video management, video solution, video streaming Steven Packard, a Social Security Attorney who represents disability claimants granted an interview to the local news.  The transcript follows:
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John Bridges: We’re talking with attorney Steven Packard on Social Security Disability.  It’s something that a lot of people have to deal with everyday.  Steven, who needs to worry about Social Security disability?  Who does this affect?

Steven Packard: Social Security affects everyone.  It affects people who have worked their whole life, and it also affects people who have stayed home, raised their children, and have never had an opportunity to go into the work force.

John Bridges: And this is for when you’re injured or disabled for an extended period of time, right?

Steven Packard: Yes, any injury or illness that takes a person out of the work force for at least a year.

John Bridges: So you don’t have to be 62 to use it, it can happen at any age?

Steven Packard: It can happen at any age. I’ve seen people become disabled in their early 30’s; sometimes even in their childhood. It’s a sad situation, but sometimes it affects people even in their childhood.

John Bridges: Does SSDI take care of something that insurance does not? How does that work?

Steven Packard: Many people do have disability insurance and there is an interplay between Social Security and insurance.  There are different types of insurance, and they typically work hand in hand.  It brings into the picture issues like Medicare, Medicaid… and sometimes there is a little bit of overlap between the two.

John Bridges: What are some of the questions that you get from clients about Social Security disability?

Steven Packard: The main question that I get over the phone is when people are surprised when a doctor has told the person that they can never go back to doing the same kind of work that they’ve done in the past.  Let’s say, if they were a carpenter and they can no longer go out and do that kind of work, but the person has never done anything else. They call me and say, “My doctor has told me that I can’t do what I’ve been trained to do my whole life”, and that can be a perplexing problem. There are guidelines on what the judge can do.

John Bridges: It’s obviously difficult to be told mid-life that suddenly you can do what you’ve done your whole career.  When do you need an attorney? When does a person call someone like you to become involved?

Steven Packard: A person can retain a law firm at any stage in the process.  Most of the time, however, an attorney gets involved after a claimant has been denied. The person will go in, make an application, and they’ll frequently get denied by the Social Security Administration and the individual doesn’t know what to do next, so they call me.

John Bridges: What happens then? Do you file a suit or do you try to work it out without having to go to court?

Steven Packard: Well, we have to file an appeal.  We go through the appeals process and we eventually seek a hearing with the judge, face to face. Up to that time, they’ve already gone through the process and up until that time there wasn’t a face-to-face interview with the decision-maker, and that’s what we want this time - a face-to-face meeting with the decision-maker.

John Bridges: How are fees assessed in a situation such as this? Do you charge a certain percentage of the final award or what?

Steven Packard: Typically what’s done.. is that there is a percentage of the back pay that is used to pay the attorney.  It’s a lot easier for the claimant to pay a fee that way and it works best that way.

John Bridges: Ok. If you need more information you can contact an attorney…

A recent conversation with a middle-aged gentleman brought a dangerous situation to light.  Apparently, he took an early retirement at age 50 from his former employer, and with his small retirement pension and his 401K accounts he was able to sustain a modest, comfortable standard of living.  Unfortunately, falling stock values have cut his 401K and IRA funds down to about half of what they once were and his income has now fallen well below what he needs to stay afloat.

He said that he would gladly go back to work, but he has since become disabled and can’t earn a living.  The problem now is that he is still too young to retire but he hasn’t made enough recent contributions to the Social Security system to be eligible for disability benefits.  He would consider filing for SSI but his monthly pension is just above the threshold limit.

This gentleman should have applied for Social Security disability benefits at the time he became disabled.  At that time, he still had enough work credits to be eligible for disability benefits.  Instead, he sadly assumed that he didn’t need the benefits because he was happy and well off enough with his personal investments and his small retirement pension from his previous employer. It’s a truly sad case.

In the midst of the current economic slowdown, disability claims are on the rise.  Not surprisingly, the SSA just released numbers showing that Social Security disability claims were up more than 15% for the first quarter of 2009, and are expected to continue to climb higher still.  We need to point out and address those issues that constitute common errors in disability strategy.

1 - Are You Really Disabled?

Often, a person will assume that he or she is disabled simply because their primary care physician has at some point used the word, “disabled” or “disability” when discussing long-term quality of life.  Just because a person is now unable to do their regular job is no guarantee that the person will be disabled as far as the Social Security Administration is concerned.  Ultimately, a person must be unable to perform any gainful employment, not just the one for which they are the most suited.

2 - Do Your Homework

Request, gather, file and organize your medical records.  Make lists of the doctors that you’ve seen, the reasons for which you saw each doctor, and the dates that you were examined or treated.  Keep records of medications, citing the reason that you were taking the medicine and amount that you were prescribed.  If you have room, keep the old medicine bottles as additional proof that you took the medication.  .

3- Don’t Wait Too Long To File for Disability

After a person files for disability, there can be up to a 100-day delay in receiving the approval (or denial) of benefits.  There is also a mandatory five-month waiting period after the onset of disability before payments are made.   Additionally, as shown in the sad case outlined above, it is always best to file for disability as soon after disability has set in, so that full credit for recent contributions can be made.

4- Get Help

Filling for SSDI isn’t like filing your taxes.  There are indeed trick questions and obscure rules that will literally sink a case right from the start.  Statistics show that claimants who obtain qualified, experience representation have a much higher chance of success in being approved for benefits.

5- Don’t Give Up

Just because you are denied benefits the first or second time around, doesn’t mean that you’re not truly disabled and that you won’t be awarded benefits.  Nearly two-thirds of claims that go through appeals and hearings are ultimately awarded benefits.  Unfortunately, however, there is a current backlog that keeps appealed claims in the in the Social Security system for two years or more.

It would be nice if there were an iron-clad set of rules that, if followed, would allow all disability claims to be handled efficiently and accurately.   All one can really do is file their claim early, get help, keep good records and don’t give up.  If a person at least does that, then the rest is simply up to the judge.