At the risk of making this a political thread (which it isn’t — it’s the current home of the undead Thread) I agree about the attorneys.
However, I’m going to tell you a little story. I will try to make it short, without leaving anything out.
In 1997, a woman had a well-paying job with a government entity, and she was progressing nicely through merit and cost of living raises. In mid-1997, she began to feel very tired, and never seemed to be able to catch up on her rest.
By April of 1998, she was forced to quit her job because with numerous symptoms, including fatigue she could never seem to get rid of, she was lucky if she got 20 hours on an 80-hour check because she had used all her sick and vacation pays.
She had applied for disability because she knew exactly where she was headed. She hoped she was wrong, but she wasn’t. Social security turned her down, and she was told she could re-apply with more input from doctors. She endured seven months of constant testing to “rule out” certain diseases.
In the meantime, the county/state was supporting her with room and board and food stamps, which sums had to be repayed if and when her disability was accepted by SSA.
Her second submission was returned with a letter that said she would have to appeal her case in front of a federal judge, who wouldn’t be available for another five months. She waited, but she kept a log of her illness, and made notes on how it affected her life in every aspect.
The day finally came when she went before the federal judge, bringing along her documentation. The judge asked if she had an attorney. She replied that she did not, because no one knew her particular disease like she did.
She was granted the disability claim within two weeks, but all the money the county and state had spent on her was subtracted from the amount of the settlement that was retroactive from the day she had to quit work.
One more glitch: Since she had been working for the county during the years she was paid the most, no SS taxes were taken out, so her social security was converted into disability and it was under $200 a month.
When her ex-husband died two years later, she immediately applied for his social security. Her total income, between her own SS/Disability and her late husband’s SS, was a whopping $679 a month.
Now. The story doesn’t end there, because fighting with the beuracracy made her sicker, and she will never ever be able to work again or have any social life. She is pretty much home-bound. And yes, she is aware that people have defrauded the system, but all it has done is make it harder for people who are truly disabled to get their own SS as disability.
And if you think this is what she wanted out of life, you are dead wrong.
At least some people still send her cans of Bean with Bacon soup...
A heart-breaking result for sure. I’m sure you have a connection here and I commiserate. But, I would remind you that there are stories like this, real and concocted, that inundate our free society. It is still not my problem. It is government’s job to root out the fakes so, hopefully, real problems like you relate are addressed within the limited ability government should have in such cases.
The folks scamming the system will be fine - many are working under the table for cash now ( if you doubt me, run an ad for part time help...) I don't begrudge your friend. I hope there will be people who will take her in when scammers bankrupt the system...