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petunias
LIF Infant
Member since 4/12 295 total posts
Name:
Petunia
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Disability
Have you ever known anyone who was on disability yet didn't need to be????
I know a few people who got hurt at work and are on disability (for life) but seem to be able to work on their homes, travel all the time, etc.
If you can sit on an airplane to Vegas for 4 hours, you can go to work at least part time sitting.
Shouldn't disability be for people who are truly disabled and can not work?
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Posted 10/17/12 12:36 PM  |
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jams92
Member since 1/12 6105 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disability
yes and no
i do agree that people take advantage of the system, but i also do believe there are circumstances that may not be obvious to you
for example, a family member of mine had double knee replacement surgery; he was a mechanic for oil trucks so he was on his hands and knees working under trucks all day long. after his surgery he could no longer do his job and the company had no other positions for him so they were ok to give him disability. he has looked for years for another job....but he needs a desk job and his entire life experience is as a mechanic. he has been unable to find a job that will take him and therefore continues to collect disability but yes he does go and travel to visit family in florida and by looking at him you would htink he was taking advantage of the system...but he isnt
Message edited 10/17/2012 12:45:18 PM.
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| Posted 10/17/12 12:43 PM |
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DumpsterBaby
My compass when I'm lost
Member since 5/11 2210 total posts
Name:
My anchor when I get tossed
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Disability
I don't know anyone like that but my BIL was born with clubbed feet, has had over 50 operations, has pins and nails and screws throughout his feet and is now at risk of needing amputation. He is on disability, rightfully so, but he cannot even volunteer for his daughter's cheerleading booster club because if he was caught he could lose his benefits, much less work on his house/travel/etc. He lives in FL.
There are ALWAYS people who abuse the system. Always.
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| Posted 10/17/12 12:44 PM |
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WannaBeAMom11
LIF Adult
Member since 1/11 7391 total posts
Name:
Name
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Re: Disability
I COMPLETELY AGREE. I have an ex-firiend who is on permament disability because her job required standing. Everyone suggested she get a job as a receptionist or something like that and her response was she cant be sitting that long. Meanwhile she was on fb playing game 8hrs a day and has no problems with that
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| Posted 10/17/12 12:52 PM |
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Re: Disability
Posted by WannaBeAMom11
I COMPLETELY AGREE. I have an ex-firiend who is on permament disability because her job required standing. Everyone suggested she get a job as a receptionist or something like that and her response was she cant be sitting that long. Meanwhile she was on fb playing game 8hrs a day and has no problems with that
The disability rules require that a young person be unable to perform even sedentary work. The laws and not the person define disability. There are often factors that people don't tell anyone, for example, mental illness. I work in the field and while there are scammers there are much worse problems with the system than that.
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| Posted 10/17/12 1:55 PM |
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petunias
LIF Infant
Member since 4/12 295 total posts
Name:
Petunia
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Re: Disability
Posted by Kerie-is-so-very
Posted by WannaBeAMom11
I COMPLETELY AGREE. I have an ex-firiend who is on permament disability because her job required standing. Everyone suggested she get a job as a receptionist or something like that and her response was she cant be sitting that long. Meanwhile she was on fb playing game 8hrs a day and has no problems with that
The disability rules require that a young person be unable to perform even sedentary work. The laws and not the person define disability. There are often factors that people don't tell anyone, for example, mental illness. I work in the field and while there are scammers there are much worse problems with the system than that.
Does someone check on these people after a certain amount of time? I know sometimes they are followed to show that they are ok to do things they claimed they were not.
I have seen with my eyes someone who is on disability, lives in a home owned by the state, using a walker ONLY when she is being picked up by someone that is aware of why she needs the ride and then digging a hole outside the very same day. Something I had my dh do as I could not do myself.
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| Posted 10/17/12 2:32 PM |
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Mrs213
????????
Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
Name:
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Disability
I think it depends what kind of work they were doing and why they can't do it anymore. Plus if they go back to work in a different field it might pay less than what they collect in disability. Currently if I get disabled, I get my full pay for 2 years and then 60% of my salary after that so I think it all depends how they are making out financially. Sometimes it pays t stay on disability if you can
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| Posted 10/17/12 4:08 PM |
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alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
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Disability
I work in insurance for a huge company and we have peoe out on comp all the time that are playing the system.
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| Posted 10/17/12 4:20 PM |
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Re: Disability
Posted by petunias
Have you ever known anyone who was on disability yet didn't need to be????
I know a few people who got hurt at work and are on disability (for life) but seem to be able to work on their homes, travel all the time, etc.
If you can sit on an airplane to Vegas for 4 hours, you can go to work at least part time sitting.
Shouldn't disability be for people who are truly disabled and can not work?
Don't get me started. this is one of the issues *I* can't remain civilized about.
ITA.
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| Posted 10/17/12 6:13 PM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: Disability
I know there are scammers but sometimes a disability is not physically apparent.
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| Posted 10/17/12 6:23 PM |
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petunias
LIF Infant
Member since 4/12 295 total posts
Name:
Petunia
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Re: Disability
Posted by Blu-ize
I know there are scammers but sometimes a disability is not physically apparent.
Oh, I totally understand that and don't judge everyone that is on disability. I am just speaking of people that I know and have heard what their injuries were and what they do on an everyday basis while I am busting my butt at work and at home.
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| Posted 10/17/12 6:32 PM |
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Re: Disability
Posted by Blu-ize
I know there are scammers but sometimes a disability is not physically apparent.
Agreed. I also know people who have been denied quite a few times who truly could benefit, but often "give up" and fortunately have a loved one who can support them.
I also tend to believe that when someone "knows someone" they also don't necessarily "know all the facts" of a person's situation who may be on disability, collecting UE, or whatever other benefit from the gov't that someone feels someone "they know" is using to get over on the system.
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| Posted 10/17/12 6:40 PM |
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msma88
LIF Infant
Member since 8/05 300 total posts
Name:
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Disability
Yes. I also know people that got WIC, when they own their own home and make more than the required amount to go on it. Shops non stop, owns an $$$$ car.
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| Posted 10/17/12 6:43 PM |
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WannaBeAMom11
LIF Adult
Member since 1/11 7391 total posts
Name:
Name
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Re: Disability
Posted by petunias
Posted by Kerie-is-so-very
Posted by WannaBeAMom11
I COMPLETELY AGREE. I have an ex-firiend who is on permament disability because her job required standing. Everyone suggested she get a job as a receptionist or something like that and her response was she cant be sitting that long. Meanwhile she was on fb playing game 8hrs a day and has no problems with that
The disability rules require that a young person be unable to perform even sedentary work. The laws and not the person define disability. There are often factors that people don't tell anyone, for example, mental illness. I work in the field and while there are scammers there are much worse problems with the system than that.
Does someone check on these people after a certain amount of time? I know sometimes they are followed to show that they are ok to do things they claimed they were not.
I have seen with my eyes someone who is on disability, lives in a home owned by the state, using a walker ONLY when she is being picked up by someone that is aware of why she needs the ride and then digging a hole outside the very same day. Something I had my dh do as I could not do myself.
She has been on disability for 5yrs and has never gotten checked on. She doesn't have a mental disability. Everyone knows she's scamming and makes jokes about. Her dad and cousin did the same thing.
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| Posted 10/17/12 7:24 PM |
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nrthshgrl
It goes fast. Pay attention.
Member since 7/05 57538 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disability
Disability has specific guidelines depending on the job.
For example, Newsday points to the LIRR's amount of disability fraud. But the guideline for the Railroad is very specific. What you think is disabled is different than what they consider disabled.
I know one person who used to brag about getting disability & not being disabled. But I know many people who are considered disabled from their job but can still lead full lives.
For example, we have a friend that cannot turn his head to the degree his job requires. He is out on disability. It doesn't mean he can't waterski, go on a rollercoaster, play golf, travel to LV, etc. What it does mean is if he's on the job & hears a perp, he can't turn his head fast enough or to the degree the NYPD needs him too.
