Information For People Who Are Clueless About Social Security Claims

[stewert]

My name is Steve Senti, I now live in East Peoria Illinois and I worked for 17 years (from 1978 to 1995) at International Paper doing back breaking work in a 110 degree printing factory, until I hurt my back and had back surgery in 1985. Before working there I was in perfect health with no back problems and passed a physical with flying colors, in other words, I was as healthy as an ox.

In 1995 I had to quit my job, the job I loved to do, that paid good money, $13.00 an hour in 1995. I had to quit because of my back problems, and from 1995 to May of 2013 when my Father passed away I lived with my Father who supported me.

In 2001 I started www.oreilly-sucks.com, with the money from a DU.com member. He paid me $100 dollars to register the domain name and get hosting, then I did the website for nothing, zero, nada. No ad revenue, no nothing, I did it all on my own for free. It was not even my idea, it was his idea, and he also picked the name, I wanted www.oreillyspins.com and he said he wanted oreilly-sucks.com, so he was paying and we went with what he wanted.

Since 2001 I have been trying to get social security disability, I filed for it and went through all the appeals, and they denied me at every turn. Then my back problems got worse and I also got diabetes and started having chest pains. So I went to the free clinic and now I am on 5 different medications.

I have PPD and DDD, and a few other things. This does not allow me to work, but even though I have these problems I was still denied by social security. So over the years I have asked people here to help me and they always did, that is why I am here today.

In 2012 I was telling someone about my situation and they said I should get an attorney and file for social security again, so I did, and we filed the claim in 2012. This was my 2nd try, and this time they tell me they think I will get it.

For people that do not know it, despite of what you may have heard social security denies everyone on the 1st try, they even deny people in wheelchairs who only have one foot. My Aunt was denied on her 1st try, and she was in a wheelchair with one foot, then she got an attorney and appealed it, but she did not win until her 3rd appeal, which is just ridiculous.

I am now on my 3rd appeal. It's called an ALJ appeal hearing, it's the 1st real chance you get to actually talk to someone and tell them your situation, all the other appeals are worthless, all they do is look for legal errors, if they do not find any they uphold the original ruling, that almost never gets approved for anyone.

While you are waiting YEARS for appeals, nobody is paying you, I get food stamps, I am on medicaid and I go to a free clinic, and I also have the safelink cell phone, but that is it. I do not get any financial aid from any state or federal agency, nothing. I do make a little money selling ad space on my website, but it is barely enough to pay my bills, I only charge $25 a month for an ad, so I do not make much.

Some people think you get money while you are waiting for these appeals, you do not, unless you are a mother with a child, single men with no children get nothing.

And for anyone who wants to see it, here are some documents to prove what I say is true, I do this only to show that there are some people here that have said I am a scammer, they are wrong, 100% wrong, they are misinformed and just wrong.

Do not just believe me, look at my documents. I have nothing to hide and I am a 100% honest person. Another DU member tried to help me by posting about my situation, and some clueless people ruined it and accused them of doing something wrong, they did nothing wrong, and the guy who caused the problem is wrong, you know who you are.

I am an open book, and if anyone wants to talk to me and find out more, all they have to do is message me and they will see that everything I say is 100% true.

Here is a letter to me from social security, from December of 2013:



Here is a letter from the law firm representing me, from June 6, 2014:



Here is a letter to me from Congressman Schock about it, from June 16th, 2014:



Letter from January 7, 2014 from Myler Disability:



Yes I ask for money at DU.com, because I had nowhere else to get help.

Read the above documents and you will see I am not a scammer and everything I say is 100% true.

Steve

[Kalidurga]

1. Dear Stewart

You may or may not be legit. It would take a lot of work to prove or disprove a personal claim online. Anyone can be whatever they say they are or not. Calling people clueless in your OP is offensive IMO.

[daredtowork]

2. He's Responding to People Who Called Him a Scammer

Someone else on DU made a post to try to help him, and some others flew in with negative comments trying to protect DU from the "scam". The original OP was deleted.

I won't comment on the way Stewert is trying to raise money, but I'm personally familiar with this kind of situation, and I understand how it can take this long. I also understand the frustration with being forced to live in beggary that long and having to fend off the personal attacks as you try to survive any way you can.

