Shoutout to my disability lawyer for catching a mistake SSA made on my onset date

I was about to accept a decision from SSA that gave me benefits starting 6 months later than I actually became disabled. My lawyer at a small firm in Fresno found where they miscalculated my onset date based on an old doctor visit I forgot about. He pushed back and got the judge to correct it, which was an extra $4,800 in back pay for me. Has anyone else had their lawyer find something their own doctor notes missed?

3 comments

3 Comments

mitchell.lee18d ago

4,800 bucks in back pay is nice and all, but honestly that kind of money barely covers a few months of rent out here in Fresno. I had a similar thing happen where my lawyer caught a 3 month gap in my record, but it only netted me like 900 extra bucks and it took 8 months to get the check. It feels like a win, but the system is so slow and broken that even a "catch" like this just makes me wonder how many other people are getting screwed over on smaller mistakes they never find.

mila_brown1018d ago

Man that's the thing right there. The system is set up so you have to catch their mistakes yourself or you just lose out. 900 bucks for three months is honestly insulting when you think about what that time was actually worth to you. It makes you wonder how many people just accept whatever they get because they don't have a lawyer or the energy to fight. These little errors add up to a lot of money for the agency over time.

uma_martinez18d ago

Getting a lawyer involved made a huge difference for me. Had them handle the whole backlog review and ended up getting way more than I expected because they knew exactly what forms to push.