Social Security Administration Errors Affect One Missouri Man

Illinois residents receiving Social Security disability benefits may have experienced problems with the program. Unfortunately, mistakes are sometimes made by the Social Security Administration and those mistakes can have heavy consequences for those affected by them. Even worse, those affected are often those least able to bounce back. Those receiving SSDI Benefits may be interested in the story of one Missouri man who continues to have problems with the system.

Diagnosed as mildly disabled when he was younger, the Missouri man began receiving Social Security disability benefits in 1994 after he graduated from the St. Louis archdiocesan school system. Since then, caseworkers have helped him manage his life. He now holds a part-time job at a health club where he is paid $7.70 an hour, but he has run into significant problems with the Social Security system.

One of the first problems occurred in 2007 when the SSA told him he owed $88,000 in overpayments because his wages exceeded the income limits. He didn’t have the money and his caseworkers were puzzled by the news. Eventually, they discovered that the SSA had made a significant error. Instead of him owing $88,000 in overpayments, the SSA owed him $8,643.

Now he has run into more problems. In June, the SSA informed him that his disability payments should have stopped in 1996. A person at the Social Security office told him that his disability benefits had been terminated and that he would need to reapply. Although the application process takes three months, he was able to receive a grant through the Department of Mental Health to pay his rent until his Social Security disability benefits are restored.

He thought everything was taken care of until he recently tried to pick up his prescription medications. Previously on Medicaid, he was told he was no longer receiving health insurance because his Social Security disability benefits had stopped. Although the situation remains unresolved, the man has caseworkers who are working with him to sort through the many problems he is facing.

Illinois residents who find themselves in a situation like this may benefit from the advice of a Social Security Disability attorney.

Source: Stl Today, “McClellan: Even with help,man is snarled in red tape,” Bill Mcclellan, Oct. 16, 2011