Melissa Lanouette is a Massachusetts-based attorney helping injured folks throughout the US get the benefits they deserve.
She makes videos to answer common questions and hopefully take some of the anxiety and mystery out of these programs and finding a lawyer that can help.
She works in and makes videos about: -FECA or Federal Workers' Compensation -Federal Employee Disability Retirement -Social Security Disability -Massachusetts state employee Accidental Disability Retirement and Ordinary Disability Retirement -Massachusetts Personal Injury - including car accidents -Massachusetts Workers' Compensation
I have 100% p&t I called social security and they said I can’t get it cuz I’m already at max payment ? I’m confused as how everyone is approved and not me as I’m not even working just getting the 100% va p&t pay. Can someone guide me ?
I filed 6 momths ago. 100 p and t also Been on stage 2 for the entire 6 momths I tried finding a attorny before i filed but since i live in the philippines none would take me on
Why is Denis Richard McDonough the head of veterans affairs a NON-VETERAN appointed by biden NOT PAYING VETERANS AND CAREGIVERS THEIR EXISTING AND NEW CLAIMS???
Wow this is news to me! I wish someone at social security had explained this to me before I retired at 62! I didn't even know that I could draw off of my ex.Husband's social security instead of taking my own. I'm still working. I took it earlier at sixty-two, and now i'm too old for disability and I'm actually disable yet still trying to work. 😔
I have a question so I got approved in November 2023 so I have received my monthly check. But the back pay have not received. I call SSA they no nothing they say I’m getting money but don’t know why I have not received it. I had a lawyer they payed him off January 19,2024 here it is August 13th 2024 I still have not received my check. SSA I call them it’s a different story every time. Cathy Jo Keller
I KNEW IT 😂 that is exactly what they did to me. I have severe osteoarthritis arthritis neuropathy and severe obstructive sleep apnea and I have bipolar disorder and ptsd they have denied me 4 times and I was wondering why. This brought a lot of thoughts to my mind this time when I had my appointment to see the internist so I was very careful of what I did at the appointment.
My appointment was at 12:20 they said be there up to 15 minutes early. I made it there at 12 o’clock on the dot I sat in the lobby from from 12 o’clock to 1245 and then they called me back and I sat in the office for an additional 15 minutes. My body hurt like hell I couldn’t sit or stand for too long. They tried to make me duck walk, they tried to make me walk on my toes. They tried to make me walk on my heels and I have two heels spurs. It was ridiculous.
The lawyers usually won't talk to you till the day of the hearing. They don't get paid unless you win. They know the system. It's rigged. Totally rigged.
I am a 3 time Iraqi war veteran and have been denied too many times to count. I am 100% unemployability and Ssdi is saying I can get a job, but if I get a job my Va rating will be penalized. I am confused.
I have a question I am 58 years old I had open heart surgery. Quadruple bypass. What is diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I had diabetes that I was fighting to keep in control back then. Husband put on a insulin pump in the last year and a half. I've got a bad back I've got a surgeon looking at it the sergeant told me I didn't have a very good level on my back. He said every level at bulging disc. I have fallen a lot since I had my heart surgery. I fell right after my heart surgery. And broke the wire that held my sternum together. I am at the reconsideration stage. A doctor prescribe me a walker instead of a cane several months ago. Should I be worried about them trying to cut my onset date ?
Basically then why pay into a system that is broken. At least in Cal PERS if your spouse dies you get the money as the beneficiary but no not with Social Security. It is a total rip off that we pay into a system and they find a way to screw you. What a rip off.
If you haven't worked in 5 years, 100% P&T, you'll be denied. I thought at 55 years old, I could finally get SSDI -- nope. Only took Social Security two weeks to send me (another) denial letter. It doesn't make sense when you worked 30+ years, 20+ years in the service, and PAID into it for 30+ years, and nothing. It is our money. If I had all that SS money I paid into with a modest 5% interest rate over the years, it would be in the millions. But, $0. Robbery.
have one question...my son lost SSI and has been told he owes $29,000. I am his mother as well as his representative payee...Am I responsible for this over payment ?
The government hates the people 😢 horrible to be disabled in the army living in the united states the army ruined my life the ss just r obned me so i live in poverty its a horrible country full of horrible people killing each other for a dollar only fools serve in the army
SSDI judge after a court hearing acknowledged I was disabled but because I had a problem with alcohol and cannabis I was denied even though I had been sober for two years.
I know you don't take claims. Just wanted to add to "That's too much" comments. Even though I sent in time sheets regularly, it took SSDI five years to come to the conclusion that I owe them $51,000. At first they were taking back two $10 a month repayments. My SSDI ended last year in May (2023). I signed up for early retirement, they take the entire check until paid off. The bills I'm behind in are not considered "necessary" expenses. Like home warranty, car insurance (although my job makes it Mercedes to have a car). Cell phone bill. A few others. I guess this is my lot for the next 3 1/2 years. Struggle. After paying my mortgage and HOA (hoa not valid to ssdi) I'm left with $700 per month for everything else. Of course SSDI thinks that's enough. Don't know why they didn't catch this and decide I'm overpayed for five years.
I heard the same things SSI said to me. My question is, do Disablitites change from VA to SSI. Like the SSI treats disabilities different specially with the beaurocratic process?
