Disability Question About The So Called Review....

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Down the block from my shop lives a woman i guess in her late 50's that is a little slow i guess she said she was on disability for i think she said 2 or 3 years. She is on it for severe pain in her body (she is very overweight) She is worried about losing her benefits and asked us knowing my wife is a Lawyer (she knows nothing about disability) what to do. Any advice?
We want to help but we don't know how, she is not one of these takers she really has a problem/s... She worked most of her life but can't anymore.
Anyone that knows anything would be great to hear from, thank you!
 
Sounds like a Continuing Disability Review (CDR). These are conducted by SSA disability personnel and occur every three to five years. Apparently this will be her first one. She should have received a questionnaire to fill out and she needs to comply, keeping a copy of her submission. Sometimes people can use help in clearly articulating the medical issues they face.

Note that 90% of these reviews results in continuing benefits. She (and possibly her physician) needs to continue to articulate her medical issues, and the fact that the issues remain the same or have gotten worse over time.

Hope this helps out.
 
She needs to start with her doctor. The doctor has to agree she needs to stay on disability and fill out the appropriate paperwork. If her primary doctor agrees with this there should be no problem and she likely won't need a lawyer. If her primary doctor doesn't agree then unfortunately for her there is a problem. She will have to seek out a new primary doctor if she really feels she needs to stay on disability. The new doctor may request help from a pain or orthopedic specialist[depending on the issue.]If there is a rejection of her claim after this- and there often is- she will need to get an attorney involved to assist her. She can find ones that specialize in disability cases on line.
 
I am sure she has no money for a disability Lawyer and i don't think they are free but im not really sure. She is a lost poor soul that has nobody it's really not a good scene.
 
everyone gets reviewed , they say its nothing to worry about, there are instructions online to help you continue recieving benefits, unless there is a problem the form will never be seen by a human, fill out as the internet says a computer will read it
if you check certain things it sets up a red flag and causes your form to be reviewed by a human
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
I am sure she has no money for a disability Lawyer and i don't think they are free but im not really sure. She is a lost poor soul that has nobody it's really not a good scene.


Disability lawyers are paid for by the government. She won't need one, unless they find her fit to work, which is unlikely.
 
Disability lawyers are not provided free to any claimant. For initial claims, the lawyer receives 25% (to a $6000 max) from the back benefits allowed from the adjudication. The check is generally cut to the lawyer without going through the claimant, but those monies come out of the claimant's benefits. Claimants are required to sign contingency agreements before the lawyer takes the case.

In the case of a CDR, there are no back-benefits to be adjudicated. This person continues to receive their disability check during the review.
 
I would not get a lawyer unless she is denied disability. My sister is on SSI. they review her SS disability every few years. noithing to worry about.
 
She should just stick to the existing facts, don't deviate.

Imagine if you're a cop in a courtroom and your recollection of events years later contradicts your report written that night.

Same thing.

If she still has her paper work from when she got accepted, just continue down that path.
 
One question on that letter from them asked if her doctor and herself ever discussed whether she could work and she answered she has not discussed that with him. Maybe she should have said she did? I don't know. She also said her condition got worse. When she got the disability she did not have to get a Lawyer she did it on her own. She is in extreme pain all the time. I feel we have to help best i could i don't want to see her walked on.
 
She shouldn't embellish anything. SSA can easily ask her doctors the same question. Based on her answers, SSA may request that she see a designated physician at SSA expense. Clearly the question of her ability to work will probably be discussed and evaluated at that time.

If the questionnaire has been provided to SSA, let the process continue, based on the input she provided.
 
she did not lie she simply checked the box that asked if she discussed if she could go back to work. I guess if she did discuss it with her doctor it would look like she feels she can work but she is in pain all the time she sometimes cries it hurts so much, its sad really, she is so good
 
Odds are the form she sends back won't be enough and they will send her to a doctor for a personal interview. It will cost her nothing and Social Security may even provide transportation to and from the appointment if she needs it, or reimburse travel if there's no local transit. I was offered free transportation but since my last review was a short walking distance away and my disability isn't with mobility, I declined it.

The interview takes approximately an hour and it's mostly just answering questions the doctor asks you, who then writes/types your responses. Then the results (and perhaps the doctor's own opinion) gets sent to Social Security for the review decision.

Unless her condition has "improved" enough that she can work, she probably has nothing to worry about.

But that doesn't mean it's never stressful when they come up. I've had 4 of those reviews myself, the last one being last year, and it's always a stress. Even though I know I have nothing to worry about and I tell myself that, I stress about it anyway. Then the letter comes finally after a few months after the initial letter/form came, saying they found it continuing and I'm good for another 5 years or so.
 
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