Obtaining
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. After years wondering why he suffered from headaches and often fell to the floor, Eliodoro Banuelos finally received a diagnosis—water and a cyst on his brain caused by parasites. He decided to apply for his SSDI, but was dismayed about the future of his family after being denied his disability benefits twice. On the advice of a friend, Mr. Banuelos turned to Allsup for help. Read how Allsup gave Mr. Banuelos the relief he needed to survive the financial pressures of daily life.
* This is a true story as told to Allsup.
For a nearly a decade Eliodoro Banuelos suffered from headaches and lived in fear that his falls at home would cause physical harm or even worse.
I Needed Someone to Help
By Concepcion Vigil
Buckeye, Arizona—For about a decade, Eliodoro Banuelos has lived with migraines, nausea and afraid he might fall to the floor without notice.
In 2000, Mr. Banuelos was working a construction job and he fainted. He awoke and tried to go back to work, but spent the rest of the day vomiting.
“Everyone was thinking I was drunk,” Mr. Banuelos said.
But Mr. Banuelos, now 34, knew something else was wrong.
Headaches and falling at home started causing monthly trips to the emergency room. More doctor visits that followed revealed that Mr. Banuelos had water and a cyst on his brain, caused by parasites.
Doctors suspect the parasite known as a pork tapeworm came from eating tainted pork meat. These parasites cause symptoms such as migraines, dizziness and nausea and interrupt the flow of brain fluid, eventually causing brain damage.
“The doctor told me the damage is already done,” Mr. Banuelos said. “I'm lucky I'm still walking and talking.”
He eventually had to have brain surgery, where a valve was put in his head to alleviate the pressure from the water and remove the parasite. The cyst is monitored once a year for growth.
By 2007, Mr. Banuelos, his wife and children were living in a trailer about 50 miles from downtown Phoenix.
Life was hard. Mr. Banuelos was having trouble keeping a job because he was sick all the time. He'd lift things at work and get dizzy. A supervisor would give him instructions and he'd forget the task minutes later. His trips to the ER were still frequent.
Mr. Banuelos talked it over with his wife, Estela. Both decided it would be for the best. He sent away for the SSDI application. He wasn't expecting pages and pages to fill out. “I was thinking it would be a fast thing,” Mr. Banuelos said.
He spent about three weeks, making his way nightly through the pile of paperwork required to apply. “It was a big packet,” he said.
He was denied benefits. The SSA denies about two-thirds of SSDI initial applications.
Mr. Banuelos tried twice more on his own, only to be turned down both times. The process was taking longer than anticipated. It had been more than a year since his first application. He had heard stories of people who had applied for benefits and been rejected.
“I called law firms and they never returned my calls,” Mr. Banuelos said.
There was an attorney he'd seen on television. He called, but no reply. Another friend suggested, “We know of someone who can help you,” Banuelos said.
The friend recommended Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, Medicare and Medicare Secondary Payer compliance services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers.
The company, based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis has helped more than 130,000 people with disabilities from all over the United States receive more than $12 billion in entitled SSDI and Medicare benefits. The company has a 98 percent award rate for those who stay in the appeal process for a final decision.
“I called them on a Wednesday or Thursday,” Mr. Banuelos said.
A representative told him by phone that they'd look into his case and give him a call by Monday. “They called back on Monday and said they would help me,” Mr. Banuelos said. “Allsup took over everything, paperwork and everything else.”
Mr. Banuelos and his Allsup representative eventually went before an administrative law judge in federal court in Phoenix. “The representative did most of the talking. I answered a few questions, but even that was stressful,” he said.
A few weeks later, he received the judge's decision. He'd been approved for SSDI benefits.
“The feeling was just relief,” Mr. Banuelos said. “We didn't have a place to live.”
With the monthly disability benefits, the family with four children was able to buy a modest home.
Life is still difficult, but now they “make it through every month,” he said. The headaches are still there, and Mr. Banuelos said he has to sleep a lot because of the medication.
He speaks in halting speech and has trouble remembering basic information. He isn't able to drive. “My wife does all the driving now,” he said. Doctors continue to monitor his health.
Still, Mr. Banuelos is grateful for Allsup's help.
“I needed someone to help me,” he said.
And Allsup did.