17Mar

The subjective nature of pain and the disability case

By Tomasz Stasiuk, March 17th, 2009 | Back Pain, Building a Case | 20 Comments

Backache

Former disability examiner, Timothy Moore, writes about his experiences with lower back pain and the Social Security Disability Process:

About one week ago to the day, I injured my lower back. And though I am now fully on the road to recovery, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be saddled with nagging lumbar back pain indefinitely …

… light jobs would be difficult because handling any amount of weight, let alone, say, 20 pounds, would aggravate a back problem. I rediscovered this reality yesterday as I, in a limited fashion, tried to help my wife with groceries. The simple weight of a gallon jug of milk was enough to make me wince. How about a sedentary job? Well, the problem with sedentary jobs has to do with…being sedentary.

As many claimants with chronic lower back pain will attest, being in a seated position can become very uncomfortable even after a few minutes. But even “sedentary jobs” are not entirely sedentary. Most sedentary work still involves having to get up and down from a seated position dozens of times during the course of a day. And this can obviously present a problem for someone with lower lumbar pain. …

Disability examiners, their supervisors, and the medical consultants with whom disability examiners work all too often slap decisions on cases without allowing claimants reasonable consideration with respect to their pain.

Tim goes on to discuss why disability examiners do not give reasonable considerations to pain. Read the entire article here.

This makes me think of this saying:

The man who is warm cannot understand the man who is cold.

Pain is by it’s very nature subjective. We literally cannot understand what another person is going through, even it is something we have gone through ourselves.

I recently had a knee injury, which resulted in excruciating pain, kept me from sleeping more than a few hours at a time, and severely limited my concentration. I was not able to walk without using a four point cane. Nights were worse as the pain became like fire on my knee and any movement would make the pain level jump.

I wondered if I would be able to continue working, and if not, what would happen if I applied for Social Security.

Since I am under 50, I would have to show that I could not perform any type of work which exists in substantial numbers in the national economy. I expect that Social Security would eliminate all jobs which are primarily performed while standing. But, would I be able to eliminate sedentary jobs like information clerk, or call-out operator, or dispatcher?

Certainly the pain I was experiencing affected my concentration and I felt I might not be able to do these types of jobs. However, I doubt I would have been able to convince Social Security that a knee injury would keep me from doing any type of work.

Pain is subjective. You don’t feel what I feel and I don’t feel what you feel.

Social Security is very conservative in how it evaluates claims for disability. It looks for objective, measurable medical findings. But, pain cannot be measured, except by the individual. That is what makes pain cases so difficult.

Fortunately, my condition improved and I am back to fighting for the disabled.

If you are disabled due to pain, hang in there! Social Security may never feel what you feel, but you can still build a winning case!

Tomasz Stasiuk is the founding attorney of the Stasiuk Firm - a law firm devoted to exclusively handling Social Security disability cases in Colorado. Contingent fees available.

Pete Freudenberger

Could you please shoot me an email of you check back on this stuff. I am in the exact predicament you are describing and feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall! I need help.
Please email me!
pete@ewillisgroup.com
http://www.SocialSecurityInsider.com/ TomaszStasiuk

Pete, thank you for the kind words. You really made my day.

if you are in Colorado, give me a call and I'll be happy to discuss your case.

If you are in a different state call a lawyer close to you who specializes in Social Security cases. I believe you will get the best result if you can talk to someone in person. But that means finding a lawyer in your area.

I wish you the very best.
http://www.ColoradoSocialSecurityLaw.com TomaszStasiuk

Pete, thank you for the kind words. You really made my day.

if you are in Colorado, give me a call and I'll be happy to discuss your case.

If you are in a different state call a lawyer close to you who specializes in Social Security cases. I believe you will get the best result if you can talk to someone in person. But that means finding a lawyer in your area.

I wish you the very best.
http://www.Chronic-SMILES.org/ M Moore

“Social Security is very conservative in how it evaluates claims for disability. It looks for objective, measurable medical findings.”

Yes. I'd like to add that not only is Pain often immeasurable (except on an individual level), the impact of working in most professional industries is enormous. How can a SSI case worker possibly understand the ramifications of someone being told by his or her employer that “no one can be sick all the time?” Day after day, a sick worker may be despondent, chronically late, inattentive and achy! We must remember that most jobs today fall under categories that are just by nature ill-suited for chronically ill people. The most common job descriptions I see:

• MUST THRIVE ON FAST PACED, PRESSURED ENVIRONMENT
MULTI-TASKER, HIGH-ENERGY PERSON

Get Real! Most ongoing illnesses take all there is out of a body – let alone having to actually Concentrate and Produce once you actually make it to work!

