Getting Social Security Disability for Fibromyalgia

You know the old adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know?" When it comes to Social Security Disability, that old adage is something to live by- and "who you know" in this case is your lawyer.

That's right- you need a lawyer, and not just because a lawyer can help you with the paperwork, and keep everything together that your poor, fibrofogged brain might scatter. Disability lawyers know the disability judges, and when it comes to your disability case, you want to know the judge. After all, your case is going to rest in the judge's hands- the more you know about your judge, the better off you'll be. Every advantage you can get, you need, and a lawyer is the first and best advantage on what is going to be a long and winding road.

Starting down the road, you want to find out who the disability lawyers are in your area, and if you can, who has been practicing the longest. These will be the lawyers you'll want to interview first. They are more likely to have more experience, know the judges better, and have a better idea of how your individual case will go when you get to the judge stage- and you're going to get to the judge stage, unless you happen to have another disability in addition to fibromyalgia, and can use that one as your primary.

For the purposes of this essay, I'm going to be writing on the pretext that you are using fibro as your primary disability, as I did.

And yes- I won my case. My lawyer was a former judge, who knew the judge that I was going to be going before, and had inside knowledge that helped me. That's an ideal situation, and sadly not a lot of you are going to be able to get lucky enough to get a lawyer like mine! But if you can, hire them!

When you go in for the interview, ask the lawyer how long he or she has been practicing, ask them if they know the judges that you'll be going before, and then discuss your case with them and ask them for their honest opinion on your case- do they think you have a shot? If they say no, then you obviously don't want to hire them. You want a lawyer who thinks you have a case. (And you do- most people with fibro cannot lift more than 20lbs, and that is a disability under the SSD guidelines.) If they say yes, ask them if they think that a particular judge will be better for your case than another. This is a key question to see how well they know the judges. Once they've answered that question, you'll want to ask about their fees- rates for disability lawyers vary from state to state, but generally it's going to be a percentage of your settlement plus fees and costs. The fees and costs should have a cap- a dollar amount they won't go over, so that they aren't charging you a percentage plus a TON of money. But that's standard. Some lawyers will only charge a percentage- but a lot of the ones that have been in business for a long time charge the percentage plus fees and costs. They should give you a flyer detailing what the fees and costs are (time billed for phone calls, copies made, paperwork, postage, etc. It's a lot of little stuff that adds up). They should also agree to give you a detailed bill later, itemizing what they are charging you for- any lawyer who doesn't agree to this, RUN, don't walk out of their office. Also? Any layer that tries to charge you more than 25% of your settlement, RUN, don't walk out of their office. Standard percentages aren't more than 15%, I believe. (My lawyer charged me 10%.)

So, you've got your lawyer. Now what?

A lot of paperwork- a metric ton of paperwork, really!- a few doctor's appointments, and a lot of waiting. It sucks, but you will probably spend a minimum of 2 years waiting and waiting and waiting. You have to be unemployed for six months before you can even file your first application, and that is almost certainly going to be denied out of hand. Then the first appeal, and that usually takes a year. One thing you can do that can sometimes help your case be heard more swiftly (it helped with me) is to write to your Senator or Congressman who is in charge of Social Security for your state (you can find that information at your state's home page) and beg them to help your case go faster. The squeaky wheel does, indeed, get the grease when it comes to SSD- and far too few people know that. (My case was moved up twice, thanks to my congressman's help.) You also need your doctor (or doctors) to certify that you cannot work because of your illness, and you will need to see the court-appointed doctors to have them certify that you're not malingering or crazy (the court-appointed doctors include a psychiatric evaluation).

Now, you've gotten your lawyer, you've gotten your denials, you've seen the doctors, you've written your congressman, and BAM! You have a date. Now what?

Well, hopefully, your lawyer will make an appointment with you for a last "cram session" before your case goes before the judge. That way, you can ask him (or her) any last-minute questions you have, make sure that you know how you should dress, what you should say if the judge asks you any questions, etc. If your lawyer doesn't make an appointment with you, call their office and ask for one- or ask the questions right then over the phone. You are your lawyer's "boss." You have the right to be comfortable with your preparation for your hearing. Write everything down and put it with the information that you have to bring with you to your hearing.

It's the big day- you have to appear before your judge. What will happen? Depending on the judge, it could be anything from the quick and dirty- your lawyer goes in before the judge, the judge looks at your paperwork and says "yes" or "no" and you're done without ever seeing the judge!- or a long and drawn out ordeal where the judge interviews you and the court appointed doctor about your condition. It will all depend on your judge- which is why, again, your lawyer is so important. Because the lawyer, if they've worked as a disability lawyer for any length of time, will know the judges, and thus know exactly what and how to prepare for that judge.

Hopefully, you'll be very fortunate and you'll get a judge who will say "yes" whether they interview you or not.

Regardless, with the right team of doctors and the right lawyer for you, you can get disability if you need it and you choose to take this path. It's not easy, but if you can't work any longer, don't discount Social Security as an option. I certainly wish you the best of luck.