Disabled And Waiting
CBS News Investigation: Backlog In Disability Benefits System Leaves Thousands Of Vulnerable Americans Stranded
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Play CBS Video Video Disability Pay Rejections A two-month CBS News investigation has revealed that many individuals who are disabled are either being rejected or waiting years for a decision on benefits. Armen Keteyian reports.
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Scott Watson suffered a fracture in his spinal column but has been unable to get federal disability benefits. (CBS)
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Blog Primary Source Armen Keteyian and his investigative team keep you informed daily on their blog.
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Each year, millions of people who are disabled from an accident or disease turn to the federal government for Social Security disability payments - a benefit that every worker who is declared disabled is eligible to receive. It's a 51-year-old government insurance program - a lifeline of sorts - that every worker pays for through that line-item on their pay stub, known as FICA.
But a two-month CBS News investigation reveals that safety net may not be there when you need it most.
"I always figured that I'd die in a fiery car wreck or something, never that I'd be disabled," 33-year-old Scott Watson told CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian.
Two years ago, a failed surgery left Watson with a fracture in his spinal cord. It turned his life upside down, leaving him unable to work in his job as a broadcast engineer.
"Everybody says, 'You gotta have a positive attitude,'" Watson said. "You know, and I say, 'Well, I am positive. I'm positive this is the end,' you know. I mean it's not going to get better."
Declared disabled by the state of Maryland, Watson was told he was "shoo-in" when he applied for federal disability last year, only to be turned down three months later on the grounds, according to federal guidelines, he wasn't disabled enough. Watson appealed, and was denied again.
He's one of 27,000 Maryland residents - 68 percent of all those who applied - to suffer such a fate.
Overall, two out of every three people who apply for federal disability benefits are rejected by a government agency that critics say is out of date, underfunded, and incapable of serving the exploding number of disabled Americans. Waiting times for a hearing in some cities are more than three years.
Linda Fullerton, an advocate for the disabled, told Keteyian: "I have people all the time writing to me, saying they are suicidal."
Fullerton's online support site is home to one horror story after another.
Reading from emails, she said: "Had to file bankruptcy to keep home. Losing home with four children."
A two-month CBS News investigation has found that over the last two years, at least 16,000 people fighting for disability benefits died while awaiting a decision.
Overall, the backlog of cases now stands at 750,000 - up 150 percent since 2000.
People wait an average of 520 days for a hearing on their claims.
People like Jerry Rice, who calls an abandoned tool shed home. When we found Rice, who suffers from mental illness, he'd been waiting for three years for his day in court.
"So. Jerry, this is how it ends up for you?" Keteyian asked.
"This is how it is," Rice replied. "I hope it's not how it ends up."
But he believes he deserves the disability?
"I'm not asking them to give me welfare," Rice said. "I'm just asking them to give me what they promised. Yeah, I deserve it."
"It's a mess from the time you apply - till the time you get a hearing," said attorney John Hogan, who has represented thousands of folks in Atlanta, the backlog capital of the nation.
"We're the furthest behind of any area of the country, it could take 2.5 years to get your hearing," Hogan said.
That's because there are some 24,000 cases waiting to be heard. And only about 15 local judges to handle them.FYI: Resources on Disability Benefits
"We have a lot of room for improvement," said Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue, who took over the federal disability program last year. He stepped up efforts to fix the system many call broken.
"So I think it's been broken the way a leg is broken," he said. "And it can heal. And it is healing."
Keteyian asked: "But what do you say to the people who have stood in that line, that three-year line?"
"I don't have a defense. I don't think it's a good thing. It don't think it should have been allowed to happen," Astrue said. "We're probably not gonna be able to drive back the backlog down at the arte that it went up. But we're sure as hell gonna try."
That's little consolation to the likes of Scott Watson, who has had to rely on his parents to simply survive.
"You pay into a system that you think is gonna help you in your time of need, and it doesn't even acknowledge that you even have a problem," Watson said.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
FYI: Resources on Disability Benefits
Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.





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See all 343 Commentsthey work at the slum owners resturant and drive new vehicles , get housing assistance , food stamps and medicade . All paid in FOOL by us the American people ! *** is really going on ?
Go fiqure so i applied at local ssa and was not HIRED , LOL
was denied and managed to go back to work in oilfield after ten months self therapy, on jan. 23/1982 drunk hits me head-on while i am riding motorcycle ,again reattach left hand , left hip bolted together , severe head tramua , right foot crushed , both hips fractured , scrotum , long bone fractures , DIC , memory loss ,addicted to hospital meds(no rehab help)...... . I , at 73lbs. in a wheel chair needing more surgery apply for ssi and emergency food stamps and am told i can still work .
