Amy J.Jones./ very frustrated
It is early Thurs. am... my b/p is already 220/168 with no physical activity. Lucky me... i want to be supportive to fellow Jobcasers today as I may have to limit activity for myself. Question for you Mike.. How long does a person have to be impaired for disability benefits? I appear healthy on the outside, but with 2 spinal fusions, and a long list of documented autoimmune diseases..... I am not strong enough to pursue a full-time position. I continue to "recreate" myself, but I have enormous GSL debt from graduate school. Any advice or answers?
Amy I believe you need to be proactive. If it were me, I would bring up the conversation with my physician. If he/she is unaware of the appropriate terminology, I would print out the SSA Blue Book, I believe its chapter 6 you are looking for and bring it to them. Find someone who will help you!
Chris- Thank you for your input on this topic. It gives me an idea in real time how long it really might take.
Mike - Thank you for your prompt answer about my situation. My physician suggested this to me 12 years ago. one year after my second spinal fusion. I started the process as suggested and the "physical" required by the state could not determine whether or not I was a candidate. I stopped any further proceedings as I felt humiliated. Moving forward to now... I am a lot worse physically than then, plus I have the 4 life altering autoimmune diseases... My original doctor died... it has been 3 years now, and my current doctor(s), and specialists are still building a history. I have to have constant blood work done, infusions, etc... I am afraid to bring up the topic even thought they know I am not getting better. Any thoughts? Should I wait until one of them addresses it, or should I mention it?
Hi Amy- First of all, an impairment is different from disability. For Medical/Legal purposes (SSDI, State Disability) Disability means inability to perform work, In a social setting, an impairment is considered a disability. For a person to be considered permanently totally disabled to receive benefits, you have to have your impairment for longer than 365 days unless there is a catastrophic event and it is extremely clear that you will not recover.
So the question to you Amy is does your impairment(s) preclude you from work activity? Only you and your physician know the answer to that. Also, there is specific language that must go into a medical report that clearly states a person's disability. No matter how bad our condition is, if those words are not in there, the person making the determination cannot put you through.
My suggestion is if you are having a difficult time you may want to find a physician who understands disability to write a report for you. You can read about this in the SSA's blue book. Hope this helps?
Mike
amy it took me 8yrs to get some kind of disability and i had 2heart attacks and other medical problems i only got it for 3yrs back they called it a close cases and my most of it is in court for child support long story there
Perfect - Thank you so much Mike. After reading AMA Guidelines for Disability... , I read that it is very very difficult to file and receive disability benefits in the state of Indiana. You have definitely given me optimism again.