People profiled on KATU News get help they sought

PORTLAND, Ore. - Coincidence or good fortune?

KATU News On Your Side investigators went to bat for two local people after we learned they were stuck in a massive backlog of disabled American workers trying to get financial help from the U.S. Social Security Administration. New developments in their cases might offer hope to the other 750,000 people nationwide who are waiting to prove to a social security judge they are disabled.

The first time we talked to Maria Leal in a Portland building for the homeless she told us why she desperately needs help.

"To live like a human being," she said, referring to the fact that in four years she has lost the ability to work as a dental assistant. Leal suffers from a plethora of illnesses, including a seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

In Vancouver, residents Bob and Terri Brooks say their savings are depleted after he suffered a stroke in 2006.

"I'm a drain right now, and it hurts so bad. Some days I don't know how I can make it," he told KATU News in early February.

Both Leal and Brooks have seen their disability cases denied twice. Both found lawyers to help them after the initial denial, but the process has been grueling on their finances and emotions. The Social Security Administration reports that the average wait time to appeal a denial before a judge is 500 days. In that time, the administration admits claimants have suffered. Some have even died.

Why?

In a recent interview with KATU News, Social Security Chief Adjudication Judge Frank Cristaudo said, "Essentially we've had increased receipts and the inability to hire sufficient judges and staff to do the work."
 
The Brooks say they were were told they'd likely have to wait up to two years for a hearing. Yet days after KATU News inquired into Bob Brook's case, he received a letter from the Social Security Administration saying he qualifies for disability after all and will not have to argue his case before a judge.

"Even our lawyer was astonished. All of a sudden, out of the blue (we get this letter)," he told KATU.

Terri Brooks believes KATU's inquiry and broadcast of her husband's story made a difference.

"I think it brought attention to the cases, and they finally got pulled out of the waiting line," she said.

The couple said they are relieved he now qualifies, but they are concerned for others still trapped in the backlog.

"I do wonder what was wrong before?" he said. "Why does it take some outside person to wake them up? Embarrass them? I don't know."

Just three days after KATU aired the initial story on Feb. 15, Maria Leal received the same good news.

"I think it's that last piece you did, and through prayer and saying to the lord, 'I can't fight no more,' " she said.

Leal was bedridden on Saturday morning after spending a week in the hospital with pneumonia.
    
She thought she might die waiting but now says, "I'm going to make it. I've got too much to live for to die."

The Brooks say they have yet to receive their payments or find out how much they will get, but they are not taking anything for granted.

"We've been so poor for so long that the little bit of money we're gonna get - I'm a spend thrift now. I can make a dollar stretch a month," Bob Brooks said.

Judge Cristaudo said each social security judge handles an average load of 734 cases at any given time. Right now, the administration reports there are 7,400 cases pending out of the Portland office.

Congress recently appropriated more money to the Social Security Administration than it has in the last 10 years, allowing it to hire 175 new judges.

Cristaudo advises claimants to be well prepared before they begin the process of proving they are disabled. This includes obtaining the appropriate medical records and a lawyer's advice.

Those who are still waiting for a hearing have few other resources to help them - aside from relatives or social services such as the Salvation Army and food stamps.