My SSDI Nightmare/Daymare

Greetings, I am writing this for a few reasons. 1. To see if any of you have had similar SSA nightmares. 2. To enlighten others as to potential nightmares of dealing with the SSA in getting SSDI.
Yes you are reading this correctly, I was found favorable to receive SSDI (not SSD or SSI). I do not completely understand it myself, and have had spoken to several others who only get SSD or SSI and a very few who get SSDI.
My nightmare/daymare begin at the end of August 2007, when my team of physicians refused to allow me to return to my career. I am a college graduate and I had a wonderful career (not a job). I worked since I was 14 years old and built up a lot of credits for the SSA.
When my team of doctors told me to apply for disability, I went straight off to one of my attorneys that I kept on retainer. I chose the better one for handling a disability claim. I explained the situation to him, he asked me a few questions and then had me sign a few papers, then out the door I went. He handled everything, including the intial application. And like most it was denied on the first try. And the second also. He appealed and we jumped to the next phase of a hearing with an ALJ (Administrative Law Judge).
He filed for my disability in October 2007, we went in front of the ALJ in July of 2009. Unfortunetly, we did not know it at the time, but the ALJ we went in front of was involved in a L****** County Judge Scandle. The Judge denied me. The attorney then appealed it for a 4th time, which put the case at the Virginia Appeals Council level, this level is considered Round 4. In April of 2010 the Appeals Council denied my claim. At this time my attorney was forced to resign due to the fact that he could not pursue it at a higher level. He stated it was due to several factors: 1. I had moved to a different state. 2. I was a College Graduate. 3. I had worked in a career for a very long time and made a considerable amount of money. 4. He stated that I would need to find a "Federal Attorney" to handle my case, but he could not further explain why. So, he sent me a "Letter of Quit".
At this point I was like WTF. And I was also frustrated and really tired of the battle.
So I called my new local state Bar Association in hopes that they could help me. They gave me another telephone number to contact someone in the "Federal Bar Association".....I am still like WTF.....
After several attempts of talking on the telephone to several Federal Attorneys, I finally found one who would meet with me.
I met with my new Federal Attorney (FA) and after he reviewed my case, he said he would take me on as a client but I had to pay him $3000 up front to cover the initial court filing fees and accompaning paperwork. OK cool I thought, lets go for it. Well my case was turned down 3 more times, which bumped me up to Round 8. My FA went to battle for me and finally got me a 2nd hearing in front of another ALJ. This was another long tedious process. Before I was permitted to go infront of the next ALJ, a representative of the Federal Court met with me in my FA's office. I first had to sign and have notorized a document stating that I was not worth more than $2 Million Dollars (Yes, you read that right). Again WTF!?
Then it took about 4 or 5 attempts to get an ALJ to agree to see me, what a nightmare that was, most would not even consider taking me on as a case... Again WTF?!
Finally I got a hearing. The Date was set for early December 2012. My FA and I went to the hearing, he toted in a steamer trunk on wheels full of paperwork. He told me how to dress and how to act (what a game). The ALJ and the ALJ's council members grilled my FA and I to no end. Finally the ALJ asked me to leave the room so they could confer with my FA. About 20 minutes later my FA came out and called me into a private office. He then explained to me that the Federal Govt wanted to cut me a deal. The deal was that I would have to forfeit almost half of my back pay, however they would give me medicare as soon as my monthly checks started and I would also have to be re-evaluated again in 12 months. If I did not agree, then my case would be denied again and it could take another 3 to 7 years to get another court hearing.
I agreed to the terms and signed their paperwork. My attorney went back in with the ALJ and about 15 minutes went by and he came out and said I won my case. I was then informed I would be receiving a letter in the mail stating such within 30 days.
Two weeks later I got the approval letter.
However, it is now the end of March of 2013 (3 months later) and I still have not received any other paperwork, letters, or any monies from the SSA.
I made a trip to my local SSA office and they said they had no information on my case file except a copy of the letter saying it was Approved-Fully Favorable.
I then contacted the main office of the SSA, who informed me also the same thing. However after sweet talking the agent on the line, I was informed that my case was sitting on someone's desk in the Payment Center (PC) and it takes awhile for them to process it, then it would have to be sent to my local SSA office and they would have to process it before any monies could be released.
As of today's date, my FA is aghast that I have not received anything. My FA said they will be trying to contact the PC to see where my paperwork is and what the hold up is. I was informed I should have had everything completed within 60 days after the date of my approval letter, yet I still have nothing.
Good Luck to all the other folks here.

Wow, I've never heard such a daymare and nightmare. I'm sorry you're going through all this stuff.

I must have really been blessed--and well, I am physically and mentally "challenged"--but I received my SSDI on my second attempt, without the help of a lawyer. That was about 8 years or so ago.

it is all so confusing and overwhelming, especially if we have a mental issue that impairs our thinking. what is the difference detween ssi ssdi and the other? i applied to my state for what i think is like a temporary type disability, does that make sense? anyway, i haven't heard back from them. the other social security i applied for said i don't have enough credits earned in the last 5 yrs., even though i have worked most of my life. so they denied my claim. how does that work for people who have never worked and have pretty much always been disabled? are they told they don't have any credits? i don't get it. plus i feel dumb for not understanding.

