Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Kimberly Skiver had been diagnosed with lupus and other ailments and could no longer work. Accustomed to getting things done, she filed for disability benefits on her own. She was denied. Fortunately, a friend told her about a team of professionals who could help. Ms. Skiver shares her story here.
* This is a true story as told to Allsup
Brought up to bite her lip and work through adversity, not being able to work was hard to acknowledge.
Multiple Ailments No Match for Singular Spirit
Spokane, Washington—Kymberly Skiver calls herself “a jack of all trades, master of a couple.” Through the years, she has been a cashier, cocktail waitress, newspaper pressroom worker and hospital administrator.
Growing up on a farm at Molalla, Ore., she learned early on to face adversity and work through it. That was the case when the youngster often got tired.
“Summer time had always been hard for me,” she said. “Other kids would play, and I’d get tired. I struggled to stay awake while I was pulling weeds for my dad. I didn’t think I had a problem. I just thought I got tired quicker than anyone else.”
In 1991, she moved to Spokane and worked until June 2006 in the hospitality industry. In 2000, she learned that she had lupus, which would explain her lifelong battle with fatigue. Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakes the body’s connective tissue for a foreign invader and attacks it.
As often happens, one ailment can lead to another. Eventually Ms. Skiver also developed fibromyalgia, severe osteoporosis, depression, hypothyroidism, liver disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease, which gave her persistent heartburn and indigestion.
“My last company tried to work with me,” she said. “I had a lot of vacation and sick time accumulated. When I wasn’t working, I was sleeping. Then I broke my arm and used up all my vacation time and sick leave. I went back to work, and the fatigue overwhelmed me. I’d make it to work only one week out of the month.”
She was only 45, she recalled, “and it took me 20 minutes to work any little thing out.” She had problems focusing and concentrating. Simple tasks became complicated.
Reluctantly, she decided to apply for disability benefits. “Getting disability is like a stigma,” she said. “So, I fought it for a long time.”
Ms. Skiver went to the Department of Social and Health Services to get help applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Then she went online for more information. She applied for SSDI benefits on her own and was denied in March 2007, which was no surprise.
“I knew it was coming,” she said. “My friend went through it and said I would get turned down all the way until I got a hearing. She had a back injury and went through a company called Allsup to get her approval. She gave me their number.”
Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, Medicare and workers’ compensation services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, Allsup employs more than 600 professionals who deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. The company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis.
“When I heard that the founder of the company [Jim Allsup] used to work for Social Security, that was key,” Ms. Skiver said. “I was assured because he knew exactly what he was working with from the inside out.”
With her call to Allsup, her work with experts began.
“Allsup gave me a phone consultation as well as a written questionnaire to fill out, which made me go back and relive what I forgot,” Ms. Skiver said. “I had to list all the things I used to do before I was disabled that I could no longer do. Without Allsup’s help I would have been so depressed. After that questionnaire, they handled all the paperwork.”
She was denied a second time. Allsup senior representative Joan Berkoff then took charge of the case to prepare for a hearing before an administrative law judge.
“Joan was awesome,” Ms. Skiver said. “She was no frills, right to the point. She really knew what she was dong. She put me to ease and really helped calm me through the process with the judge.”
Ms. Berkoff typically comes prepared. “I tell all my clients what to expect at the hearing,” she said. “They need to explain how their disability affects them and how they spend their day. It’s important to have credibility, and the best way to ensure that is to answer the questions truthfully.”
Her consistent—and successful—approach to hearings is an example of Allsup’s expertise.
In September 2008, Ms. Skiver and Ms. Berkoff met before they entered the hearing. The months and years leading up to that day had been tough financially. “I’m glad my father was there to help,” Ms. Skiver said.
After the hearing—which included testimony by Ms. Skiver, expert testimony from a doctor who had not examined Ms. Skiver, and Ms. Berkoff citing SSDI regulations—the wait began.
“I was wondering if I got approved,” Ms. Skiver said. “Allsup continued to tell me it all looked good. Then I started to get letters from Medicare before I received notice of my approval.
In October 2008, she finally received a letter from Social Security stating that her SSDI application was approved. “I was relieved,” she said. “On the other hand I was labeled disabled, but at least things are covered. Now I can contact a doctor without worrying if I can pay for him.
“It’s peace of mind, knowing I have a blanket to work with,” she said, “I can concentrate on getting healthy and getting off of disability.”
Ms. Skiver, now 48, knows her road to recovery won’t be easy. “There’s a price to pay for everything I do,” she said. “If I go out with my friends at night, I know the next day I can’t move.
“I don’t think I could have survived without Allsup. The stress of going through all this alone is more than anyone should have to bear. Allsup was there as often and as much as I needed for questions or concerns. To this day, even after my claim was approved, I can call Allsup with questions.”
Ms. Skiver’s gratitude for the Allsup professionals who worked on her behalf is heartfelt.
“They are my heroes.”