Maybe this year SSDI can be fixed

[The Straight Story]

It can takes YEARS to get approved and things go better the more medical records you have (ie, the more money you have spent on health care, which more disabled people aren't going to have much of).

The 21st century and the process moves so slow? It needs to be a priority (but since it won't help big business, it may well not).

[KT2000]

1. my favorite is the workplace injury

that the employer refuses to recognize (successfully if the employer is a huge corporation). No workers comp. (this is very easy for the self-employed)
People are too messed up to work, with no income expected to spend tons of money for medical care and evaluations while they go through the process of SSDI refusals.
I know of women who have resorted to prostitution, men and women who killed themselves and others who have lost their children.
A disgrace that no one seems to care about.

[The Straight Story]

3. Workers' comp screwed me up pretty, even though I eventually

Went for over a year without it, lost my job (was fired) because workers' comp lost my change of doctor paperwork and never filed it with my employer, so then I was on welfare - and then bam, I would get a check for 4 months after they got done wrangling. And NOW this is YEARS later - Welfare is trying to get me to repay the money because even though I didn't have a monthly income I was still technically on Workers' comp because they did eventually pay me for those dates.....And yeah, while on it I did try to OD.

[KT2000]

5. I truly believe

these systems intentionally push people to the edge (and over). They often employ mentally sick people who enjoy such power over others. You have someone screwing with you - legally.

[xxqqqzme]

2. Yep, it took me five years to get approved.

And that was w/ left side paralysis caused by a head injury! When I finally got an attorney she said it was because of my age (I was 47 when I was injured). I said OK but the paralysis is permanent. It's not like I'm going to wake up one morning and my brain will have re-generated/replaced the dead brain cells during the night.

[sandnsea]

4. And if you haven't worked

in several years because you're disabled, you only get the minimum. To base it on your pay, you have to have been working within a certain amount of time before you were disabled. So if your disability is gradual, like my husbands, and you deteriorate into not being able to work at all, well you're still SOL, even if you ever do get qualified. It is a really ridiculous system, most definitely.

[The Straight Story]

6. Hopefully we can put some pressure on our leaders to fix this - sadly I doubt many care

SSDI folks don't seem to have any lobbyists, and attorneys can reap the benefits from a broken system.