First....Don't feel dumb, unless you are an attorney or had to deal with an extensive amount of bullsh it like I have, it is very difficult to understand the system. They make it difficult so most people will give up trying. Even now I still have problems understanding most of it. Anyways....
SSI is for people who don't have any or very few working credits.
SSD is for people who have some credits (I think, but I am not 100% sure).
SSDI is for people who have a lot of working credits.
Now = I have a neighbor that was originally eligible for SSD or SSDI, however she waited too long from the time she became disabled till she applied for disability, and because of this she lost all her working credits and got bumped down to SSI.
SSI is a minimal amount paid out each month for example I know some people on SSI that only get between $400 and $700 a month. And I know some folks who get SSD who get paid between $600 and $900 a month. And I know people who get SSDI and get paid between $1000 and $1600 a month. But this numbers are not the gospel, so each person is different and what they get paid varies from person to person, state to state, etc. There are a lot of variables.
I also know someone that applied for disability right out of the starting gate of becoming disabled but when they were denied they gave up, then waited too long a reapplied again and got approved at a much lower monthly payment then if they would have stuck with it and kept pushing forward. My personal advice, take it or leave it, is as soon as you are told by your doctor that you can no longer work is to get an attorney as soon as possible....Do Not Wait!!!! I did not wait, had I waited I would be in much worse shape than I am now.
Good Luck, keep the faith, and keep plodding forward.Don't let them (the govt) win...keep fighting for what is yours.....

Update on my battle with the SSA: I kept calling the SSA and they would automatically forward my call to a voice mail, I would leave messages and no one would return my calls. So finally I got fed up with the crap and called my FA again and they were shocked that I had not received any money yet. I explained that I had called and kept getting forwarded to a voice mail, even when I had asked to speak to a supervisor. My FA then told me, that they would make a few calls and get back to me.
My FA got on a 3 way conference call and made sure that my paperwork was located, which was actually buried on someones desk. And then my FA made sure it got to the right people to get processed. Then my FA told the people at the SSA, if I did not have some sort of positive result by the end of the day on Friday, that my FA would be pursuing a Congressional Inquiry. My FA then called me back and told me what was said. That was last Friday.
Well - today (Wednesday) I got a return call from the local SSA office and they said (which I won't believe till I actually see it) that a check would be issued and I should have it in my bank account come this coming Monday. However, it is considered temporary non-commital SSI until my SSDI payments start. After my SSDI payments start, the temporary non-commital SSI payments will be deducted from my backpay before my backpay will be issued to me. I still am not eligible for Medicaid due to the large sum of backpay which they owe me, but I was informed that if I get my first SSDI check in April then my Medicare will become activated the first of June.
Now here is another kicker that I was informed of today.
The SSA has my information severly messed up. I becamed Disabled in Aug 2007, applied for disability in Oct 2007. In order to win my case I had to sign off of the backpay for 2007 & 2008 & part of 2009 and they (SSA) reevaluated my case as becoming disabled in 2009, however my credits for working were not effected by this sign off and loosing over 2 years of back pay. But because the SSA still has my records as if it were 2007 and not 2009, they might accidently over issue me my backpay, which I have to monitor because if they over pay me, I am responsible to pay them back for the time that I had to forfeit. My attorney told me to keep my eye on how much they deposit in my account and calculate it with the letter that they are "suppose" to send me, and if the amounts don't match, I will need to contact my attorney ASAP, so it gets rectified immediately because if it sits in my bank account too long, then the SSA will think I have too much disposable income in my posession and stop my SSDI payments all together, which in turn can cause me to loose all my benefits, and I would have to start the entire process all over again, and by this time I would only be eligible for SSI at a much smaller amount because my credits for working will have been depleted.
Yes, I am serious....this is really happening to me. My attorney also confirmed that I have been "flagged" by the fed. Govt. Basically what that means, is they don't like me and are trying to make my life as difficult as possible. And I can not explain why they don't like me, that is a private issue that is kept between my FA, me and a few small amount of people who know me personnally. But I can reassure you I am not a criminal, unless knowledge is considered a crime, and apparantly to the govt it can be.
What a friggin' nightmare. I sure hope no one ever has to go thru this mess.
Good Luck to everyone who applies for Disability.

thank you, lost. it is intimidating and i feel like i will be judged. but you helped me understand the differences. have you heard of a temporary disability, or did i misunderstand that there is such a thing? i haven't heard anything back from my state, so i guess it is a waiting game.

I am sorry Mary, I never heard of temporary disability, but each state has there own laws. It must be something that is offered to state residents at a state level and not a federal Social Security benefit.
Good Luck!

My heart goes out to you, I have been in your shoes and let me share with you what I know. Monday. However, it is considered temporary non-commital SSI until my SSDI payments start. 1st, This term concerns me non commital sounds like they may be considering appealing.
But because the SSA still has my records as if it were 2007 and not 2009, they might accidently over issue me my backpay. This is no accident and occures more often then people with large cases face. You might want to wait untill you recieve a signed copy of your final judgement. This will take into account specific dates for when disability started, of all fees due to both attorneys, (these will be large ) all doctors and treatments your attorney sent you to (need to be deducted) usually a 30/70 split.
It might be a good idea to hire a cpa to go over the numbers.
Lawyers are not accountants!
My attorney also confirmed that I have been "flagged" by the fed.
This means they will be watching you, not to make you panic, but they hire pi to watch you, even talk to your neighbors, listen to phone/internet.
It is creepy but it is legal.
Lastly, signing that you are to be re evaluated on a yearly basis, just be honest. And now take the time to heal from all of this it will be awhile before you heal from the healing process.
Sincerely,
Happiedasiy

i got a letter from social security today saying that back in 2001, they found that i had sinus trouble and a bladder infection. this was cause for them denying my claim. what the hell? i am doubting that they even received accurate medical records!!!!!! i have a well documented history with physicians, having nothing to do with my sinuses and bladder.
this is crazy making for me.

Mary- Do you have an attorney? If not, get one. Can't afford one? Call one of those famous SSA Disability attorneys that you see on TV like Binder&Binder. It is a real Nightmare to try and get it on your own. Good Luck...Blessings!!!