Whether they choose to help Stewert or not, members of DU can help by learning about the SSI situation and helping to bring about change at the policy level. Here is the "education" comment I left on the other post:

It takes years to apply to SSI. You can't work while applying to SSI: that would prove you CAN work, and therefore you would be ineligible for SSI. If you don't have parents willing to take you in or you don't have savings that will cover rent and expense for 2-3 years, you will have to fall back on General Assistance welfare.

However, General Assistance welfare is designed to be impossible to live on in to "motivate" people to get off welfare. For instance, where I live it's $336 in rental assistance a month that goes directly to your landlord in an area where renting a student room runs over $600. There is no direct cash assistance for basic necessities: bills, hygiene products, laundry, cleaning products, stamps for the paperwork the State itself requires you to deal with, public transportation, etc. If you try to do a little casual work to buy these necessities, it comes out of the landlord's check, undermining your housing arrangements (click on my sig to see how that works). General Assistance is a LOAN - the State will take the money back out of SSI when you get it. If you go back to work, they make it harder for you to get started again by taking the money back from what is probably a minimum wage paycheck.

The irony is what the State puts people through on General Assistance probably keeps there longer than they would if they had gotten humane support in a time of crisis. The stress of living at the constant edge of homelessness or being driving into homelessness exacerbates whatever disability you might have instead of helping you get back on your feet.

The long delay in SSI processing, intended to help screen people out, amounts to torturing people who are already in a debilitated condition. Every day Americans ignore this situation is an exercise in cruelty.

Please make covering people's basic survival needs during the long SSI application process part of your political activism.

[stewert]

3. For The Record.............

I only called one person clueless, and they know who they are.

The rest of my posting was simply to inform people of the facts, the facts that skinner knows all about, I have shown him that documentation and much more, so he knows I am legit.

In fact, it's hard to believe anyone can doubt it, the proof is right in front of their eyes, I have copies of documents from DHS, social security, my law firm, my congressman, etc.

And I challenge anyone to prove me wrong, the problem is they cant, so they misinform people because they do not like me asking for donations here for some strange reason.

It's really none of their business and I do not see why they have a problem with it, if you do not like it just ignore it and do not read my postings, it's that simple.

[TheNutcracker]

7. Stewart is hanging on by a thread, he's being threatened by our once compassionate nation

Stewart has been a great DU member, a good contributor. I can't imagine being in his state, and being attacked. I thought his words were...well, mild, considering what he is being put through.

I hope people here will reach out to PM him, and offer a little help. Our country has a big problem when it treats citizens in such a way. We are sending doctors to build hospitals for Ebola. We are engaging in another war, that the bomb contractors must be paid. It's already being said, the rich will be asked for nothing, while the 'Paul Ryan's' of the lot, will tell us we must CUT Soc Sec benefits and Medicare. None of this is true. Medicare is actually better than they thought to be, according to the last actuary study, congress commissioned.

If this happens, there will be many, many more 'Stewarts' across this country.

Is there no more compassion in our country? Not any more from 'activists' than inactive GQ citizens? If this is what is left of DU, then all truly must be lost.

I had to say this, because I know somewhere in heaven, Stewart's father is hoping someone will reach out just a little, until his Soc Sec help arrives.

May peace and well being be with you all and especially you Stewart, and may a little help come your way.

The Nutcracker

[noiretextatique]

14. many DUers have asked for and received financial help here

it used to be fairly common...until...more people joined.

[stewert]

16. noir is right............

It seems to me that some of the newer DU members do not like people asking for donations, and to those people I say mind your own business, that may seem harsh but if you do not like it just move on and ignore it.

Why screw up other people trying to get help here, just move on and ignore it.

And try to put yourself in their shoes, it is degrading and humilitating to ask people for money and nobody wants to do it unless they have no other choice.

Year ago it seems like it was more accepted here, now there are a few people that seem to want to ruin anyones attempt to raise money here, why, I can not say.

It's almost as if they are Republicans, because that is what a Republican would do. Liberals usually either donate or just ignore it if they do not like it.

