disability info

My husband had his second pacemaker replaced December 2015. He is 100% p/m dependent. His p/m has 3 leads and must work all the time. Both of his bundle branches are dead. He has changed job professions several times. He get extremely tired after just an hour or so of physical labor. He was in construction and was a welder. Next job was working on heavy equipment. When he could no longer do that job, he was fortunate to be able to take a job as an inspector with an oil company. He had to do no physical labor, but still suffered from extreme fatigued. His heart doctor told him in January to let him know when he finished this job so he could go on disability. He has no other job options left. My question is, should he be able to qualify for disability? He is 53 years old. Thanks for any info

5 Comments

disability info

by vgivens62@gmail.com - 2016-05-09 04:05:35

Thank you, Skippy123 We have been so worried. With his last job, we were able to become debt free and have money put away to hold us over until he is approved. I didn't mention that he contracted staph in December when his p/m was replaced. We almost lost him, then. His doctor didn't want him to go back to work at all, but he pushed himself til the job was finished.We have been told that he should draw out his unemployment benefits and then file for ssdi, but he isn't willing to take that chance. Thanks again!

Yes

by Skippy123 - 2016-05-09 04:05:37

Sounds like ssdi should cover it

SSDI

by AnaLena - 2016-05-09 06:05:09

Hello,
If you decide to apply for SSDI be prepared for what could be a long road.It differs from state to state (even though it is a federal program), and from disability to disability. Also, beware, because there are a lot of lawyers who claim to be disability specialists but really aren't.
Now is the time to find an advocate of some kind who can guide you through the paperwork and the process. It is quite an application. There might be someone at the hospital where your husband has been treated who can give you some suggestions or someone at his cardiologist's office. Ask to talk with a social worker at the hospital. Because your husband has such history of serious illness and complications, things may go quickly for him.
My daughter has been unable to work (can barely do daily living tasks) for the past year. Her disorder is mental not physical, though she has had several concussions from blacking out during panic attacks and hitting her head. She applied for disability about 11 months ago. She was denied (which is not uncommon); we appealed the denial. That was also denied. Now we have an attorney, but probably won't have a hearing until the first of next year. I think if we had had help from the very beginning her SSD payments would have been awarded by now.
She did have 4 months of short term disability, which helped a lot.
There is a conflict between getting unemployment and applying for SSDI. Unemployment assumes you can work and are looking for a job. SSDI is based on being unable to work. So be careful of that. Her attorney warned her even about volunteering because that is a form of work--unpaid but still work.
Good luck and may your application move as smoothly as can be.
Ana Lena

Reply to Ana Lena

by vgivens62@gmail.com - 2016-05-09 07:05:06

Thanks for taking time to answer. I used a very good lawyer 5 years ago when I applied for disability. I was 43 at the time and was denied twice. The judge granted my appeal. We have spoken to the same lawyer and he is very optimistic.

All of the above

by Zia - 2016-05-09 09:05:07

It can be a long complicated process and actually it's crucial to have a doctor who knows how to write his findings up to match their criteria. A good attorney can sometimes help and sometimes just makes the agency drag their feet more. When my husband applied for it for terminal brain tumor, we began to wonder if they were just trying to out-wait him, if he died first they wouldn't have to pay. On the bright side, however, when you finally do get it you get a lump sum of the payments from the date of your application.

Robo's suggestion of contacting your congress person is a good one, depending on where you live and what kind of representative you have, but can't hurt anyway.

So, good luck and be persistent.

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