Nothing really bites more than writing an entire post and losing it due to an inadvertent misplaced keystroke before the post is saved. Having said that, I will continue with this, the second attempt at this post.
Ahem, for those who reside in New Hampshire, this article may be of interest. A local disability attorney, Christine Casa, is offering a seminar that purports to answer questions about the social security disability application process, filing an appeal for a disability denial, and what it takes to qualify for disability benefits on the basis of a mental or physical impairment.
I think seminars are a great idea for getting information out to those who need it. For one thing, it offers a person an opportunity to get answers in person (from a live individual) to questions about SSD and SSI, some of them being general questions, others being more specific. But seminars, if conducted properly, can also offer an individual the chance to:
1. Gather information for family members or friends.
2. Inquire into getting representation on a disability claim.
3. Finally, get a claim initiated versus on thinking about, or "considering", doing the same.
Item 3 concerns what I lost when I hit that wrong keystroke in notepad (note: future posts will be written in a blog platform that does auto-saving because I cannot tolerate having to rewrite things, especially since I probably won't remember what it was that I said/wrote the first time).
Here's the gist of what I had to say: a friend contacted me to say that her friend, we'll call him Frank, had been considering getting a disability claim started. He'd been considering this for a...very long time. So long, in fact, that you had to wonder if he would ever really do it.
His reasons for not doing it one could only speculate at. However, they--as is the case with so many individuals--were probably a mixture of:
A) Feeling a fair amount of apprehension with regard to dealing with paperwork and bureaucracy. This is something we can surely all relate to since tax time tends to strike terror into the hearts of many and even going to the DMV for a renewal can seem like a daunting expedition.
B) Feeling a fair amount of depression that "this is what it has all come to". Very understandable. It would be abnormal to not feel this way.
C) Feeling fear regarding the prospect of being denied for disability. This is such a tangible, nearly palpable thing that many people have a reaction to getting a denial notice that causes them to emotionally shut down and, as a result, miss their appeal deadline. Again, this is sometimes one of the benefits of being represented prior to the disability hearing level--not missing deadlines and months of valuable time.
Making the situation even worse, of course, was the fact that Frank had recently contacted his local social security office and had been given horrendously wrong information from an SR (service rep). That information had lead him to conclude that he didn't need to file for disability because "he was clearly not disabled". Whew.
Without getting into the specifics of the conversation between Frank and this unnamed social security employee (because I don't know that person's name nor would I mention it if I did--most likely the service rep didn't even realize the impact of his/her poorly chosen, and let's be honest, completely ignorant words), my main takeaway from the conversation with my friend who was relating this experience of Frank's was that Frank had been too willing to let himself think that he didn't need to file for disability, or at the very least could allow himself to defer the decision to do so once again.
This, despite the fact that Frank is a well-educated professional, with a highly logical mind...who probably has a good case because he has some significant limitations as a result of his condition. The fact that he has some money set aside from diligent savings over the years is really irrelevant to the issue of whether or not he should apply for the benefits to which he is entitled.
Now, that's basically the information that I lost from that post. Back to the original point of this post: seminars, if conducted properly, can be a good thing. And if you live in New Hampshire, this one may be helpful for you.
Free Disability Seminar
Additional Information on:
Social Security Disability
Social Security Disability Questions
Ahem, for those who reside in New Hampshire, this article may be of interest. A local disability attorney, Christine Casa, is offering a seminar that purports to answer questions about the social security disability application process, filing an appeal for a disability denial, and what it takes to qualify for disability benefits on the basis of a mental or physical impairment.
I think seminars are a great idea for getting information out to those who need it. For one thing, it offers a person an opportunity to get answers in person (from a live individual) to questions about SSD and SSI, some of them being general questions, others being more specific. But seminars, if conducted properly, can also offer an individual the chance to:
1. Gather information for family members or friends.
2. Inquire into getting representation on a disability claim.
3. Finally, get a claim initiated versus on thinking about, or "considering", doing the same.
Item 3 concerns what I lost when I hit that wrong keystroke in notepad (note: future posts will be written in a blog platform that does auto-saving because I cannot tolerate having to rewrite things, especially since I probably won't remember what it was that I said/wrote the first time).
Here's the gist of what I had to say: a friend contacted me to say that her friend, we'll call him Frank, had been considering getting a disability claim started. He'd been considering this for a...very long time. So long, in fact, that you had to wonder if he would ever really do it.
His reasons for not doing it one could only speculate at. However, they--as is the case with so many individuals--were probably a mixture of:
A) Feeling a fair amount of apprehension with regard to dealing with paperwork and bureaucracy. This is something we can surely all relate to since tax time tends to strike terror into the hearts of many and even going to the DMV for a renewal can seem like a daunting expedition.
B) Feeling a fair amount of depression that "this is what it has all come to". Very understandable. It would be abnormal to not feel this way.
C) Feeling fear regarding the prospect of being denied for disability. This is such a tangible, nearly palpable thing that many people have a reaction to getting a denial notice that causes them to emotionally shut down and, as a result, miss their appeal deadline. Again, this is sometimes one of the benefits of being represented prior to the disability hearing level--not missing deadlines and months of valuable time.
Making the situation even worse, of course, was the fact that Frank had recently contacted his local social security office and had been given horrendously wrong information from an SR (service rep). That information had lead him to conclude that he didn't need to file for disability because "he was clearly not disabled". Whew.
Without getting into the specifics of the conversation between Frank and this unnamed social security employee (because I don't know that person's name nor would I mention it if I did--most likely the service rep didn't even realize the impact of his/her poorly chosen, and let's be honest, completely ignorant words), my main takeaway from the conversation with my friend who was relating this experience of Frank's was that Frank had been too willing to let himself think that he didn't need to file for disability, or at the very least could allow himself to defer the decision to do so once again.
This, despite the fact that Frank is a well-educated professional, with a highly logical mind...who probably has a good case because he has some significant limitations as a result of his condition. The fact that he has some money set aside from diligent savings over the years is really irrelevant to the issue of whether or not he should apply for the benefits to which he is entitled.
Now, that's basically the information that I lost from that post. Back to the original point of this post: seminars, if conducted properly, can be a good thing. And if you live in New Hampshire, this one may be helpful for you.
Free Disability Seminar
Additional Information on:
Social Security Disability
Social Security Disability Questions
- Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits
- To Win Benefits, You may have to Appeal a Social Security Disability Denial or SSI denial
- What is the Difference Between Filing A New Disability Claim And Filing A Disability Appeal?
- What Happens When You File A Second SSA Disability Claim?
- Filing Disability Appeals- Reminders About the SSD, SSI Appeal Process
- What Happens If You File A Late Social Security Appeal? (What is Good Cause?)
- The Social Security Disability Hearing Office
- Social Security Disability Application Online
- Medical Source Statement for Social Security Disability or SSI
- What is a Social Security Disability SSI Durational Denial?
- The Social Security Medicare 24 Month Waiting Period
- The Social Security Disability Five Month Waiting Period
- Social Security Disability SSI and the Onset Date
- Social Security Disability SSI - Retroactive Benefits Vs Back Pay Benefits
- Social Security Disability SSI and Activities of Daily Living
- Social Security On The Record Disability Decisions
- Social Security Administration Physical Consultative Exam (CE)
- Social Security Administration Mental Consultative Exam (CE)
- SSI Disability for Children and Age Appropriate Activities
- Social Security Disability SSI - Mental and Physical Residual Functional Capacity
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