should I report him?

[steffb503]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY
I have a good friend who is financially in a bad place. He had a work related injury some 30 years ago. He awarded money then for it. He applied then for disability and was denied.
He has since gotten divorced and that reduced his bank account to very little. He is now going back to disability to try to get some money.
My issue is, he is not disabled! Yes he fell and broke his legs, 30 years ago. Yes he sometimes has some pain and yes he has a small limp. But he also, goes on long trips in the car, long walks with his dog, cuts his own firewood, climbs the ladder to fix his roof and does side work involving plumbing and construction!
Far as I can tell, I have known him since 1979 and see him 5-6 times a week, his only disability is he can not kneel. There are many many jobs he could get right now, but he always has an excuse. I think he is just lazy! His wife worked and he did not have to, there was plenty of money. Now that she is no longer in the picture he thinks that he has a claim.

He applied for SSI and was denied just recently. He then got a phone call from them saying he was approved. He has listed me as a contact to verify his disability.
I am not going to be able to lie, but I do not want him to know I was the reason he did not get it.

Will they rely on my comments or is there a screening process in which he will need to prove his disability?

And if he is approved , do I contact them and voice my thoughts? What happens if he is approved and then they find out he is able to do all the things he said he could not? What might the penalty be?

thank you

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY
I have a good friend who is financially in a bad place. He had a work related injury some 30 years ago. He awarded money then for it. He applied then for disability and was denied.
He has since gotten divorced and that reduced his bank account to very little. He is now going back to disability to try to get some money.
My issue is, he is not disabled! Yes he fell and broke his legs, 30 years ago. Yes he sometimes has some pain and yes he has a small limp. But he also, goes on long trips in the car, long walks with his dog, cuts his own firewood, climbs the ladder to fix his roof and does side work involving plumbing and construction!
Far as I can tell, I have known him since 1979 and see him 5-6 times a week, his only disability is he can not kneel. There are many many jobs he could get right now, but he always has an excuse. I think he is just lazy! His wife worked and he did not have to, there was plenty of money. Now that she is no longer in the picture he thinks that he has a claim.

He applied for SSI and was denied just recently. He then got a phone call from them saying he was approved. He has listed me as a contact to verify his disability.
I am not going to be able to lie, but I do not want him to know I was the reason he did not get it.

Will they rely on my comments or is there a screening process in which he will need to prove his disability?

And if he is approved , do I contact them and voice my thoughts? What happens if he is approved and then they find out he is able to do all the things he said he could not? What might the penalty be?

thank you

You are not a doctor so you really are not qualified to determine whether or not someone is disabled. Also, someone being able to work through the pain to do something occasionally does not equate to an ability to do it on a daily basis.

There IS a medical screening process that is done. Most likely you should just keep out of it if at all possible.

 

[commentator]

As a contact to verify his disability? I suspect that what they will ask you is more concerning his circumstances, to help verify income. They do that. In other words, something like, 'Do you know Rufus Nokneeler? Can you verify that he lives with his wife and no other family members at 1234 Dodspell Court? Can you confirm that he is not working and has no income to your knowledge other than her salary?"

They do that, and it is doubtful they'll ask you much deep information about how much work Rufus is capable of, what you've seen him lift or whether or not he is in your opinion, physically able to work or just lazy.

And by volunteering this opinion of yours, you probably could not keep him from getting benefits, just perhaps cause them to probe a little harder in some area or another. So if Rufus is not approved, it will not be because of what you've told them. They certainly wouldn't tell him, "Hey, we talked to so and so, and she doesn't think you're disabled. What about it?"

They fully allow for people to drop the word on someone they don't think is eligible for any income based program, but what they will not do is tell him who reported him or call you back and confirm your suspicions and tell you what actions they've taken on your report. This is the case with any fraud reporting that you do for any program.

If Rufus was working under the table for a construction company and you happened to mention that, or his son was living in the home and paying all the bills for them, and you mentioned that, it really could cause him not to be eligible, but you'd still just be the one who gave them some information, NOT the person who kept him from getting disability or SSI. And surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to ask you to flat out lie.

I always used to tell clients to be as totally honest as possible, because "be sure your FRIENDS will find you out." You'll be reported and called in on, and your only defense is that you are as honest as you can be about the whole situation.

 

[commentator]

Also, I just noticed your comment about how there "are many jobs he could get right now." Really? After not working for many years, after a serious on the job injury, with a noticeable limitation on his physical performance, which has a possibility that it could be made worse quickly or he could be injured on the job again, there are many jobs around that he could get? I have worked with reemployment programs all my worklife, and I strongly question that.

SSI is a very small amount of money to live on for a month. They don't give it out on the honor system. They'll do a lot of verification and they'll re-verify it frequently. If he's "just lazy" and is willing to live this lifestyle on this little amount of money, and that's the only reason he won't accept one of these many jobs around that he could get right now, then he's so lazy he needs psychiatric help which is a disability in and of itself.

 

[Zigner]

I think you are bitter that you were turned down for disability while your "friend" (some friend you are) may be approved. Butt out...it's really none of your business.