Another friend is considered disabled too. He cannot breathe to the level that is required of FDNY because he was a first responder on 9/11. He's disabled, not running marathons but he can walk around fine. However he cannot perform his job.
Another friend was in a car accident (work-related). He cannot sit for long periods of time, which makes travel difficult & his terrority was LI/NY/NJ. He is on LTD because of his vertebrae. But he's able to scuba dive & go on trips (provided he can get up & walk around on the plane). He cannot perform the job he was hired for & they were not willing to accomodate his need to pull over & get out of the car for a bit, so he's considered disabled.
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| Posted 10/17/12 7:42 PM |
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petunias
LIF Infant
Member since 4/12 295 total posts
Name:
Petunia
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Re: Disability
Posted by WannaBeAMom11
Posted by petunias
Posted by Kerie-is-so-very
Posted by WannaBeAMom11
I COMPLETELY AGREE. I have an ex-firiend who is on permament disability because her job required standing. Everyone suggested she get a job as a receptionist or something like that and her response was she cant be sitting that long. Meanwhile she was on fb playing game 8hrs a day and has no problems with that
The disability rules require that a young person be unable to perform even sedentary work. The laws and not the person define disability. There are often factors that people don't tell anyone, for example, mental illness. I work in the field and while there are scammers there are much worse problems with the system than that.
Does someone check on these people after a certain amount of time? I know sometimes they are followed to show that they are ok to do things they claimed they were not.
I have seen with my eyes someone who is on disability, lives in a home owned by the state, using a walker ONLY when she is being picked up by someone that is aware of why she needs the ride and then digging a hole outside the very same day. Something I had my dh do as I could not do myself.
She has been on disability for 5yrs and has never gotten checked on. She doesn't have a mental disability. Everyone knows she's scamming and makes jokes about. Her dad and cousin did the same thing.
Sad.
I have literally been there when someone told my dh in conversation at a get together that he should just go on disability instead of working and that anyone can do it. We just basically stared at him. We were stunned that someone would suggest that instead of getting up everyday and working when you are a healthy adult that can.
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| Posted 10/17/12 7:46 PM |
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petunias
LIF Infant
Member since 4/12 295 total posts
Name:
Petunia
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Re: Disability
Posted by nrthshgrl
Disability has specific guidelines depending on the job.
For example, Newsday points to the LIRR's amount of disability fraud. But the guideline for the Railroad is very specific. What you think is disabled is different than what they consider disabled.
I know one person who used to brag about getting disability & not being disabled. But I know many people who are considered disabled from their job but can still lead full lives.
For example, we have a friend that cannot turn his head to the degree his job requires. He is out on disability. It doesn't mean he can't waterski, go on a rollercoaster, play golf, travel to LV, etc. What it does mean is if he's on the job & hears a perp, he can't turn his head fast enough or to the degree the NYPD needs him too.
Another friend is considered disabled too. He cannot breathe to the level that is required of FDNY because he was a first responder on 9/11. He's disabled, not running marathons but he can walk around fine. However he cannot perform his job.
Another friend was in a car accident (work-related). He cannot sit for long periods of time, which makes travel difficult & his terrority was LI/NY/NJ. He is on LTD because of his vertebrae. But he's able to scuba dive & go on trips (provided he can get up & walk around on the plane). He cannot perform the job he was hired for & they were not willing to accomodate his need to pull over & get out of the car for a bit, so he's considered disabled.
I don't understand why they can't get other jobs then. I guess when you get paid to do other things, why should you go and get paid less than your job used to pay you.
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| Posted 10/17/12 7:48 PM |
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Re: Disability
Posted by petunias
Posted by Kerie-is-so-very
Posted by WannaBeAMom11
I COMPLETELY AGREE. I have an ex-firiend who is on permament disability because her job required standing. Everyone suggested she get a job as a receptionist or something like that and her response was she cant be sitting that long. Meanwhile she was on fb playing game 8hrs a day and has no problems with that
The disability rules require that a young person be unable to perform even sedentary work. The laws and not the person define disability. There are often factors that people don't tell anyone, for example, mental illness. I work in the field and while there are scammers there are much worse problems with the system than that.
