Dark Chameleon

Nobody wants to be disabled but any accident can happen and to me it did...a permanent and total disability at work, insured and provable.


Now the problem.


It happened within 5 years of moving to the U.S.


Doesn't sound too bad but it is, not just the disability which hurts like hell and requires medication etc and thank God I had insurance too, through my American wife as well as my company because litigation is the norm in times like this.


It wasn't the litigation which can last months to get anything but applying for SSD (social security disability) is a whole new ordeal, you see in
England they can argue whether you're disabled or not but here its a whole new game.


They had to send my application to the SS office which immediately deny, get used to it, they always do, its because you cant sue them and anything you get will be taxable if its back dated (most times you lose your first 6 months SSD payments anyway).


So they deny, then you have to employ a SSD lawyer to help you get through all the paperwork (I also had to employ a lawyer to deal with the company that also denied that they were responsible, so it was a two for one deal).


So you'd think a few weeks or a month later and it would be sorted...nope...how long do you think it took to settle my SSD case???


6 years...for 6 years I got nothing from SSD...6 years!!!.


Do you think you could survive for 6 years on potentially nothing if the company wins their case, in my case they lost so had to pay partial then 6 months later pay full temporary then later full permanent (which will not be more then 70% of your former wage, so don't be thinking of taking a low wage that rises over time as you gain experience, some companies here will not pay your healthcare for the first 6 months considering you as self employed which means you could be paying cobra for that time to make sure you and your family have coverage.


So if your going to be doing a job that can potentially injure you within that 5 years that you have to have worked full time in the us to have ssdi coverage without checking back to the UK then think twice.


There is a reciprocity agreement with the U.S and UK but its not worth the paper its printed on (I called the UK and got my previous NI payments history that day faxed to me, it took Baltimore ((the international payments center)) more then 1 year to do the same thing, and you cant call them, even your local SSDI office cant call them, tis a black hole of forms and applications).


I'd say to think hard about that first 5 year risk you're taking and to make sure that your company have insurance(which by law they should have and post so employees can see it), that you have savings enough to last your family for at least 6 months should you be injured and keep it separate for that five year window(just in case) because most companies will deny you were injured and it can take at least 3 months to get anything even rushing into court to get a judgment against them (the courts usually backdate any award but that wont stop credit cards, etc from hitting you for interest while you need to use them.


I'd say that the best thing you can do right away is to contact your local senators office and representative, even contact the british consulate to try and leverage Baltimore to come back with a decision quickly (also look at your british contributions onto your NI because if you were paying minimum for years or self employed and paying the minimum then the amount you will get in the states when all is said and done WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO LIVE ON. that I can guarantee.

ian-mstm

With respect, I understand you're angry and frustrated by the system... but this is not an immigration issue - and does not belong in this forum. It belongs in the general USA forum with the rest of your rants.

Ian

Dark Chameleon

It may be misplaced and yes of course im angry, who wants to be the one to find out this is the normal course of actions here in the states...its not a rant though, its just informing people that their first five years of working here is on a tight rope, if you get injured and it ends your career either pack up and go home before the cost of living here without an income forces you out or stay and hope that your injuries lawyer and SSD lawyer can get something done sooner rather then later because its not many people of working age have that kind of money at hand..thankfully I did...but better forearmed then told 'I told you so' afterwards...that's what we are here for, to aid our brethren from blighty to get here and fit in as quick as possible and not have any shocks...after that first 5 years then your fine...you are entitled to the same as any other citizen, whether your a citizen or green card holder.

ian-mstm

No, it's a rant. Had you truly wanted to inform, you'd have left the anger out of the post - but that's not what you did.

Ian

materialcontroller

TLDR

Married2abrit

The disability decision is usually carried out by state gov't workers and the decision is then sent to the federal SSA field office. The official definition of "disability" for that program is that it will result in your death or prevent you from doing any type of "substantial gainful activity" anywhere in the US. For example, you could have a PhD in physics and live in San Francisco. Doctor on staff states you can't do that anymore but that you can do some type of work. There may be an unskilled job in Maryland-- now you may not #1 want to move to Maryland, #2 may not want to be on minimum wage, and #3 have no way to get there but all of that is irrelevant to the program.

When I had to send the denial letter the 3 unskilled jobs I would usually cite were: crab picker, telephone psychic, and carnival barker.