a lawyer involved, they might back off a bit with their delaying and bullying tactics.
We went ahead and filled out all the appeal and other offical paperwork right there in the conference room. The quicker Social Security receives my appeal notice, the quicker my name gets on the waiting list for a hearing. And the less hassle for me trying to figure out what to write where.
I was praised for having all the info he needed handy and legible. I told him how it took me a month to assemble all the stuff for the Social Security application. And how it was getting harder and harder to do this all by myself.
So it is a great relief that someone is going to bat for me, even if he does get 25 percent of my Social Security backpay. Because I still have to deal with the long-term disability insurance company and the tests they're gonna make me take. There is still a chance, a large chance in fact, that the LTD company could deny me AND I could not get the on the record decision with Social Security. If that happens, I will have NO benefits while I wait for a year for a hearing and while I sue the LTD company.
But for now, things are about as ok as they're gonna get.
I showed him the denial letter from Social Security, and he was amazed they denied me despite 10 different specialists saying I couldn't work. He was even more amazed when he saw the favorable CE report. He knows the doctor that did the exam and said she hardly ever issues favorable reports. So we started talking about what we could do next.
My heart sank when I found out it is now a year long wait to see a judge. The lawyer had an idea about a way to try to speed the process up, though. He could ask for an on the record decision. That is when someone with a very strong case has it reviewed on the basis on what's already in the file without a hearing (and usually several months sooner than the hearing would be). I was told there was about a 20 to 30 percent chance of being approved this way, but I figured there was no harm in giving it a shot. If they won't approve it early, I just end up waiting my turn for a hearing anyway.
We went over some things the denial letter overlooked. They did not list my peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunnel or hearing loss among my impairments and didn't cite the neurologist who did the EMG as a source in making their decision. The records for all of that are already in my file. They also didn't list my edema, but I haven't really had anyone specific treat it other than to tell me to wear granny hose, so it would be hard to prove that needing to elevate my feet is one of the things preventing me from working. We also looked in the Blue Book (Social Security's list of disabling impairments) to see if gastroparesis was in there; it isn't.
The lawyer thought it would be beneficial to see if we could show several of my doctors the favorable CE report and see if they would write letters to Social Security agreeing with it. He also recommended that I make an appointment with my "second opinion" rheumatologist since I hadn't seen him in a year and maybe a more current evaluation would be more compelling. He also suggested I have one or two of my docs besides my primary rheumatologist (he already did one) fill out residual capacity reports (reports listing my limitations). And he intends to write to my long-term disability insurance company informing them that I am appealing my Social Security denial and that I have representation. Well, that's the official reason for the letter; the unofficial reason is that by them knowing I have a lawyer involved, they might back off a bit with their delaying and bullying tactics.
We went ahead and filled out all the appeal and other offical paperwork right there in the conference room. The quicker Social Security receives my appeal notice, the quicker my name gets on the waiting list for a hearing. And the less hassle for me trying to figure out what to write where.
I was praised for having all the info he needed handy and legible. I told him how it took me a month to assemble all the stuff for the Social Security application. And how it was getting harder and harder to do this all by myself.
So it is a great relief that someone is going to bat for me, even if he does get 25 percent of my Social Security backpay. Because I still have to deal with the long-term disability insurance company and the tests they're gonna make me take. There is still a chance, a large chance in fact, that the LTD company could deny me AND I could not get the on the record decision with Social Security. If that happens, I will have NO benefits while I wait for a year for a hearing and while I sue the LTD company.
But for now, things are about as ok as they're gonna get.
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