And if I ever win my appeal I will help some other people with the money I get, which is how it should work here.

[pnwmom]

4. stewert is correct that it is rare for a disability claim to be approved the first time,

especially when done without a lawyer (which most people can't afford).

That is why everybody is advised to try again -- and again, if necessary.

Good luck, stewert!

[TheNutcracker]

9. Most Soc Sec lawyers don't take money up front, they take 10% from your BIG retro first check!

Stewart, you ARE on your way to an 'accepted claim'.

So many law students going into SSD and SSI because it's easy, just a paper shuffle and a wait. Then they get paid, their 10% which is sometimes out of a 10,000.00 check, depending how long and how much you are O W E D.

I'll keep you in my positive thoughts and prayers.

[stewert]

13. Nutcracker............

The law firm gets 25 percent, or a set amount, in my case they will get 25% of my first check, if I win my ALJ hearing appeal.

And I thank you for your kind words, just the mention of my Father still makes me cry, because he was my whole life, he was not just my Father he was my best friend and we were as close as a Father and son could get.

I lived with him for years and had to slowly watch him die, I cried every day and it was like being tortured. The last 6 months of his life were the worst 6 months of my life, and not a day went by that I did not cry over it for that entire 6 months.

Can you imagine living with your Father knowing he is dying for 6 months, it was a nightmare, and I almost killed myself just to stop the pain.

Then he passed away and I cried every day for another 3 months, all the time trying to figure out how to raise the money I needed to pay my bills.

I even tried to find a job, and applied over 100 times, with no luck at all, nothing, not even one call back, let alone an interview. Nobody will hire a 54 year old man who has not worked in 15 years, especially when you are on medication and have medical problems.

So even if I could have worked, nobody would hire me. I asked the jerk who accused me of being a scammer to walk in my shoes, and all I got was too bad.

Without the donations from DU members over the years I would most likely be in Heaven with my Father. Because after he died if I had run out of money and could not pay my bills, I am afraid I would have killed myself.

The people here at DU basically saved my life, and I will be forever greatful for that.

[TheNutcracker]

33. The SSI SSD attorney that I worked for in FLA took 10% in 2005.

[Packerowner740]

42. Law firm gets 25% or a max of $6000.00

That cannot by law get any more than that.

[madamesilverspurs]

5. I feel your pain.

Back in the early 1990s when I was negotiating the Social Security swamp, there were many moments when I wondered what in the world I'd done to deserve that particular treatment.

In one instance I was notified that I had to make an appointment to go to a clinic where I would undergo a psychiactric evaluation before my disability application could proceed. This came as a huge surprise given that the disability was due to a spinal injury that had rendered me unable to sit or walk for any significant time; in fact, by the time that notification arrived I had been bedbound for several months. When I called to explain that I hadn't been able to get into a car for nearly a year, the person I spoke with told me to ask for a ride from someone with a station wagon; when I reiterated that I could not get into a vehicle she assured me that the psychiatrist's office probably had a comfortable naugahyde couch. She then threatened termination of my application if I didn't meet with the doctor on the assigned date. (Turns out that SS was required to arrange and pay for any accommodation and transportation to get me there; and the doctor viewed it as a complete waste of his time and utterly unnecessary aggravation of my already considerable pain.)

The prize, however, went to the local county caseworker who demanded that I provide "proof of no income" before certifying my eligibility for food assistance and a monthly $129 check. When I asked what kind of documentation she needed, she said that copies of tax returns would suffice. I explained that I hadn't been able to work for a couple of years, she responded that failure to comply would lock me out of access to benefits. Finally, one of my doctors wrote a letter explaining my circumstances, and the caseworker huffed that "I guess that will have to do".

In the same month in which my Social Security finally came through, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for SSA to use non-medically trained personnel to make decisions about disability.

[stewert]

15. Hey madamesilverspurs.............

I also had to take a psychiactric evaluation before my disability application could proceed. And then after that they had me see the social security doctor, which was also a joke.

The so-called exam lasted about 10 minutes, the doctor hardly asked me anything about my disability or my restrictions or how it affected my life. All he did was a few simple tests, like squeeze his hands, see how far I could get to touching my toes, raise my arms over my head, and a few other meaningless tests like that.

