SSDI Hearing Today...Oy!...

evening all,

thank you everyone so very much for the outpouring of support & good thoughts.

as i may be very much A) crippled or B) comatose for the next 3 days, i wanted to post now how things went today @ my ssdi hearing of which i waited 12 months for.(this is the 3rd appeal to fill ya's in).

 

oy!...no sleep since saturday nite so a zombie i was.

i had help getting to & back home which was a total blessing.

i got there at the building @ 11:30am (trial date time was 12:30pm)...I WAITED THREE AND A HALF HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mind ya' i can't sit up in a chair for more than 15 minutes tops...so i was literally laying down on the ground in the lobby, lol, sad yeah...but wtf?!?  i'm not kidding when i am telling them I'M DISABLED!

 

my judge was "late" i guess; or held up in another trial. so 3:30 i was seen.

 

they send me into the room; just me, the judge, & the stenographer.

i was sworn in before my arse hit the seat!

things felt rushed/it felt hurried/he was a bit tough to keep up with but heck...the man was running 4 hours behind schedule so...ah well right?

 

i was cool as a cucumber, i didn't break once, nerves were intact...

 

i did most of the talking; the judge asked mostly questions about the things that I HOPED he would: sitting/standing/and hand grip/and mobility. plus what i was able to do at my old job right before i had to leave for good.

 

my hearing was about 6.5 minutes...6 1/2 minutes!!!!!

i kid you not...

 

and that's about it.  a few people i talked to already had asked me if i had a "sympathetic judge"?  i dunno'! he seemed impartial!  like he had NO OPINION.

 

but...MY CASE FILE was VERY INTERESTING!  to my surprise THEY DID have my complete medical records & THEY DID interview ALL of my doctors!

all of my Dr.'s reports basically said, "This girl is crap!"

 

so i dunno' folks...whoever "decides" if you are approved or denied obviously do not take into consideration physicians' opinions!  they all agreed that i'm disabled...but the state of NJ doesn't? hmm? beats me.

 

oh yally...umh...i don't know too much either about SSDI, but i have always been employed "on the books" since i was in the 6th or 7th grade (12 years old?) of course part time. through H.S. always 20hrs per week or more and in college up to 2005 i was part time always employed. so never unemployed. i have no idea how many quarters?  but my W2 forms i find are dated all the way back to 1995.

i do not think i ever was termed "full time" employed because i worked my way through H.S. and college so i don't think i ever managed 40+ hours per week all year (only on winter break i think 40+)

 

the one thing that really broke me was when the judge spit back to me: "So right now you lead a very unproductive life."

 

darn!!!!!!!!  ouch!!!!!!!!! 

that made me choke...i mean yes...i can stand just long enough to make a pot of coffe in the morning; IF i get to make it through a shower that's a BIG DEAL! a day full of pain, taking meds, trying to get a few mouth fulls of food down...

 

well yeah, Sir that's about it.

 

but to hear it shot back at you like that?...that hurt.

 

so then "hearing adjourned case closed"

 

i think he mumbled something like i'll get written notice 7 to 30 days? (i couldn't understand what he said.)

 

i'm not expecting to get approved for ssdi.

i think that this has escalated to something greater.  i think it's a case of total age discrimination.

if i am denied this time again, i'm sure an attorney would just eat this up.

 

i watched 4 other claimants "get coached" by their lawyers today as i sat & waited 3 hours in agony.

they told them what to say, what to exagerate,...it was SICK!

1 girl was an hour late, she RAN into the lobby...nevertheless, i think the judge ripped her a new A**hole  

and the young man that was being prepped by his lawyer? (he's able to play soccer with his kids by the way)  i heard them say "that didn't sound too promising."

it was very unsettling and very sickening what i saw being done there today. the attorneys & their "clients" being coached...the "disabled" claimants all of whom got up & walked & looked they could be in the darn Olympics compared to me. (me? haven't showered since saturday...i think THAT IS A PROBLEM?) 

so i don't know folks...we shall see right?

 

and yes, this was the easiest thing i have ever done i my life.  today was the first time when i was asked "how i was"...i did not have to answer "fine thanks".

it was very cathartic to be able to tell the absolute truth, although it hurt; but i didn't have to pretend that things were "alright".

 

you are all fabulous, each and every one of you, thank you for being there.

 

gimme' a few days to recoup, lol.

with love,

erin

well done erin you showed the barstewards what dignity means and give me the name and address of the judge jsut in case he turns you down - a copy of the white pages, a sudden death in the family and we can see how many caskets we can get delivered to his door eh? I did that once over here to soembody who upset me. Phoned a couple of funeral parlours told them there was a stiff to pick up............stood opposite and watched the fun. It's either that or me an the boyz get some baseball practice..............

