As an individual who has earned my disability after 15 years of battling Fibromyalgia, I now maintian a website, blog and support forum for FM/CFS sufferers. Many people with FM/CFS eventually reach a point where they cannot work any longer. They either have to stop working or lose their jobs and have to file for disability,(SSDI). Many believe the first thing they need to do is to hire a disability attorney. I know I did, but I was wrong. Here is why... Keep in mind that SSA Disability is "insurance" mandated by the US Federal Government. Every working person has deductions taken out of every paycheck they draw while actively working. This is not optional; it is mandatory that you participate. You, as a working, United States citizen, have no say in this; they take this deduction out of every check.
When an individual becomes ill and files for benefits earned by their payments into this "insurance", they must first "apply for benefits" and be determinned to be "disabled" by the SSA prior to receiving them. Statistics show that up to 90% of those who apply are denied the first time. Of that 90%, some 60% only will appeal. The appeals process can take years while many struggle to survive with no income, live on charity, exhaust their savings or even become homeless. SSDI Reform is greatly needed, yet even in an election year, voter apathy will support only further neglect of this issue by legislative bodies and representatives. Meanwhile; many are suffering.
People are led to believe that when they file for SSDI that the first thing they should do is hire a disability attorney to represent them. This is not true. It is merely the result of marketing campaigns sponsored by greedy attorneys trying to cash in on the plight of the disabled and the broken system which furthers their gains. Prominent disability attorneys openly and consistantly advertise that you must be out of work for 12 months prior to filing for disability.
THIS IS NOT TRUE! FILE YOUR CASE WITH SSA IMMEDIATELY!
The reason these attorneys do this is because they do not wish to retain a case that does not present an opportunity for them to make a great amount of profit. If you are out of work for a year, then file for disability, go through up to three years of appeals before you win your case and then win....well, do the math. They get 25% of your "Back-pay", which is the amount SSA pays you back to when you are first eligible for benefits. That is a HUGE chunk of money and is the reason why they want you to wait.
The facts are that even SSA recommends that you file immediately upon becoming disabled. You can apply over the phone, at your local SSA office or online and you DO NOT NEED REPRESENTATION to do so.
Furthermore, you cannot ensure that an attorney does everything necessary to win your case unless you, YOURSELF, have an understanding of what is needed to win. I say this because you must understand that regardless of how "caring and compassionate" your attorney appears to be, you must remember that your attorney's foremost priority is to make money and further his practice, not to win your case as soon as possible so that you don't end up homeless or living on charity. They will let your case proceed through the slow, red tape of the SSDI process regardless of how long it takes because regardless of how long it takes, as long as the case is won, they get 25%. The longer it takes, the more they make!
And the real kicker is that you do not need an attorney unless your case is denied, you must appeal and have to go before a judge to review your case. If you educate yourself so that you know what you need to prove in order to be considered "disabled", then you can ensure that all information necessary to establish this is provided to the DDS yourself, without paying an attorney! Why pay someone 25% of your benefits when if you are truly disabled, you can win your disability case without doing so? Moreso, you can do it faster because YOUR priority is winning your case as quickly as possible. If you have a guide that advises you of every step taken in the process and how you need to quickly progress through the process with a positive outcome, you, yourself can do it.
If you are too sick to work and have filed for disability insurance benefits, I urge you to do just a little research on your own prior to entering into an agreement with a disability attorney! The Disability Digest offers FREE information for people just like you to help you win your disability case. It will never cost you a penny and is worth your weight in gold. Win your case and keep your money! Don't give it away to a greedy attorney when you don't have to. Better yet, if you absolutely feel that you cannot do it yourself and need to retain representation, I would suggest that you still get this guide so that you can ensure that your representative is doing what needs to be done to win your case. Never trust them to "just do it" because your future is at stake.
Get your Free Disability Guide from the Disability Digest and win your case! Fire your greedy, disability attorney!
Remember, it is your future. Don't take the chance of losing when so much depends on winning. Get the Free Guide!
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Contributor's Note
Tammy Elaine McPherson is an FM/CFS sufferer who has been awarded SSDI, owns and maintains "The Ultimate Fibromyalgia Resource Center" and is an FM/CFS Disability Advocate who supports SSDI Reform. *Note: The purpose of this article is not to infer that all "Disability Lawyers" are greedy or evil; merely to suggest that great care and personal research should be taken when retaining one for the purpose of attaining SSDI, which in most cases can be achieved without doing so.
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