They had nothing to do with my back pain, my sciatic nerve pain, my diabetes nerve pain, my problems standing or sitting for more than an hour, it was all worthless.

It was as if the doctor avoided the tests that would prove I was disabled, so he could say in his report that I could still work, which is what he did.

He is paid by the social security department and they pretty much know he will say what they want him to, otherwise they will not continue to pay him for the exams.

It was not a comprehensive exam, it was a 10 minute joke, I was literally in and out of the exam room in 10 minutes. I even tried to tell him about my limitations and how it bothers me and it was like he did not even want to hear it.

He pretty much ignored everything I said and reported to social security that I could still work a job, which is just ridiculous, it was if I was talking to the wall and he never reported anything I told him.

When you ask them where these jobs are, they have no answer. The whole system is rigged, against people who apply for disability, but according to O'Reilly anyone with a headache can get disability, which is just wrong, they are not even giving it to people like me who really need it.

I have told 20 different people about my back pain etc, and they all say yeah but you are getting disability, and when I say they denied it they can not believe it, they are shocked social security denied me. Every single one of them thinks I should be getting it.

[Codeine]

6. Is that the same information as

"I hope you get cancer and die"? That's the info you passed on in a PM to the person you're oh-so-subtly calling out, right?

[greyl]

31. Jury voted 6-1 to HIDE IT.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Expressing the hope that another DUer should "die from cancer", just because they questioned the many fundraising threads posted by stewert, is despicable.

JURY RESULTS

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun Sep 28, 2014, 01:36 AM, and the Jury voted 6-1 to HIDE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given

Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Easy, obvious Hide.

Any Leave votes are likely from those whose minds are pulled by the low gravity of an Internet Anarchy ideal - just being stupid for no good fucking reason, forcing people to think semi-laterally, only caring to create consequences of confusion.
U no who U R.

Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Yuck.

Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given

Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: I agree with the alerter. Die from cancer, not acceptable.

Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given

Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Poster has gone through hell, needs empathy and I wish I could donate but i'm in a similar state.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Notice your claims

assigned to Myler. Ouch,that group is a real pain from what I'ved learned through the years. Sorry to hear you are struggling with these boob's. This is what happens when Governmental Agencies out source various aspects dealing with citizen claims. Don't remember what year this out sourcing started but do know in our parents case,we never had to put up with this crap. Notice the letter head and my antenna just went ding ding. Utah has a rep for this kind of crap. Your Lawyer my have to file in Utah County to speed up things. There is a mind set in Utah,that you don't deserve anything unless your a member of their 10% club. Being to several appeals with friends of ours when we lived in that backward hate filled state. Good Luck,you need your appeal moved to another jurisdiction.

[stewert]

11. Wellstone..........

My claim will be heard in Peoria Illinois, Myler Disability is in Utah, but they are also in Peoria.

I am in East Peoria, and the hearing will be in Peoria County.

[stewert]

12. Update............

Just got another letter today from Congressman Schock, dated September 23, 2014.



They sent it to my old address, so I e-mailed them to tell them to update their files and add my new address in East Peoria.

Hey jerk, you know who you are, do you want to dispute this?

Steve

[stewert]

17. And btw.............

The other DU member who was trying to help me did not even ask people to donate to me, all they did was refer people to my profile, where I had a note explaining my situation.

And yet they were attacked and accused of doing something wrong, so they deleted their own thread, to which I say to the people who attacked them you should be ashamed of what you did, you are no better than Republicans who tell people that are disabled and on government aid to get a job.

It's shameful that a few members of DU would do that.

All they were doing was trying to help someone in need, and to the people who attacked them you should look at your life and ask yourself if you really are a liberal, a Democrat, or a Republican, because what you did is not what good liberals and Democrats do.

You upset the person that tried to help me and for that you should be ashamed of what you did. They were even worried they might get banned or their reputation here would be ruined, all for simply trying to be a good person and help someone in need.

I will not name names, but you know who you are, and you will get yours one day, as they say, karma is a bitch.

[stewert]

18. One Last Thing For Today..............

People have asked me why I do not post her very much anymore, so I will answer them.