Yes Melissa I have a question regarding this 3373 report. I am in the reconsideration phase add having to do this for the second time. My particular issue is this for most of my career I have been in Finance and Accounting which generally necessitates me being able to sit at a desk for long periods of time. Within the last couple of years I have developed a degenerative hip condition which includes avascular necrosis and severe arthritis. In addition for the better part of three decades I have had spinal stenosis and issues with an L4 L5 disc . Basically my modus operandi I guess is to try to convince the Social Security people that I am not able to sit and work at a desk for extended periods of time due to my condition. Basically I can only sit for about a half hour before I run the risk of when I try to stand up literally having my hip lock up and taking me a long time to get straightened out and for my hip to get to the point that I can actually move. How would you suggest that I approached answering this question on my new 3373 form? I did a prosafe filing the first time but I am now using an attorney and we are to be going over this form sometime in the middle of next week. Thank you for your assistance
I was 100 % Disabled from Military with Major Depression Disorder 70% , Obstructive Sleep Apnea 50% , and the Social Security ran me for 7 Years priority I'm afraid not. They ran me for 7 years so that they could reduce the amount of Social Security I'd receive . And I was even denied my Medicare Benefits , Thank You for Your Service , Right !
i cant bend much and its hard for me to get on and off the exam table and I dont want the doctor to make notes saying oh he got up on the the table this way and then he got off the table normally. i think its BS they watch you from the time u enter the bulding or exam room until u leave the building. i heard a rumor that SSA follows u home after teh physical evaluation if u go to the place SSA/DDS sends u to. Im not sure on that and if its true its a blatant violation of privacy. If say I am going to my physical evaluation by Uber or a cab and then go home via train/bus, that shouldnt be a warning or be something SSA or the judge might DQ me or others for. Sometimes ppl have enough money to take a cab to the office but not back so I think if I do it, that it shouldnt be a problem. if im wrong please let me know. My exam is on June 10th and Im nervous as hell about what the doctor will say or do to me. Ill just tell the truth like I will at my mental evaluation which i dont will be that hard. I'll just tell them my mental disabilities (depression/anxiety/impluse control disorder) and why they hinder me from working. Ill just tell the doctor I cant focus anymore, i cant concentrate on the tasks given to me by my bosses or supervisors and even when I was a caregiver I would forget what the client wanted me to do in the house or for her so id get yelled at by the client. My memory might be foggy or its just that I dont care or most likely im working too fast and need to slow down so that I dont forget anything. i feel these exams are going to be hard for me to pass and im super worried i might get Denied and I cant because I am close to being bankrupt :( i dunno what else to do :(
I am 63 and Depressed and extremely Anxaty 😢 i am divorce my husband was narcissist I am taking 😮depression medicin for 30 years can I get SSI please let me know thank you
The specialist I was seeing refused to sign a vague disability note from my life insurance company that I had the policy and riders since 2006. He refused and I complained to administration. Administration contacted me after my complaints stating that the doctor was going to fire me but decided to “see how things transpired and he would never fill out any forms brought in by anyone. My next visit with this specialist began with him lecturing me like I was a child about how he didn’t appreciate me reporting him. The second half of their visit, he looked at me and said “you aren’t sleeping well? You need Ambien and he also prescribed Lyrica 100mg .. (I stopped both after 3 days due to the side effects . My next visit, August 2022 was shocking , he comes in ranging and saying he had no idea where my original diagnosis came from as he had never seen me having psoriasis so.. psoriatic arthritis was NOT what I had ( he’d been seeing me since March 2022. I all of a sudden have fibromyalgia and central pain syndrome. Changed meds and back in December… December came and he apparently had seen an ER visit I unsuspectedly made after passing out and transported by ambulance to the ER. Now, because of the Cervical spine CT, I more than likely had a Chiari malformation but needed an MRI to confirm. I had no money, no insurance and my life insurance policy riders that were intentionally chosen as to cover; cancer, critical, chronic and terminal illnesses. My disability was still pending , so he told me he didn’t have access to get the MRI I needed (help keep bills paid. My final visit was much worse than I ever expected, especially since I am a retired RN,BSN. His front office staff showed their behinds about a bill I didn’t owe, got in the exam room and had a blood pressure with a diastolic pressure of 110… 45 min later he comes in sugar coating of how he was shocked that his front office staff had said he “would never, not see a person if they couldn’t pay. Quick discussion about me trying Namenda for pain and put the door I go… no follow up appt. No calls & no letters.. I have been in a bad way of sorts this past couple of months so I haven’t had time to sit and think about before I start lining up my ducks and move forward .. any questions , concerns, etc I appreciate any and all replies ..
I worked 36 years maintained consistent employment working mostly a full time job and a part time job. I applied for SSDI in 2013, I had to wait 4 years without any income, and had to live off my son those years, when my court date came up, I was owed 30,000 about for backup pay. Instead they changed my application date to 2016 and I started getting SSI Nov 2017. I'm now going on 62 age. Can I now apply for SSDI since I was cheated out of it, or should I apply for retirement, which would be best for me?
I was told by Social Security where I was getting disability benefits from the VA that I can not claim any benefits from the Social Security Administration.
Hey Melissa i received my benefit verification letter today and it said i was approved for $2330 monthly pay starting in 3 months and they found me disabled over 2yrs ago on may 23rd 2022. The question and problem is they said i wouldn't get paid until july 2024 and with no back pay, but the letter says " We found you became disabled under our rules on May 23, 2022 " Can you help me to understand this matter or what should i do. Thank you.
Hey Melissa i received my benefit verification letter today and it said i was approved for $2330 monthly pay starting in 3 months and they found me disabled over 2yrs ago on may 23rd 2022. The question and problem is they said i wouldn't get paid until july 2024 and with no back pay, but the letter says " We found you became disabled under our rules on May 23, 2022 " Can you help me to understand this matter or what should i do. Thank you.
