Yep! Did you know that disability in America is just like… auto-denied the first time you apply nearly every damn time, and you absolutely have to get a lawyer to make it work the second time?
I'm living it. I applied 3 years ago. My best friend is a high-profile attorney, so I had a great disability lawyer from day one. I just had the 3rd or 4th appeal, which was hopeful: it was a hearing before a judge. Results in 30-60 days... Meanwhile, no income since 2020.
same here in Canada. it took me 3 years, a very attentive and amazing Dr, and a lega advocate for me to make it stick. I know multiple people who've applied and every single one gets denied the first go, even my expartner's mom who 100% relied on mobility aids to get around.
Untrue, 38% are approved on initial application. It's not a fun process, I've been through it, but it's scaremongering to say that everyone is auto-denied. It discourages people from applying. I didn't need a lawyer but I have the "advantage" of having a visible and objectively measurable condition.
Thirty-eight percent of applicants who meet technical requirements are accepted initially, but 53% of applicants who appeal that decision are ultimately approved.
A friend fought for 4yrs to get SSD, delaying care because $$. They finally approved her and said her back pay was on the way. Before the check arrived, she went to the ER with complications from her disability and died when her bowel ruptured. But hey, her husband was able to pay for her funeral!
I was approved within 3 months of my application, but I think it is because my application was filled out by a Social Security employee. I had started my application after my last day at work before a surgery that went to hell. Several hospital-acquired illnesses later, I was finally back home
i'm going through his now... denied (took 17 months!) and now starting my first appeal... the amount of hoops i have to jump through is problematic because its exactly the sort of stuff i have problems doing and why i'm applying... it's like my own personal hellscapei'm going through his now... denied (took 17 months!) and now starting my first appeal... the amount of hoops i have to jump through is problematic because its exactly the sort of stuff i have problems doing and why i'm applying... it's like my own personal hellscape
yeah, it's the same in Canada too
When I was 18 I was approved for SSI on first app, but I was inpatient in a psychiatric hospital for almost four months and my psychiatrist actually did most of my application (he was the one who suggested I apply). He really went to bat for me.
I've been very fortunate that I had zero issues but I also had a psychiatrist who fought like hell for me and did not mince words when it came to how severely my mental illnesses had incapacitated me. For far, far too many it's endless hoops to jump through though... 😓
Lawyer I know worked at a nonprofit. Sought benefits for a severely mentally ill person well-known to every car commuter because they were constantly in traffic. Two cops and an ER doctor *voluntarily appeared* to support the claim. Denied, could work as a page boy, a job that doesn't exist.