Does someone check on these people after a certain amount of time? I know sometimes they are followed to show that they are ok to do things they claimed they were not.
I have seen with my eyes someone who is on disability, lives in a home owned by the state, using a walker ONLY when she is being picked up by someone that is aware of why she needs the ride and then digging a hole outside the very same day. Something I had my dh do as I could not do myself.
Yes, they do something called a Continuing Disability Review. It's not as simple as it seems and I don't see how someone can know for sure that someone else has never had a review. It's confidential. Did you know that cutbacks to government staffing prevent these reviews from being done in a timely manner? So we save money on government or insurance company staffing but the cases do not get reviewed as often as they are supposed to and benefit money keeps going out. The rules say that there should be reviews and people do get reviewed but there is not enough staff to get to all of them. It's pennywise and pound foolish. Did you know that when a person goes back to work they will often continue to receive checks even if they do everything they are supposed to do in order to stop it? With Social Security they cannot just return the check to the local office. They don't have someone there to take back money. The person has to wait until SSA charges them with an overpayment and when they do, the government does not get interest if the govt can even collect. SSA overpays billions of dollars in benefits to people who try to give back the money but have to wait for the bill. That is a bigger problem costing us more money than the few people who scam the system in the first place. Overpayments happen due to lack of staff to make sure that benefits are properly terminated. I call it the overpayment epidemic. In some cases they just never computed the benefits right in the first place? Why, because they are given guidelines of how much time to spend on each case and their jobs depend on handling XX number of cases in a day & there is not enough staff at the offices.
Everyone complains about the system and then when they get sick they expect it to work perfectly. Try having one of the "invisible" disabilities, like MS and trust me when I tell you that many people will look at you & say that nothing is wrong. In addition, there are a lot of people who are schizophrenic who won't admit it and their cover is to say that they took disability for some minor physical injury. I see that every day. People would rather say that they scammed than say that they have a mental illness.
The media fails to cover the overpayment epidemic because everyone wants to see the scam artist being outed. It's sensationalism but it does not tell the full story about problems with the system.
Sometimes when one person complains about someone they know who is scamming and they start to tell me how screwed up that person is, I have to ask, "would you want to work with that person? Do you think anyone can tolerate them in a workplace? It gets people thinking.
Sure there are scams. It's not so simple to fix them and they are not the worst of the problems. I've worked on both sides of the system. I turn down cases that I do not believe in. I fight hard for people who, in some cases, were blindsided by an illness or an injury. All of these people would just prefer to have their old lives back!!!!
ETA: The funny part is that the people who drive those Medicaid taxis do not care at all whether the person puts on a show for them.
And just last week I had a hearing with a client who uses a cane. It's documented in his medical records and it is a prescribed cane, not something he picked up at the drugstore for the heck of it. The Judge saw how many times the Dr. commented in the records that the perosn needs a cane so he asked my client, "I see where the records show that you are suppsoed to have a cane. So, where is your cane?" The client said, "I did everything I could to get up here today without it because I thought I would look like a phony walking in with a cane. The friend who drove me here helped me walk." This is someone whose need for the cane is documented every time he sees his doctor. Those cases that make the news scare people who have legitimate cases. One Judge I know checks the tip of the cane to see if it is worn. If the person bought it just for the hearing--DENIED!
Message edited 10/17/2012 8:38:09 PM.
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| Posted 10/17/12 8:25 PM |
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Re: Disability
Ha, I always say that too about having to tolerate "that person" in the workplace.
For some people, I think they are better off just being on assistance, because otherwise, many of us are going to be driven to need it. 
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| Posted 10/17/12 8:55 PM |
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violet25
LIF Infant
Member since 8/12 101 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disability
I used to work for a law firm that had a lot of railroad clients and dealt with a lot of disability cases. They have a favorite video montage where a plaintiff testifies at his deposition that he can't lift a carton of milk and can't carry anything heavier than a bag of potato chips because of injuries incurred on the job. Then they cut to the guy helping to carry a pool table out of a truck two weeks later. (They hired a PI to follow him around). At trial they showed him the video and asked if that was him. His face was priceless.
