hello thks for your input. my husband former OTR Truck Driver.... we filed a claim 3 years ago got denied ...appealed now going on 4 years denied again...we opted not to use a lawyer because everything was in order all x-rays, Doctor's opinions the whole 9 yards. my husband suffers extremely we have a 12 yr old son we are raising. And he cant participate in that even. The man is bed ridden three quarters of the day. he gets many monthly shots to be able to move but they do not help. We have been living on one income. I have used all the resources i possibly can. I cannot express to you how hard its been to live like this month after month...and now we were denied again...I feel like the system has been corrupted. Now that john is not a tax payer he is treated as a liar, complainer, drug seeker...God forbid if he suggest an Opiod to help him move. Yes we have medical treatment but he is treated as a number the doctors have not helped him...and now with all this and more stress than you can imagine he was denied. Its no wonder these people want to take there own lives. They are usually to sick to even fight for what they earned. Is this because we Didn't have a lawyer? Who can I contact to help us or even maybe be heard and possibly help change the system. What do we do now??????

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your situation.

I don't know any of the details of your husband's case, such as the level of appeal that his claim is at, or the specific reason for his disallowance. Nor do you mention his age, so I don't know if he has filing options other than disability benefits. As a result, I can't really answer your questions with any specificity.

The only options that your husband likely has with regard to disability benefits is to either pursue his claim to the next level of appeal, or file a new claim. A new claim should probably be his last resort, though, since that would likely limit the amount of back pay that he could receive if his claim is eventually approved.

There are 3 administrative appeal steps, reconsideration, hearing and appeals council review (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf). If your husband pursues his claim through the appeals council review level and his claim is still denied, he could then file a lawsuit in federal district court. If your husband decides to pursue his claim to a further level of appeal, he may want to consider appointing a representative. Many attorneys are generally available to represent people on a contingency basis. You should be able to find several in the yellow pages or via an internet search, although I don't have any specific recommendations in that regard.

Best, Jerry