28 yrs and numerous denials later i request my file in preperation for a hearing where i am representing myself , a fool for a lawyer is better than the bozos i have met ! When i recieve the ssa file i find that a Judges order had been changed from remanded to dismissed this starts me to comparing my records with ssa records(some have been mysteriously purged) and there are numerous errors that change the facts of my disabilities . i have contacted the OIG and they are investigating , so i am told , no way to confirm .
People KEEP all records of dealings with the ssa ALL records send everything to them certified and NEVER , NEVER send the original as they tell you to , NEVER ! certified copies ONLY !
YOU should not have to hire an attorney to recieve entitled help from a government of the people , for the people and by the people ! If you do then you are not in a country of for or by the people .
United we State the truth and demand it be SO !!
Never break just bend far enough to slap the crap out of them .
We will not accept LESS than the most for the least of US Americans united we are ! yea, yea , amen
I can understand where you are coming from but you also have to understand that in many cases someone, such as myself, may one day be able to recover. Medicine is always advancing, just think about all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years. If I do make it back to a level where I could return to work I would jump back in with both feet. I don''t want a handout and I worked hard so that my wife could be a stay at home mom. But now that has all changed. I had finally reached the peak of my career and could have gotten a job in any city in the world. I loved what I was doing. This small segment didn''t really describe all of the issues that I am facing. Because of my broken back (if you look at a clock a normal spine should go from 6 O''clock to 12 O''clock, mine goes from 6 O''clock to 2 O''clock),Caude Aquina Syndrom, and extensive nerve damage I suffer constant severe pain and am forced to take tons of medications. One of the side-affects of all those medications is the same as if you were to take 3 shots of NyQuil everyday. In addition to me being like zombie all the time I am unable to sit, stand, or lie down for any extended period of time because of the pain. All of this started with numb feet and I never had back pain and even now the pain I feel in my torso isn''t traditional back pain, it is pain from all of the muscles trying to deal with being constantly in the wrong position. It''s basically a "cholly-horse" in my entire torso all the time.
Not true!! There is normally no upfront attorney fee if we choose to be represented for a disability claim. If we win, our attorney gets a huge chunk of our back pay, usually within days or a few weeks, while we wait months for our first monthly check, and sometimes more than 6 months for a portion of our greatly reduced back pay. And doctors- we rack up tens of thousands in unpaid/pastdue bills.
If we had the "necessary funds", would we really be on disability?
Come on now. Surely you jest.
http://lifewriter.writing.com
"My husband is blind. In 1994 he lost his eyesight due to an illness. We have lost our home, vehicles, life savings, and other possessions due to his illness. He worked 34 years of his life and now that he is disabled (by the State, IRS & DPS) SS does not want to give him benefits. We have filed for SSDI twice and have continuously been denied. There has to be something done about this system -- it is just plan wrong. If everyone who was denied would continue to pursue their claims all the way through the Federal Court system, maybe that would lead to changes in the system."
S Davis,
If your husband is blind he should qualify.
If his vision with best correction in his best eye is 20/200 or worse then he should have no problem being allowed.
Listing 2.02 Loss of Visual Acuity. Remaining vision in the better eye after best correction is 20/200 or less.
Becoming a felon or suicide aren''t a option.
Marphine 3 times a day,a hand full of 750 Vicodins and Xanax all add up.
I haven''t seen my family practice DR for over a year because he is willing to let me catch up on some medical bills,..probably not the 85,000$ implant in my spine.
A quarter of million dollars wouldn''t get me out of debt. I wish you well.
xanax
In Indiana no matter how crippled you are at the hearing infront of the ALJ the state of Indiana brings some a hole in to say that "He ca''t be disabled" What a bunch of ***. On October 1of 2007 the ALJ decided to lean in my favor,..i haven''t heard a word about how much back pay or if I will even get the SSI that I paid into all of my life.
The key is to get a phsyciatrist in your favor,they
have the important influence.
In 7 years ive lost everything just like the rest of you,..I also have a ex-wife with 2 sons that haven''t been paid a penny of support since my last injury in March of 2001. Im lucky that ive gad a girlfriend that has been willing to let her life and credit go to
SH*T because she has supported me. If not for this women I would be living in a shelter or worse.
I WAN''T TO KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO AS DISABLED PEOPLE TO
FIX THIS MESS!
If your in a similiar situation or if you have any comments e-mail me at mlenyo@yahoo.com.
Names Mike,..im 38 and live in Indianapolis.
The crappy thing is you have to wonder just how many people in this situation turn to crime?
Mike
I have repeatedly lost jobs because I CAN''T work no matter how hard I try. The judge doesn''t believe any testimony that I''m disabled (not mine or any other witness) and keeps turning me down.
I applied in 2000, it''s now 2008, and I''m still waiting.
The only suggestion I''ve been offered is "get married". OK. Anyone know someone willing to take on a spouse who requires a full time caregiver and whose medical bills will break the budget?
If this was a private disability insurance program, they would have been sued for all they''re worth and investigated for defrauding customers. Because it''s the federal government, no lawyer wants to take the case.
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