Millions of people rely on
Social Security disability.
You pay into the system that way
if you get hurt and can't work,
it's there to help you.
But 13 Investigates is going to show
you how that support system is failing.
And each time it does, senior
investigative reporter Bob
Siegel says you pay the bill.
This is the sleep.
Managing all this medicine is a
full time job for Kim Stiles.
She wishes she could go back to her
old job at a manufacturing plant.
If I could work, I would work.
Jonathan Harris says the same thing.
I would love to be working
right now. Both Jonathan
and Kim worked for decades until
didn't know what was going on.
Everything was spinning.
Kim developed a brain disorder.
Jonathan suffered a massive back injury,
5 operations, permanent
nerve damage, and in my leg,
Jonathan and Kim have not been able to.
Worked for years, but when they
try to file for disability,
ohh I've been denied. Denied me altogether.
Getting disability claims process for
folks like these has been a nightmare.
Inside its state offices,
the Social Security Administration says
25% of its workers are leaving every year.
The impact is devastating.
A few years ago it took four months
to process a disability claim.
Now it's more than seven.
If you add an appeals,
it's not uncommon for disability
applicants to now wait two.
Three, even four years to get a decision.
How long have you been trying
to get disability?
Almost five years, I think.
For Jonathan, it's been about 8.
It just wears on.
You both were forced to appeal their
disability cases to federal court.
And both times a federal judge determined
the government made shocking mistakes.
A US District Court judge ruled Kim's
disability case was mishandled when a
state administrative law judge failed
to address her persistent symptoms,
failed to confront evidence.
From her doctors and misrepresented
the medical record.
The federal judge ordered Kim's
case be reconsidered because
the administrative law judges
findings were factually incorrect.
A federal court discovered
Jonathan's case was mishandled too.
Turns out both Social Security
and an administrative law judge
denied Jonathan's disability based
on someone else's medical records.
The judge didn't notice that. With this,
Annette Rikowski is the disability
attorney for both Kim and Jonathan.
How does something like that even happen?
I just think it's carelessness.
I mean, we see mistakes like
this that happen all the time.
The government's mistakes are not just
costing the people who are denied disability,
they're also costing you.
13 Investigates has discovered when
federal judges find bad decisions and
order disability cases to be reconsidered,
taxpayers foot the bill over the past decade.
The Social Security.
Administration has paid more than
$390 million in plaintiffs legal fees
after state administrative law judges
improperly denied disability claims.
I have never seen things quite this bad,
quite this inaccurate. Nobody
seems to care about getting it right.
Children are also waiting years for
disability hearings after being
repeatedly denied due to mistakes.
Four-year-old Valkyrie
Cass has cerebral palsy.
Her doctors encouraged her mom to
apply for Supplemental Security Income
to help pay for Valkyrie's care.
The medical bills are astronomical,
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But the Social Security Administration
has repeatedly denied Valkyrie SSI
application based on this medical
exam conducted by a doctor hired
by Social Security, the doctor.
Red Valkyrie's overall gait is
perfectly normal, even though you
can clearly see a severe limp.
Patty cake. Patty cake.
The doctor's exam claimed her left
hand is normal and full strength,
but medical reports from Valkyrie's
doctors say the exact opposite.
And the government doctor reported Valkyrie
displayed unimpaired reading and writing,
even though her mom says those were
not even tested during the exam.
Everything was wrong.
I don't know whose records those were,
but they were not my daughters.
3 denials and three years later,
the cast. Family's only hope is
filing an appeal in federal court.
It just seems to never end.
It's very infuriating.
Unfortunately, the end of the
process is sometimes tragic.
Some's gotta change.
Something's gotta change.
This is James Gilbert recording
himself in front of a Social
Security office in Indianapolis.
James was a roofer for 25 years until
he started having epileptic seizures,
seizures all day, every day.
That's why he didn't go anywhere.
His sister suggested James
apply for disability.
After being denied 3 separate times,
James decided to record this video.
Users daily. But they said I can
work just moments after turning
off the camera. See you everybody.
James killed himself right in front
of the Social Security Office.
Why do people have to wait 2-3,
four years to get help?
That's that's unacceptable.
A system you paid into that you
can't get the help you need.
Nobody should have to go through that.
These cases are complex and they are
emotional, data shows, on average.
An estimated 10,000 people a
year die while waiting for their
disability benefits to be approved.
The Social Security Administration
has asked Congress for an
additional $800 million to increase
staffing and reduce wait times.
We're continuing to push Social
Security and federal lawmakers for
answers and how they plan to fix
the system to ensure the people who
really deserve disability get it.
I'm Bob Siegel, 13 news.