Do I Qualify for Disability in Texas?

Sorry to hear you are working so much @Nobodynoz113 you must be exhausted. That must make getting mental health support difficult.

You may find out more by free (pro bono) lawyers in Texas. Free Disability Attorneys Offices in Texas - Locations and Contact Information - LawInfoPedia but I have no idea if you income qualify or if they take their fee out of the disability award when they get it so be careful about signing anything. There are slso free support groups online and in person.

CANDC

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I don't think income is a consideration for SSDI. But it is for SSI.

@nobodynoz1113 make sure your medical / psych team maintains meticulous records, and review them for accuracy. I've seen records that say something is fine when it wasn't even checked. All they're doing is clicking off the checklist within the 15 minute allotted time.

My wife was miserable about 75% to 90% of the time. But she would perk up for an office visit, so they saw her at her best, which was not favorable for a disability claim.

Be sure to apply for SSDI if you suddenly lose your job. Expect to be denied the first time and definitely appeal.

I'm neither a lawyer or doctor.

Also depends on your work credits. Generally you need 20 credits but it’s less for younger people. Generally speaking you earn 4 credits a year for full time work. There are people who specialize in getting SSDI and they don’t charge you until the win. Then they take a %of your back pay.

Yes, 20 credits sounds right for full-time employment. I heard it expressed as five years.

They go in quarters. Its 10 years of work, with them taking out FICA. Cash does nothing to the years or money if Federal taxes havent been taken out

It would be hard to prove disability if you have been working 60 hours a week. You would need to stop working to apply for disability. You would need a doctor to certify that the doctor expects you to be disabled for the next year, at a minimum. The first five months on disability are not paid.

Regarding Texas, you are talking about federal disability, called SSDI, so it doesn't matter where you are and where your disability lawyer is. The lawyer can practice nationally out of any location. My lawyer is in San Jose and practices nationally. If you PM me, I will give you this phone number. He is very good, and back when I was disabled, I was approved within one month of application, which is basically unheard of for a mental illness-based claim. I am not disabled for mental illness reasons anymore, but I acquired a rare neurological disorder which is disabling and I will be hiring my lawyer again.

Disability lawyers are paid automatically by the government at the same time as the government issues its first payment to the claimant. The payment to the disability lawyers is capped by the government. I am very surprised that you have seen ads by disability lawyers who charge for the initial consultation. That is not how SSDI attorneys work. SSDI attorneys do not get paid unless you win your claim. Maybe the way you formulated the query made the search engine interpret it as a request for ERISA (private disability) attorneys? Those can charge you for a consult. But you do not have private disability insurance through your employer, do you?

You have a hard situation, to prove that you went from 60 hours a week down to zero because of disability. It would be better for you to hire an attorney rather than proceed on your own. feel free to PM me.

P.S. Your location in Texas may affect how long the processing wait is, but for substantive law, location doesn't matter, and you will be just fine with a California attorney. There is no benefit in hiring a Texas attorney.

To get disability social security, you have to establish that you are unable to work. Since you are currently working 60 hours a week, they will not consider you unable to work.

The two answers below are pretty much spot on. I'm sorry to say it but IMO your chances of winning an SSDI disability case are slim and none. I don't mean to discourage you. If you have a good relationship with your doctors it would be worthwhile to discuss this idea with them. I could tell you some stories of my experiences applying for disability around 1990 and again around 2010.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tart Cherry Jam It would be hard to prove disability if you have been working 60 hours a week. You would need to stop working to apply for disability. You would need a doctor to certify that the doctor expects you to be disabled for the next year, at a minimum. The first five months on disability are not paid. Regarding Texas, you are talking about federal disability, called SSDI, so it doesn't matter where you are and where your disability lawyer is. The lawyer can practice nationally out of any location. My lawyer is in San Jose and practices nationally. If you PM me, I will give you this phone number. He is very good, and back when I was disabled, I was approved within one month of application, which is basically unheard of for a mental illness-based claim. I am not disabled for mental illness reasons anymore, but I acquired a rare neurological disorder which is disabling and I will be hiring my lawyer again. Disability lawyers are paid automatically by the government at the same time as the government issues its first payment to the claimant. The payment to the disability lawyers is capped by the government. I am very surprised that you have seen ads by disability lawyers who charge for the initial consultation. That is not how SSDI attorneys work. SSDI attorneys do not get paid unless you win your claim. Maybe the way you formulated the query made the search engine interpret it as a request for ERISA (private disability) attorneys? Those can charge you for a consult. But you do not have private disability insurance through your employer, do you? You have a hard situation, to prove that you went from 60 hours a week down to zero because of disability. It would be better for you to hire an attorney rather than proceed on your own. feel free to PM me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rose76 To get disability social security, you have to establish that you are unable to work. Since you are currently working 60 hours a week, they will not consider you unable to work.

The reason working age people would go on disability is being unable to work or maybe able to work only part time so honestly if you work 60 hours a week, you aren’t going to be approved.

The reasoning of not having time to see doctors will not be sufficient for disability. Solution would be to look for a job that allows PTO.

I understand not being able to afford much. Economy is in shambles, everything is too expensive and everyone is struggling. But you are going to afford even less being on disability.

If you can’t work full time or find it very difficult, then you do need to stop working. Or maybe only work part time. Now I am not a lawyer but just based on my experience of people working that many hours they can’t say they are unable to work.

I suggest you talk to a lawyer and see what’s your chances. Also talk to your doctor. Do they agree you need to be on disability?

"To get disability social security, you have to establish that you are unable to work."
Probably true for the majority of people. I had recently retired early from the postal service. I had made $70k a year for a decade.
I was in good shape financially. I was seeking the answer to health problems that had plagued me since the age of 17. I had an audience
with a neurologist who specialized in epilepsy. When she saw the results of my EEG, she said I was disabled. I had significant pathology
in my temporal lobe which was the result of an incident that happened when I was 17. I think she felt sorry I had to live my entire adult life
with my symptoms without any intervention from the medical community. I became medicare eligible and my daughter began receiving a monthly
stipend. My neurologist gave me some paperwork to give to my local social security office, and the next month the check was in the mail.
Then I found a nice part time job and went back to work. lol. I'm retiring for good at the end of this month. These past 15 years have been
the best of my life.

You are misinformed. No disability lawyer charges for the initial consultation. That would violate federal law. They get nothing, unless your application is approved. Then, if approved, they get 25% of retroactive benefits, which the federal govt forwards to them. Your only out of pocket expenses might be to pay for minor expenses, like copies of medical records. That's all.

Based on what you've shared, I suspect most attorneys would decline to take your case.