New York State Retirement Disability Denied

[Slouray]

I filed an Article 15 claim with the New York State and Local Retirement System on 6/30/11.
I received a response on Friday via certified mail that the claim is disapproved. It states that I am not permanently incapacitated for the performance of my duties.
I have been approved by SSD as of September 2011 and am currently receiving disability benefits.
This rejection is creating a hardship for me.
I am notified that I have 4 months to appeal and I don't have a lawyer. The lawyer I've contacted is requesting a substantial retainer with no assurance of winning the case.
I don't know what to do at this point.
Any suggestions?
TIA!

[1171]

while there are no guarantees on the outcome you can evaluate probabilities.

I would certainly talk to a number of different attys.
contact your union -- they might have more access to more experienced legal resources.

it'll be difficult to determine the better choice without getting an idea from each as to how they will proceed and why they think they will be successful.
some information on their track record also might help your determination.

if there are any public records on the retirement board decisions, you might get some idea of the attys who are active in that specialty.

remember to evaluate fees based on the potential return in benefits to you.

[Slouray]

(05-22-2012 09:52 AM)1171 Wrote:  while there are no guarantees on the outcome you can evaluate probabilities.

I would certainly talk to a number of different attys.
contact your union -- they might have more access to more experienced legal resources.

it'll be difficult to determine the better choice without getting an idea from each as to how they will proceed and why they think they will be successful.
some information on their track record also might help your determination.

if there are any public records on the retirement board decisions, you might get some idea of the attys who are active in that specialty.

remember to evaluate fees based on the potential return in benefits to you.

Thanks.
I've contacted the Union's law firm and was told that a lawyer will contact me by days end.
I'm operating without union coverage as I was terminated after 1 year on medical leave (a formality of NYS Civil Service Law).

[1171]

good.
you are fortunate to have Union resources.
they are becoming rarer for so very many workers especially when the social safety net has been retracted so severely.

Many good workers in this country are facing a very hard landing in the coming years.

[sonny1]

Sorry you were denied. Did they send you to one of their doctors? If so did you get a copy of his/her report? If not. I would request it now. I too, was a NYS civil service employee who applied for Article 15, but I was approved. It is just a good idea to know what their doctor said when you go to your appeal, as you know, the retirement system works very slowly. You have 4 months to file the appeal, but it could take longer to get a docket date, depending on where you are located. Whenever I tried to contact my claim agent or who ever was in charge of my claim, she never answered or called me back, so I then started emailing the supervisor and she was better, not great, but better. The supervisor told me I would have to fill out a form and request their doctors report.

[sonny1]

Sorry you were denied. Did they send you to one of their doctors? If so did you get a copy of his/her report? If not. I would request it now. I too, was a NYS civil service employee who applied for Article 15, but I was approved. It is just a good idea to know what their doctor said when you go to your appeal, as you know, the retirement system works very slowly. You have 4 months to file the appeal, but it could take longer to get a docket date, depending on where you are located. Whenever I tried to contact my claim agent or who ever was in charge of my claim, she never answered or called me back, so I then started emailing the supervisor and she was better, not great, but better. The supervisor told me I would have to fill out a form and request their doctors report.

[Slouray]

(05-31-2012 01:15 PM)sonny1 Wrote:  Sorry you were denied. Did they send you to one of their doctors? If so did you get a copy of his/her report? If not. I would request it now. I too, was a NYS civil service employee who applied for Article 15, but I was approved. It is just a good idea to know what their doctor said when you go to your appeal, as you know, the retirement system works very slowly. You have 4 months to file the appeal, but it could take longer to get a docket date, depending on where you are located. Whenever I tried to contact my claim agent or who ever was in charge of my claim, she never answered or called me back, so I then started emailing the supervisor and she was better, not great, but better. The supervisor told me I would have to fill out a form and request their doctors report.

Thank you for your reply Sonny1. Congratulations on your being approved.
I was sent to one of their doctors and he examined me. I did not receive a copy of his report.
I will phone the claim agent immediately to find out how to request a copy of that report.
The one aspect of their decision which I find puzzling is that when I was examined by their doctor he was presented with a copy of a cat scan which revealed that the condition that caused the heart surgery had returned. I presently have that condition now.
I've contacted several law offices and they're asking for a large sum of money up front with no guarantee of winning the case.

[sonny1]

Sorry to hear that attorneys are asking for so much $$ up front. I'm not sure how that aspect works. Mine started as a worker's comp. claim and went on from there, but my attorney did not help me with the NYS Retirement part. I did that all on my own (but had I been denied, I think my attorney would have helped me and probably billed me).

I have learned never to trust what goes into doctors reports, especially doctor's that are not your own. Whether they intentionally put incorrect information in them or accidentally it could screw up the decision when it gets to the claims, decisions department. At least you can look at his report and compare to your doctor's and notate any inaccurate information and be prepared to dispute it at appeal! Good luck, I always say, if we don't advocate for ourselves, nobody will! Good luck!

[sonny1]

Sorry to hear that attorneys are asking for so much $$ up front. I'm not sure how that aspect works. Mine started as a worker's comp. claim and went on from there, but my attorney did not help me with the NYS Retirement part. I did that all on my own (but had I been denied, I think my attorney would have helped me and probably billed me).

I have learned never to trust what goes into doctors reports, especially doctor's that are not your own. Whether they intentionally put incorrect information in them or accidentally it could screw up the decision when it gets to the claims, decisions department. At least you can look at his report and compare to your doctor's and notate any inaccurate information and be prepared to dispute it at appeal! Good luck, I always say, if we don't advocate for ourselves, nobody will! Good luck!