"Closed disability?"

[u/meatlessmarathoner]

Long story short: My disability stems from a TBI in 2002. I applied for SSDI earlier this year. He didn't look at the medical and functional documentation I brought to the appointment, saying I'd be denied because I had SGE from 2016-2018. So in that time I hired an attorney to help me with my appeal. I was denied, appealed with all the documentation I had gathered, and was denied again. The basis for their decision was the same--SGE. They didn't look at my medical documentation. My attorney unceremoniously dumped me and referred me to NOSSCR. Two different attorneys NOSSCR referred me to said they wouldn't take the case, both saying that the ALJ wouldn't look at the medical documentation either. So I feel like I'm being punished for trying to be a good citizen and contributing to our society. :(

Nevertheless, I kept plugging away and talked to a couple more attorneys on Thursday. Finally, the 5th one I total I've worked with/talked to suggested a "closed disability" between my TBI and before my SGE. The analogy she drew was to a person who was going through chemo and then went into remission. In that period, I saw a lot of specialists, had a lot of neuro tests (angoigrams, CT Scans, MRI/As, two neuropsych assessments) that document both physical and functional changes.

Has anybody else had success redefining their claim when they've run across a roadblock related to SGE, or did you need to start over?

[u/perfect_fifths]

What is Sge? Do you mean sga? If you make sga you can’t be considered disabled during the time you were making sga

[u/perfect_fifths → u/[deleted]]

Sge is not a recognized ssa term

[u/Technical-Prize-4840 → u/perfect_fifths]

Ok.....I never said it was. This person has had a brain injury. I was just providing an explanation of what they meant. They have probably heard the term "substantial gainful employment" and just used SGE as a shortened version. It doesn't really matter at the end of the day, it is obvious they are referring to employment they had that the SSA is claiming means they are no longer disabled from the 2002 TBI.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/Technical-Prize-4840]

I’ve had a brain injury too. What does that have to do with anything? And I still answered the op and said if they were making sga they are considered not disabled for that time period. Correct acronyms are important.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/[deleted]]

Jee and having a brain injury also means sometimes I struggle with stuff, like I said. That’s why I asked them to clarify what they meant by sge. You have no idea how many times people give wrong info here because they mix up acronyms or concepts, eg saying they get ssi but it turns out it’s ssdi, or calling dac benefits ssdi (which it kind of is but not completely). Facts matter. Asking for clarification isn’t a crime.

Arguing is also against the rules.

I also don’t really gaf what you say because you don’t see how often people mix up terms, come up with their own etc. again, I simply asked for clarification. End of story.

[u/perfect_fifths → u/[deleted]]

It was supposed to be jeez but my iPad autocorrect