Bob: Hi everybody. Bob here with another version of “What The Heck?” This is episode 8. Today we’re going to talk about Social Security, and specifically about disability. If you think the regular Social Security system is screwed up, you haven’t seen anything yet. I’m going from experience here. I’ve been dealing with these people for 19 years, so I know something about this.

Okay, I’m going to give you the exact situation we’ve been in. My wife, Mary, suffered from several brain tumors 19 years ago. They removed four of them with no problems. The fifth one did damage coming out. It actually killed her and they had to bring her back. She suffers from short term memory loss, she has some severe balance problems, she has some vision problems, and she has a decent case of Bell’s palsy as well. And she had a lot of radiation therapy, a lot of chemo therapy. And when all this happened, the insurance company pulled pre-existing clause. Fortunately, the hospital actually sued the insurance company on our behalf, and they won. So they got paid. We made a deal with the hospital that as long as we testified on their behalf, they would never come after us, which is good because that was over a million dollars’ worth. My wife was in the hospital for several months. She actually was in a coma undergoing surgery on our first anniversary. But we’re going to go back to Social Security disability.

We originally filed for Social Security disability not too long after this all happened. About a month later we get an appointment to go see a doctor. Okay, they’re going to evaluate her. He just asked a couple of questions, took one look at her and said, “Okay, thank you” and then we left and we got a denial notice in the mail. Okay, we accepted it and went on with our merry way. I felt, “Hey, I was working, I had insurance, so what the hell. It didn’t really matter”.

So, about two years later my wife gets into a traumatic brain injury program, and there is a social worker there. I can’t, for the life of me, remember her name. I think Mary probably would remember it. But she asked us why Mary wasn’t getting Social Security disability, and we told her she was denied. She asked, “How many times did you appeal it?” I asked, “Appeal it? You can appeal them? I had no idea”. So she put all the paper work together, she had all the doctor’s paperwork from the TVI programs she was in, we pushed it through, and we got her disability.

Now, remember we got denied in our first attempt? Turns out that’s standard operating procedure. They do that to eliminate the people who are doing it fraudulently. Unless you are in a coma, you will get denied; plain and simple. Your first attempt will be denied. Always appeal, that’s the one lesson we learnt: always appeal. Because if you win your appeal, however long it takes, you’re still accumulating money. You see, your money accumulation starts the day you apply.

So if it takes 2 months to get to you, they owe you 2 months’ back checks. With us, it was 2 and a half years. They had to send us 2 and a half years of back checks. They sent to us all in one check. It was like $10,000 at the time. No, it wasn’t $10,000, it was like $8,000 at the time. But we got about 2 years’ worth of back checks. That was quite nice; that brought me a car. But always appeal it, and if your first appeal doesn’t go through for some reason, get a lawyer. A lawyer costs you nothing. Appeals lawyers for Social Security disability make a set amount. They’re paid by the government, win or lose. Let me say that again – Social Security disability lawyers, win or lose, are paid for by the government. Not paid for by you, although they are your attorney, they are your advocate; they are paid by the government. And it’s not as an employee of the government, it’s the government pays their fee, win or lose. So they’re obviously going to be on your side, because they want you to win. That’s why these people do it. And you see the advertisements on TV every once in a while that say, “Oh, we went all the way up to Alaska to help this guy”. Yeah, because you’re billing the federal government. They get paid a fee. And it’s different for every lawyer, they submit a bill to the federal government, the federal government decides “we’re going to pay you this much,” and they take it. But after the first appeal if you’re still not getting it, get a lawyer.

Now, you’re going to be re-evaluated every 3 years. What they do is they tell you that you have to go to this doctor at this point in time if you want to keep getting your benefits. No matter what, you’ll still keep getting it up until the day they say you’re denied. But it’s called a re-evaluation and usually it’s just a formality. Once you get a number of years in, like we have, I believe after 12 years or 15 years they don’t even bother re-evaluating anymore. We should have had 2 evaluations that we haven’t had. So it might be after 12 years. We should have had re-evaluation last year and we didn’t, and then we should have had a re-evaluation 4 years ago, and we didn’t. So I think they just give up after that.

That’s Social Security disability in a nutshell. Remember these two rules: 1) always appeal and 2) after the first appeal, get a lawyer. And you’ll do fine. To be totally honest, though, on the first appeal you’ll probably get it. Unless you utterly do not deserve it anyway, you’ll probably get it. Because that first denial is just to get rid of the frauds. That’s all.

My name is Bob, this has been “What The Heck?” and if you have opinions different than mine, or if you agree with mine – whichever – please go ahead and comment. I’d love to see your comments and you may just be the one to change my mind. You all have a great day now.

However, you should be clear about one thing: Social Security is not the same as welfare. One determining factor in whether social security benefits are paid to an individual or his family is whether that person has previously contributed something to the system. If your case is not 100% clear cut, or even if it is, an experienced lawyer can help you get the best deal.

Lawyers that specialize in social security disability claims are standing by to help you interpret your situation and inform you of your legal rights pertaining to social security denials and appeals. Generally speaking, social security disability lawyers and attorneys are very knowledgeable. They can help you ensure that you follow all the rules.

But are they honest?

In a word, yes. The vast majority of Social Security disability lawyers is very honest and ethical. They are highly experienced professionals who specialize in handling Social Security disability claims and appeals. They have a vast knowledge of the Social Security laws. So don’t worry, approach a Social Security lawyer so he can provide you with helpful legal assistance in filing a social security disability claim.

The Social Security Administration strictly governs what lawyers may charge you. Any fee you pay to a Social Security lawyer must be approved by the Social Security Administration.

So give it a try, contact a Social Security lawyer today!