I have a bad back, and I have sciatic nerve pain in my right leg, it hurts my back and my leg to sit in a chair. In fact, I was and am in pain typing this right now, I am having back pain and leg pain at this very moment.

I can not stand or sit for more than 15 or 20 minutes without back pain and leg pain. I live my life mostly laying in bed on my right or left side, and I only stand or sit when I have to, because of the pain in my back and leg.

I get on the computer and type something, or read something, until I can not stand the pain anymore, then I go lay down in bed for an hour or two until the pain goes away. And when I say until it goes away, I mean until it goes back down to my normal pain level, it never really goes away. I am in pain 24/7, all day every day.

I also have diabetes, and with that comes nerve pain in my feet and hands. It hurts to even wear socks, and my feet are real sensitive. After only 20 minutes or so of using a mouse, my hand hurts, just the pressure on my fingers from using a mouse on a computer gives me nerve pain.

So I am limited to how much time I can spend sitting at a computer, and I use that time to read my e-mails, do my website updates, and read a few websites for news. So I can not sit here all day and post messages on the forums here, I spend what time I can doing what I need to so that my website is up to date.

If you ever had back pain, leg pain, sciatic pain, and diabetes nerve pain you know what I am talking about. And that is why I do not post much here anymore, I wish I could, I used to post here every day, until my medical problems caused me so much pain I just can not do it anymore.

I thank everyone who has ever helped me, and I hope to be able to help other people here one day.

[a2liberal]

19. Dear Steve,

I'm sorry that apparently some people have decided that they'd rather kick a fellow DU'er while he's down than be helpful, and have decided to use things said in anger and frustration at that against you. I'm also sorry that our country fails its disabled citizens the way it does.

I couldn't find any info on your current situation, but found your paypal through your journal and sent some money to help out. I wish you the very best.

I'm assuming you've already tried looking for all the programs that might be able to help you in the interim, but if you haven't done so recently it might be a good idea. I'm unfortunately not very familiar in this area but it looks like 211 might be helpful? http://www.211hoi.org/

Again, good luck with everything! Take heart in the fact that most people are good (as you can see from the majority of the replies here and to your previous posts)... don't let a few people ruin that.

[stewert]

22. a2liberal..............

I got your donation and I have tried 211 and everything I can think of. There is just no help for single men with no children.

I did get help from st. vincent de paul about a year ago, they paid my cable/phone/internet bill and my gas and light bill, which added up to $240, but that's it, and they only help people once a year.

I can not find any financial aid from anyone, other than food stamps, medicaid, and the safelink cell phone I can not find anything else.

And as you can see, once I posted the truth about my situation, with documentation to prove it, the jerks here hid like rats.

And by jerk, I am talking about 1 or 2 misinformed idiots here who are most likely Republicans pretending to be Democrats.

They know who they are and they want nothing to do with this thread, because I exposed them as liars.

[Downwinder]

20. Can you get SSI while you wait for SSDI?

You are lucky in Ill. if you can get Medicaid. In Texas you would have to be on SSI to qualify for Medicaid.

[stewert]

23. Downwinder............

As far as I know I am trying to get SSI, that is for people who have not worked and do not have any current work credits. I have been trying to get social security disability since roughly 2000, and I also tried to get it right after I quit my job in 1995, but I was denied.

As of today I do not have any work credits, so I believe they filed for SSI, which anyone can get, even if they have never worked a job in their life. Even though I worked for 17 years I am no longer qualified to get social security disability.

I am on medicaid, and food stamps, and I go to the free clinic for health care.

[Downwinder]

30. Sounds very familiar. You are not 57 yet, that seems to be a magic number.

If you are on pain medication, that would disqualify you from employment. If you do get on SSI, they will kick you off as soon as you are eligible for Social Security early retirement.

If you cannot sit or stand for more than 30 minutes, that would seem to disqualify button counting. Can't make any suggestions, you seem to be doing everything, hang in there.

[SheilaT]

21. I am sorry you are having all this

trouble with your SSDI application.

I used to work for an attorney who did SSDI appeals, so I know a little about the process. First off, you are wrong when you flatly state that everyone is denied the first time. Most people are, it's true but not everyone. My brother was accepted the first time he applied, although it helped that he was now legally blind and on kidney dialysis.

