Social Security Disability

About two months after the accident, I got an appointment at the Social Security office.  I had done my research and had all the needed documentation.  This is copied directly from the Social Security Administration on what is needed: 

The information we need includes:

• Your Social Security number;
  
• Your birth or baptismal certi cate;
  
• Names, addresses, and phone numbers of the doctors, caseworkers, hospitals, and clinics that took care of you, and dates of your visits;
  
• Names and dosage of all the medicine you take;
  
• Medical records from your doctors, therapists, hospitals, clinics, and caseworkers that you already have in your possession;
  
• Laboratory and test results;
  
• A summary of where you worked and the kind of work you did; and
  
• A copy of your most recent W-2 Form (Wage and Tax Statement) or, if you’re self-employed, your federal tax returns for the past year.
  In addition to the basic application for disability bene ts, you’ll also need to ll out other forms. One form collects information about your medical condition and how it affects your ability to work. Other forms give doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals who have treated you, permission to send us information about your medical condition. 
  

Danielle went with me to the SS office.  I had an appointment. The worker was incredibly rude to me and made me feel that I was trying to defraud the United States Government.  After I showed her all the documentation, she actually apologized to me about her attitude. I know that there are a lot of people out there who would seek to defraud the government, but it is frustrating when you are not one of them, and you are accused of being one.  

Our son, who was in high school was also eligible to get social security benefits because his father was disabled. We did not take that money, our son got it and put it into savings for his college education if any was left for his everyday expenses, which I was not at home to provide.  
Richard's long term disability was figured by the amount of his social security benefit, so his disability was reduced by the same amount that Michael got in benefits from SS.  When Richard was home and able to call the insurance company, he did. They told him that he could take that money from Michael and use it for family needs.  Richard explained that he was not going to 'steal' from his children, so that would not be happening.  
I was also eligible for SS benefits for having a spouse that was disabled and having a child under the age of 18 simultaneously.  However, there is a cap placed on how much a family could get in total, and if I took that money, it would reduce the amounts that Richard and Michael received, so I never persued it. Richard had a good paying job before the accident, he was an electrical engineer, so we maxed out the cap.
After Michael had graduated from high school, he no longer received that social security check. It lasts until the child is 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is longer.  
I know that some people hire an attorney in order to get Social Security disability. I don't know whether it is good or bad, but Richard's case must have been pretty clear because he was approved the first time he applied.