Who here went to an appeal for SSI?

Question

Did you get apporoved? I need advice for getting approved at my upcoming appeal for my disability...

Answer 1

I did and eventually I got it. But it took 6 years in total, which is far longer than it should take. Part of it was my own fault, because after I appealed I had to have a hearing and I lost the will to keep trying. Then I had to reapply and start all over, get denied, appeal, get denied and have a hearing. Before my hearing I hired and then fired 2 different lawyers, because they did a whole lot of nothing - I had to do all of the work anyway. Once I got to my hearing, I was approved then and there.
Part of the reason I kept getting denied was because the county mental health clinic (which had 20 years of records for me!!!) repeatedly did not send social security the information they requested. Then social security misplaced my file for an entire year, it ended up sitting in the local office all that time instead of being sent to Albany like it was supposed to.
It really was quite the fiasco. If you can find a ss disability advocate in your area, they are usually quite helpful. There is a guy in my town who is like THE guy for it, he knows SSI/SSDI inside and out.
Make sure social security is receiving any records that are supposed to be sent to them. Hang in there, it's frustrating but it won't go on forever. Good luck!

Answer 2

The way it worked for me was when I had to file for my appeal, I got a lawyer that only works Social Security cases. She knew exactly what to do and helped me out in no time. It's a very time consuming process, and they seem to take forever to make a decision, but usually after you are turned down the first time your chances of getting it the second time go up, and if you are denied a third time, and you appeal, if you have a lawyer that knows what they are doing, you will more than likely be approved. Again, it just takes a lot of time and effort on everyone's part (except social security's it seems). Hang in there and good luck.

Answer 3

Usually, by the time you get to the appeal, you have a pretty good chance of being approved (about 60% chance). You should hire a social security lawyer; they know the ins and outs, and it will increase your chances. The guy I took my cousin to was also a vocational rehab counselor, as well as a lawyer. The government restricts their fees to 1/3 of your retroactive award.