I suspect one huge problem in your case is that you waited so very long from when you originally left work because of your health, and when you applied. I hope everyone reading this understands that such a delay should be avoided. If you are genuinely eligible for SSI or SSDI, apply as soon as that happens.

Another thing that a lot of people don't understand is that their condition and limitations must be thoroughly documented. I spent a lot of my time with that attorney photocopying stacks and stacks of medical records. And I mean stacks. Most people we were working with had a file at least 12-18 inches thick. Depending on what is going on, the people in charge of deciding may want you to undergo more exams, as has already been mentioned.

Another reason why so many people are denied is that a person needs to be REALLY disabled, to not be able to work at all either in their usual occupation, whatever that may be, or in something else comparable. The court can make some pretty wishful decisions here, saying the person can get a job when there are maybe three people altogether employed in that occupation in the applicants city. Usually they're not so unreasonable, but you never know.

Also, and please do not think I'm addressing you, but I am addressing unknown others out there: As I said above, you must be genuinely unable to work. I have an acquaintance who has rheumatoid arthritis, along with some other relatively minor health issues. She is under treatment for the RA and other stuff, and every so often she says she should just file for disability. She thinks she'd get it because of all of her problems. Now, I don't want to minimize anything here, but she has no trouble at all performing her job. She even does a great deal of work around the house and in her yard on the weekends, and so she, while often in pain, is in no way disabled. What I'm getting at is that a lot of people think it's quite easy to go on disability, but it's not.

So here are the rules:
If you reach a point where you really cannot work, there are no possible alternative kinds of work you can do, then apply for SSDI right away. Make sure you have everything documented. Just sitting home and never going to work, even though you are in extreme pain or whatever, isn't good enough. You must be seeing doctors. You must get everything in writing. And if you get denied, find an attorney who handles appeals. If the first one turns you down, find a second one. But if two or three of these attorneys don't want to take your case, then you need to seriously rethink your situation, because what they are saying is, "You are simply not that disabled, at least not so that Social Security will consider you for SSDI." I listened to my attorney turn down possible clients for just that reason.

Oh, one last thing. I'm slightly surprised you are at all eligible since, according to you, you have not worked in nearly twenty years. I was out of the workforce (staying home raising kids) for nearly 25 years, and when I returned, my first statements from Social Security said: To get benefits if you become disabled right now, you need 40 credits of work, and 20 of these credits had to be earned in the last 10 years. Your record shows you do not have enough credits in the right time period. So I'm wondering if part of your problem is the long years of not working and not paying into the system.

All that said, Stewert, I hope it all turns out well for you.

[stewert]

24. SheilaT.............

I did try to get social security disability right after I stopped working in 1995, but I did not have an attorney.

They denied me so I waited a few years and filed again while I still had work credits, and they denied me again.

So I filed again in 2012 and got an attorney to represent me, and I am in the process of going through the appeal for that now.

After two times I almost gave up on it, but a friend told me I should file again because he thought I would get it, so that is where I am at now.

Steve

[SheilaT]

25. It is beyond unfortunate that you

weren't advised to get an attorney back then. Please do not think I'm blaming you, or accusing you of anything. You had no way of knowing that you ought to have done that, and I find it so frustrating that there seems to be almost no way for anyone to find this stuff out other than more or less by chance, such as you did through your friend.

More than once I've posted the information I did here, because so many people don't understand how the system works, and if they can get at least some information it may be very valuable down the line.

Again, I do hope it all works out for you.

[Veilex]

27. I would suggest checking out

http://www.gofundme.com/

I wish you the best of luck

[CK_John]

28. Almost as good as the guy who has all his money embargoed.

[Omaha Steve]

29. Where do we send the $ ?

Marta and I are in.

OS

[DonCoquixote]

32. advice for anyone doing SS

This is directed to the reader, and certainly not to the OP author as I know his flavor of the blues too well, being on SSI, and being accused of being a scammer, despite the fact my record is heavy enough to kill rats with.