But seriously you got your 6 and a half minutes and now he plays god. How much for an attorney to appeal? We can open an appeals thread here on line all donations gratefully received and all that. A bit like the dando Shaft thing where he invested his last $2000 on a full page advert in the  NY Times asking everybody who read the ad to send him one dollar - instant millionaire.

email on its way. Hang in there.

much love

The Bear

Erin,

You have to know how much you mean to all of us here... I can only say a HUGE ditto to what the others have already said, and much better than I ever could...Yes, Bear is right, we can organize some "persuading" for the judge if need be...I would gladly help with that!! 

Yally couldn't have been more right...don't ever let anyone think you are less than the awesome person you are...can't imagine a single person who could deal with what you have gone through and still manage to be a source of strength and encouragement to all of us here. You are invaluable!

We'll all be waiting and believing for the best results possible.

Love,

jody

I went to mine 13th july the judge asked my son if he was going to ask the questions or him my son asked the questions do you do dishes ,run the sweeper and stupid things like that i did have to tell him all my meds and what i took them for and the only thing the judge asked me was about a car wreck i was in and how much did i get  but the rehab doctor said with my restrictions he felt i was disabled and could no longer do my job or any other .That was it about 30 minutes it was over .It has been 3 years since i filed and the hearing in front of the judge was 4 months haven't heard a word yet they are to have a decision in 60 days  everytime my son or i call we get all kind excuses like the judge hasn't got to my cause yet, he is back logged 6 months ,call back in a month,the judge is from a different state and the laws are different.My son is going to law school and he helps people get there disability he has won all the cases so far but mine .But the funny part my sister was talking about her fm and i said well file for ssd and in 9 months she was on it and i have ten times more wrong with me and take hell of lot more medicine then she does  nothing .I am glad she got it but i just don't understand the system and all she had was a family doctor and i have 5 different doctors backing me up .Well i am done venting have a good day DEB

Erin, have you heard anything about this? Thinking of you sweetie..

  I am praying for you Erin and for you too, Deb in Indiana

Ya' know...I'm almost hoping they will deny me. Like..."Go on and denie the case a 4th time you s.o.b.!"
I spoke with Binder & Binder and they said there is no question about it...this case should have been approved.
So, they better be ready for a discrimination lawsuit if they reject me.
It could work to my advantage the longer they say "No."
You are right, I envy people getting up, showering, getting dressed, going to work (even if part time!). I much rather be working. I hate being home. God I'd gove ANYTHING to be in the shape I was in 4 years ago! (and that was bad!!!!!!) but at least I managed to work 1 or 3 days a week.
Haven't heard anything yet. No mail, no letters...no nothing.
Offically 1 month ago it was. I'll wait 1 more month & then call to inquire.
Thanks for listening.
erin

Hi Erin, My prayers are with you. I hope you get approved this time.

Hi there......so sorry about the hearing....I think they have up to 30 days. Was this State Disability or Social Security Disability? Hope all goes well for you dearie...........

Hi Erin, if I remember  correctly, having been declared 'unproductive' [whatever that is supposed to mean in this context] what other decisioin can the judge come to given your circumstances and his own definition of  your being? I still don't understand what the system is and whether it is a federal or a state decision on yoour 'disability' classification. Over here it can be equally as frustrating although much easier in terms of timescales to be classed as disabled although you can be officially classed as disabled and still not receive benefits both fiscal and in kind,, and vice versa. One certainly doesn't have to go before a judge to prove ones case. If I were you I would be hammering the door down on day 31 never mind giving them another 30 days. What hope is there for the ordinary punter if the judicial system cannot hold to its own recognised timescales? Give 'em an inch and all that. Hassle them erin or threaten them with the Bear - all i need is an address lol. Good to have you back feeling more like your old self you've been  missed. What this does do is beg the question, how disabled does a cadaver need to be before its classed as disabled? Not that I am classifying you as such but it does strike me that under your system you need to prove you are dead before they accept you are disabled. And then they deny you because.....yes you guessed it. That's one hell of a catch that 22. .

 

 

Keep us posted erin

 

Stay well

 

The bear

Erin - your original story above sounds similar to when I saw when I worked for the Bankruptcy Trustee last year. People would have to wait for hours and then get ushered in and out in sometimes as little as one minute. And there was sometimes crying too and some words that sounded harsh - but really the people working there were a bit numb and didn't always say things in the best way. Working there it took us sometimes up to several months to "get to" certain files after the initial hearing. Just hang in there! If there is someone to call to find out a status you should do that every so often. When people used to call and bother me I seriously put their file at the top of the pile so I could get their case done and get them off my back!