Michelle (CEO@chronic-SMILES.org)
Jeffmtrimble

hi,i have a question i went to go see a disabilty examiner a few days ago requested by social security.and the examiner told me that i couldnt do any type of work due to chronic pain.does that mean i might have won my case.
http://www.StasiukFirm.com TomaszStasiuk

Hi Jeff, It sounds good. However, a lot depends on what the consultative examiner puts in his/her report and what the other evidence says. You may want to take a look at the “consultative examination” articles: http://www.socialsecurityinsider.com/tag/consultative-examination/

Good luck!
Jeffmtrimble

hi,the disabilty examiner was a pyschologist.i have been fighting this disablity case for 3 yrs.but filed again in march of 2010.
http://www.StasiukFirm.com TomaszStasiuk

Sometimes, persistence makes all the difference. I will keep my fingers crossed.
Jeffmtrimble

hi tom,all the disabilty examiner told me after his report is that hes gonna tell social security in his report that i can’t work due to chronic pain.i hope that this time around i will win my case.what is your input on this.
http://www.StasiukFirm.com TomaszStasiuk

Hi Jeff,
Again, it sounds good. However, if I had a working crystal ball, I’d be at the racetrack!
Iceedesire

hi My case was just denied by a judge i have no disk between my l4 -l5 verts in my back as well bi polor and personality disorder, i was told that there are two jobs that i can do now mind you i can not stand for very long and i cant sit that long as well with out mega pain there is times that i have to leave to go lay down on the bed to try and help the pain… I was told to try pain killers but they make me sick and puts me in more pain. I have tried perks and loratabs and its the same story with both… i dont know how to proceed from here… they said i can be a medical assembler, plastics and a semi – conductor bonder but i live out in the country side not in a city and they they selfs said that i was limited on driveing … i really dont know how to fight this or where to go from here any help would be great

Thank you
http://www.Planet10Tech.com TomaszStasiuk

The options for a hearing denial are 1) appeal, 2) reapply, or 3) drop it. Reapplying isn’t always possible if the case involves a date last insured.

However, the real question is what went wrong in the case? Was there insufficient evidence? Did doctors disagree? Was there non-compliance with medical treatment? Was drug abuse / alcoholism an issue? Maybe the evidence was good but the judge just wasn’t buying it. If you don’t know what went wrong, you don’t really know what to fix next time.
Iceedesire

all i can figure is that the dr that was there in the court room with out ever meeting me down played everything that was wrong he moved everything from moderate/ serious down to mild and my dr that i first started seeing who is now retired put in that I ” over reacted” to the pain that is in my back my new dr that i just started seeing last month believes that i was told wrong as to what is the problem the dr that i first started seeing tried for 4 months to get a mri ok’d to see what was truly wrong but he was not sending in the right info to get it approved i think it is cause he didnt want to do anything in truth.. all he did was put me on perks and well they just made matters worse they made me sick and when i told him this he just ignored it and told me it was them or nothing… the mental doctors that i am forced to go to cause i am on state insurance dont believe in some of the things that even the ssi therapist found was wrong they call black outs due to anger where i dont remember what happens in that time disassociation and i know that is not what it is cause i act out when those times hit i even throw a spatula at a friend … and well after i came back to me is the only way i can explain it i found part of the spatula but never found the rest… I just dont know what i have to do to make the courts believe what is going on when even my thearpist that i am made to go to dont treat what is wrong… I really dont know what went wrong in the case i am still trying to understand the letter that they sent to tell me the bad news.
http://www.Planet10Tech.com TomaszStasiuk

It sounds like there is a lot going on in your case. Have your tried working with a lawyer to help make your case more understandable to SSA?

Note: keep in mind that there are time limits on appealing any denials. These are discussed in detail in the decision notice.
Iceedesire

yes i did talk to a lawyer he was there during the trial and when i talked to him after i got the letter he said that it seems that they didnt take in to account my back… even though they have xrays of my back getting progressively worse. he when he was allowed to talk to the “work placement person” he asked if a person that could not stand for more than 20 mins at times and could not sit for more than 30 min. and some times had to lay down for a bit to relieve the pain and the guy said no there was no job that would let a person do that … but it was just like the judge didnt take my back problems in to account or my anger problems… i dont know if it is cause of the evidence that they got from 4-courners is the problem or the info they got from dr hiner did it.. but on the 26 i am meeting with a back specialist and i dont know i his findings will make a difference should i send in that info when i send it to review
http://www.Planet10Tech.com TomaszStasiuk

If the case is denied, the number one issue is the appeal. Your lawyer can discuss the process with you and your options. New evidence may be submitted with the appeal. However, there are limitations. Your lawyer can walk your through them and help you decide whether the new evidence can be submitted.
Mlwnjlawyer

Great website. Very informative; interesting articles.
Mlwnjlawyer

What state do you live in? Were you represented by an attorney? Was this appealed?
Mlwnjlawyer

What state are you in? Did you find help?
Mccarty Debra

i have sleep apnea and herinated disc., High Blood pressure,and my knees are going out anyone have any suggestions?