Common questions from KY3 Call a Lawyer Part 4
I was recently asked to sit on the Social Security Disability panel for the Springfield Bar Association Call a Lawyer program on KY3 There were some common questions or complaints that I heard several times. I will try to answer some of them over the next few posts.
Q. What can I do to help my case?
A. Hire a disability lawyer and help your disability lawyer.
Q. How can I help my disability lawyer?
A. You must see your medical or mental health professional and document your impairments, limitations and problems. We cannot create evidence for you.
The process will likely take a year or longer but you should not wait.
The moment you no longer have insurance, you need to start looking for free clinics or low cost clinics in your county. Call Jordan Valley Health Clinic or The Kitchen Clinic.
Go to your county health department, they can give you ideas.
File for Missouri Health Net aka Medicaid.
If you have to, go to the Emergency Room.
Ask for free medicine samples.
Get your medical records as you go to the doctor and give them to your disability lawyer. Most doctors and clinics will give them to you for free.
Keep your doctors appointments or physical therapy sessions. Nothing looks worse in your medical records than not showing up for appointments or calling to cancel because you are “too busy”. Judges assume that you are not too sick if you are not trying to get better. If you must reschedule do so immediately when you cancel. Everybody appreciates it and more people will want to help you as opposed to the rude guy who didn’t call in to reschedule
You will more than likely have to go before a judge. If you don’t have treatment, the judge is going to ask why. It’s better to show the judge what you have done to try and get treatment as opposed to saying you haven’t done anything. Our country has a real health care crisis, but you must try to find help. Keep records of your efforts to find treatment, including applications and letters to and from clinics. Give them to your attorney.
Follow your doctors orders. If the doctor tells you to stop smoking, stop smoking. (If you are claiming you cannot afford treatment, but have money to buy cigarettes, the judge may hold it against you. Unfair, yes, but that is the reality.) If your doctors tells you to start exercising do as much as you can. Stop taking illegal drugs. If your doctor tells you to lose weight, you need to try to lose weight.
Judges like to see effort on your part to get better or continue to work. Lack of effort can hurt your disability case. if you think you can work, you should try. One or more unsuccessful work attempts may help your case. If you try but simply cannot meet attendance requirements, the judge may conclude that you really cannot work even though you are trying your best to fight the idea of disability. Generally, a work attempt that lasts less than three (3) months is considered unsuccessful, so if your work record shows two work attempts lasting 4 to 6 weeks each, you will most likely not hurt your case. You should also keep your monthly wages below $1,010.
If your disability claim has been denied by Social Security, you can get a free Social Security Disability claim consultation from The Krebs Law Firm LLC. You have a very short 60 day deadline to file your appeal, so do not delay in contacting a disability lawyer as soon as possible.
