New Orleans Woman Fights the Social Security Administration for Disability Benefits

Sharon Jones is a demanding woman whose personal creed was once the same as the Nike shoe commercial:

"Just do it. No complaints, no excuses; just do it. I used to be the type of person who didn't want to hear any excuses," she said. "So, when it got to the point that I physically couldn't just do it, it was very frustrating."

She's also a strong woman, proud of her family and of her accomplishments on the job. Even more than two years after degenerative osteoarthritis stole her career, it's still difficult for her to face the reality that she is disabled. Today, there are far too many things she can't do.

The 61-year-old New Orleans native was a medical technologist, responsible for performing a variety of laboratory tests. A typical day might have her performing everything from simple pre-marital blood tests to confirming more complex test results such as ovarian cancer or HIV. The information medical technologists provide doctors influences the treatments they prescribe.

"I am--I was--a scientist and a chemist," she said. "They call us the doctors' fact finders. Although we used to do everything in the lab by hand, today the instruments do most of the work. But I still need total dexterity to perform my job properly. I have to be precise, and it just got to the point I couldn't do that anymore. I miss the work terribly. The job was a constant learning process, and it was so exciting to be involved in a process that changed people's lives."

Ms. Jones said that she suffered from arthritis and had trouble with the joints on her fingers for years, but she fought through the pain and worked as long as possible. At first, she tried injections of cortisone on her hand to relieve the pain, but it didn't help. Her right thumb joint eventually disintegrated and she developed trigger thumb, a condition where the tendon doesn't bend and the thumb is stuck in a permanent trigger position.

She underwent surgery that she expected to give her 100 percent usage of her thumb, but the doctor cut an artery during the surgery. "He was supposed to be one of the best," Ms. Jones said, "but the damage is permanent. I've had two other surgeries, but I'll never have full use of my right hand again."

In the meantime, her left hand was also affected by the osteoarthritis and she developed bone spurs in the neck, severe carpal tunnel syndrome, degenerative discs in her spine and stenosis in her left arm.

"I guess I'm pretty much of a mess," Ms. Jones concluded ruefully.

"My right hand is decidedly weak and very painful," she added. "It feels like it's being stuck with burning needles every single day of my life. It's gotten to the point that I can't work the plastic clamp on a bag of potato chips. I can't squeeze shampoo out of a bottle. When my husband, Roy, travels on business, he has to make sure that he opens everything that needs to be opened for me before he leaves. I need help with everyday things; opening things like packages of bacon, cartons of milk."

Ms. Jones's long-term disability insurer referred her to Allsup Inc. to file for Social Security Disability Insurance. As her Allsup representative forewarned her, SSA denied her claim. (The Social Security Administration routinely denies about two-thirds of all initial applications.) Normally, at this point, her representative would ask for a reconsideration of the denial. Louisiana, however, is one of a handful of states that skip the reconsideration stage of the process and the claim goes directly before an administrative law judge.

At this point, Ms. Jones' claim was assigned to Glenda Mercurio-Tosto, a senior Allsup claimant representative with more than 15 years of disability claims experience. Ms. Mercurio-Tosto prepared a thorough brief outlining Ms. Jones' medical history, which explained why she could no longer work. She also worked with Ms. Jones' pain management specialist to evaluate the level of her pain and determine what work she could perform. Ms. Mercurio-Tosto then forwarded the claim to the Office of Hearings and Appeals and asked that the claim be decided on the record, without her having to appear at an oral hearing.

The OHA recommended that the judge approve her claim on the record, and the ALJ did so.

"Sharon's claim was awarded for several reasons," Ms. Mercurio-Tosto said. "Social Security considers everyone over the age of 50 an 'older individual,' so she had a better chance of being awarded. Primarily, though, she won her claim on the record because of the amount of pain she endures. I think the work I did with the pain management specialist was key. It's always great getting a decision on the record because it's very stressful appearing before a judge."

Ms. Jones said that she was "amazed" at the amount of work Allsup did to get her benefits awarded.

"They did such a fabulous job behind the scenes," Ms. Jones said. "Allsup took control of everything. My only contact with the Social Security Administration was when I met with an SSA doctor. I was totally intimidated. I felt like I was begging for something, and I've never had to beg for anything in my life.

"Allsup took over at exactly the right time," she continued. "I just couldn't deal with it anymore. They all went the extra yard--everybody there was beyond nice. I was denied my benefits at the initial application, but my Allsup representative warned me that that would happen. She was very frank and didn't pull any punches, so there weren't any surprises.

"Filing for SSDI and being awarded benefits has been the easiest part of this experience," Ms. Jones continued. "I didn't have to do anything because Allsup did it all. They gave me constant updates and kept me apprised throughout the process."

Ms. Jones received her award notice with mixed feelings.

"I started crying when Roy read the award notice," she said. "He was surprised and told me that this was a good thing, but it certainly wasn't good for me. It was like that piece of paper suddenly made me officially disabled, and I didn't like it one bit. Sometimes I feel like I lost my identity. I'm still the same Sharon Jones, but now because I have a disability, all of sudden I'm a bum."

Like many SSDI recipients, Ms. Jones somehow feels guilty.

"Like it or not, because there has been so much fraud in the system, I feel like there is a stigma drawing disability benefits," she said. "But I worked very hard all my life and I paid the premiums. I didn't quit working because I wanted to; I quit working because I was forced to. The decision was made for me."

Sometimes, a positive attitude isn't enough. Fortunately, for Sharon Jones, the Social Security Administration's disability program provided a safety net, and Allsup Inc. was there to ensure it did its job.