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| Posted 10/17/12 9:28 PM |
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Re: Disability
Posted by MorningCuppaCoffee
Ha, I always say that too about having to tolerate "that person" in the workplace.
For some people, I think they are better off just being on assistance, because otherwise, many of us are going to be driven to need it.
So at least someone read my rant. Just to clarify, it was not directed at anyone. It was more about how often people assume that there is a ton of fraud out there. It just seems that all too often people ask me to defend the entire system and to justify helping people get benefits. I've seen all the scams but there are never as many of those cases as most people think there are. I just do not think that disability fraud is the worst problem within the system. It is a crime but there are other problems that cost us more money. I'm in my mid 40s now and some of my friends are starting to have some major health problems. They've worked all their lives and although most of them are trying to hang in there to keep working, the disability system is there for them.
Someone very close to me worked 6 days a week from the time he was in 15 until he was 59. He then came down with a rare autoimmune disease (scleroderma). He was sick for a year before he was willing to consider not working anymore. Even then he was only willing when I practically guaranteed that he met all of the criteria. He bit his nails every day while he waited for a decision on his claim. It was not fun and he really just wanted to work. He had both a long term policy and a Social Security claim. He was paid quickly on both beause they do take age and work history into account. But his story is too boring for Newsday. There is no smoking gun.
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| Posted 10/17/12 10:00 PM |
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Re: Disability
I work with some pretty disabled people for a living.
When I do an intake with them, one of the questions I have to ask is what their "goals" are.
I would say for about 95% of them, the first thing they say is "to go back to work".
The other 5%, is usually something along the lines of walking again or leaving the nursing home and being able to eat when they want, go to sleep when they want, take a walk around the block, etc.
People always want to think the worst about people.
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| Posted 10/18/12 5:15 AM |
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rkl1130
LIF Adult
Member since 10/07 1476 total posts
Name:
Rose Ann
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Re: Disability
Yes! A friend of ours a few years ago doctored his injury so that he could be on disability for some time and then meet us in Vegas for vacation. It was the most ridiculous thing ever and we were all pissed because he was an ass who was taking advantage of the system and didn't think anything of it while the rest of us were working our asses off. Suffice it say, he got fired soon thereafter.
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| Posted 10/18/12 8:48 AM |
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petunias
LIF Infant
Member since 4/12 295 total posts
Name:
Petunia
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Re: Disability
Posted by MorningCuppaCoffee
I work with some pretty disabled people for a living.
When I do an intake with them, one of the questions I have to ask is what their "goals" are.
I would say for about 95% of them, the first thing they say is "to go back to work".
The other 5%, is usually something along the lines of walking again or leaving the nursing home and being able to eat when they want, go to sleep when they want, take a walk around the block, etc.
People always want to think the worst about people.
I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and not judge but when you get to know the person and find out why they are on disability and see how they live on an everyday basis, it gets you upset and know that they are not the only ones doing this. There are many out there that could easily go to work but they are working the system.
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| Posted 10/18/12 11:12 AM |
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nrthshgrl
It goes fast. Pay attention.
Member since 7/05 57538 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disability
Posted by petunias
I don't understand why they can't get other jobs then. I guess when you get paid to do other things, why should you go and get paid less than your job used to pay you.
What's with the eyeroll?
The 9/11 first responder wound up taking a lump sum disability payment & with his retiring benefits doesn't need to work. He retired to another state because NY was too expensive.
The friend who can't turn his head properly because he was injured on the job, gets worker's comp payments & is going back to college to pursue a different field.
The friend with the back injury did go back to work in a different field eventually. He recently beat his addiction to his painkillers.
All three were hurt, received worker's comp/disability, but not one injury would be apparent to the busybody who wants to know why they are able to "function" or go in trips.
Message edited 10/18/2012 11:19:56 AM.
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| Posted 10/18/12 11:19 AM |
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