Just got my first turndown for SSDI

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. What people don't understand about getting SSDI is the enormous amount of

Last edited Wed Jan 26, 2022, 01:47 AM - Edit history (1)

documentation they need.

Several years ago I worked for an attorney who did SSDI appeals, and one of my tasks was to photocopy the records her clients had. Often they were at least ten inches thick, sometimes even more. And the forms that needed to be filled out, including a lengthy one about managing tasks of everyday life, like bathing, cooking, dressing.

It's not true that they automatically turn everyone down the first time they apply. It's just that, as I've already said, there's a great deal of documentation needed. And the condition needs to be expected to last for years, or result in death. It's not easy to qualify. You can't just quit your job and expect to get SSDI immediately after. I believe you will need to be unemployed for six months or more before you can apply.

I used to work with a woman who did have real health issues, including rheumatoid arthritis that she took some major pain medication for. She'd say she should just give up and apply for disability. I kept telling her that so long as she could do her job, she'd never be approved. I'm not sure she fully understood me.

Good luck to you.