Back in July, I posted a blog about how Facebook can potentially damage your Social Security Disability claim if information contained in your profile contradicts your disability claim and somehow gets in the wrong hands. But since there are many social media sites out there, I would like to elaborate on this topic so as to provide more comprehensive advice on the topic of whether social media is a friend or foe.
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How should you prepare for a Continuing Disability Review (CDR) or notice of proposed termination? It depends on how vulnerable you are to losing. I received the following question from one of my readers:
There is no such thing as the "perfect" case. Even the most deserving claimants may end up with a doctor who they don't like or with whom they do not get along. This is especially true in "pain" cases when narcotic medicines may be prescribed. There are also doctors out there who do not believe in the concept of disability – as far as they are concerned no one is fully disabled and these doctors will not cooperate with a Social Security claimant at all (needless to say, it is helpful if you discover this trait in your treating doctors early enough in your case to find another doctor!).
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I recently ran across a very timely post on Jim Reed's New York Injury Law blog entitled "When Facebook Isn't a Friend to Your Personal Injury Case." Jim correctly points out that the default privacy setting on Facebook is essentially "no privacy" meaning that anyone in your geographic area can view your profile, your photos and comments made by and about you.
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Many disability claimants are not ready to give up on the idea of working. Social Security recognizes this and offers a number of programs designed to help disabled claimants transition back into the work force.
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In my practice I do not see very many continuing disability review (CDR) cases. If you are not familiar with this term, a "continuing disability review" involves a review by Social Security as to whether an approved claimant remains disabled. For example, there are some medical conditions that can and do improve over time and with treatment. I have been involved in many cases – especially those in which the claimant is in his 20's or 30's – when the judge specifically includes in his decision that a particular claimant should be reviewed in 1 year, or perhaps 3 years.
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I don't get a lot of questions about "continuing disability reviews" (CDR). Here is one that raises an important issue. For those not familiar with the term, a CDR is the process by which Social Security evaluates approved claimants to confirm that they still meet the requirements for disability under Social Security's rules.
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In Dec. 13, 2007 you responded to my question on your Social Security Disability podcast about non compliance and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). I had tried numerous antidepressant medications with no success. I was desperate for answers and sought out a new psychiatrist who specializes in electroconvulsive therapy. After he conducted my fourth of six ECT treatments. I started experiencing a very weird scary state of mind, almost like I was seeing things in a dreamlike state of mind. I stopped at the fourth ECT for this reason. Its hard to describe such feelings in words but it was a very eery scary feeling. How will Social Security view my situation?
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My April 26, 2008 post about attending college and applying for Social Security disability generated a large number of emails and questions. A reader sent me this question which is about the impact of a stipend and part time job on an SSDI recipient who has already been deemed disabled.
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