One: GET A LAWYER, PERIOD! There is a branch of Lawyers that will take you case, for a contingency fee, which is the fancy word for "if you don't get paid, we don't get paid." This is important because"

Two: many states, especially retiree states, make it a routine policy to refuse you at least two times. In part, because they are genuinely overwhelmed, but also, because a lot of states are targeted by the GOP and Libertarians to make it as impossible as possible to get SSI. They will purposefully underfund the courts. In my own case, having a Lawyer allowed me to escalate my vase out of Flor-I-Duh, where I literally had the "trial" in a box with some judge in Atlanta speaking to me in a computer screen, an old one, where the poor man looked like a 1980's video game. Fortunately, that did nothing to help the uncontrollable tremors I had, where I was but a mantra away from a full blown seizure.

Three: Ignore the creeps who say you are scamming:

I will tell you that one of the most illuminating experiences was seeing suburban types go to the office in their Benzes. Now, you would think they are scamming right?, wrong, they just had a health condition go to critical, and got fired by their boss, usually some manager that will insist it had nothing to do with obtaining health records or keeping their insurance costs down

Of course, these were the most arrogant, because they thought they were not like us, they really did NOT want to come, and they felt that this was some nightmare that could be prayed away. We are talking people who literally made meals with dog food because they kept thinking "if we just hold on for one more week, things will be back to normal."

It sure did not help that the scumbag GOP pastors in their churches kept telling them, after denying them access to the meager food pantry (that is just tax write off) "You do realize you and your children are going to hell because you are asking for government help, you just made Obama Happy." Who did they take it out on, everyone else! On the one hand, you saw they were in bad, bad shape, but on the other, any offer of solidarity was coupled by the fact that they thought they had to keep their pride up (thanks to aforementioned churches.)

[former9thward]

35. SSI is a federal program.

It does not go state by state as you claim. The courts are all funded the same national wide. They are federal. If you are on SSI, one would think you would know these elementary facts.

[DonCoquixote]

38. You do have to resolve issues in the state courts

before you can be escalated to the Federal level, and if you do not, it is used to deny you. Go ahead and ask a Social Security lawyer whose job it is to navigate this system.

[former9thward]

39. Well Social Security disagrees with you.

If you disagree with the Appeals Council’s
decision or if the Appeals Council decides
not to review your case, you may file a
lawsuit in a federal district court.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf

[bosbdd2009]

43. former9thward...............

You are wrong, it only goes to a federal court after you have went through all the appeals at the State level first. If you lose all the appeals at the State level, then you can take it to a federal court, but only after you have went through all the other appeals first.

Here are the appeals process levels:

HOW TO APPEAL SOCIAL SECURITY DETERMINATIONS AND DECISIONS

We have established appeals procedures for individuals who disagree with the determination(s) or decision(s) we make. The determination(s) or decision(s) that you can appeal are called "initial determinations" and we discuss them further below. The levels of appeal are:

1. Reconsideration (for disability claims available in most States);

2. Administrative Law Judge Hearing;

3. Appeals Council Review;

4. Federal Court;

If the Appeals Council issues a decision or denies your request for review of an ALJ’s decision and you disagree with the action of the Appeals Council, you may file a civil action with the U.S. District Court in your area. We cannot help you file a court action. You may want to contact a lawyer or a legal aid group to help you.

You must file an action in U.S. District Court within 60 days after you receive the notice of Appeals Council action. We consider that you receive notice of the Appeals Council action 5 days after the date on the notice.

The U.S. District Court will review the evidence and the final Agency decision.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ssi/text-appeals-ussi.htm

[former9thward]

44. No I am not wrong.

You did not even read your own post. Everything in the post is federal.

[napkinz]

34. kick

nt

[Cha]

36. Thank you for the documentation, stewert, and

Good Luck!

[NightWatcher]

37. I got approved 3 weeks after filing from my hospital bed on my 1st attempt.

I must truly be in shit shape. I have 3 of the "auto-qualifier" diseases. Yay, me!

[lonestarnot]

40. People are worn out and disposed of in today's society. We are apparently just commodities to

toss when passed expiration or dented like a can. Never give up Stewart.

[napkinz]

41. ...

nt

[roody]

45. K