Virginia vet waited years for Social Security benefits. Then he called CBS 6: 'Can't thank you enough'

RICHMOND, Va. -- A Virginia veteran who spent more than three years trying to get disability benefits through the Social Security Administration finally got some good news after calling CBS 6.

Joseph Carle, 53, said he seemed to hit one roadblock after another trying to get approved for his benefits.

"A never-ending nightmare, " Carle said about his odyssey through the Social Security Administration website and phone system.

He first applied for disability benefits back in 2021.

"I've gone through multitudes of doctor's appointments, just question and answer sessions, things like that, but made no real progress," he said.

After first waiting nearly a year, with countless resubmissions of documents, the Navy vet finally got a hearing date.

But when the time came, the judge couldn't get his computer to work properly.

"Somebody in that whole catastrophe put down that the hearing never happened," Carle said. "So I wound up getting my claim canceled."

That meant Carle had to get the Social Security Administration to reinstate his claim.

And the drama didn't stop there.

"I proceeded further, and I'm wondering what's going on, what's going on, and then I get an approval letter, but no real information about pay or anything else," said Carle.

When Carle finally got that approval letter, he called the 800 number and said he was told to expect the payment details by a certain date.

That date came and went.

"I called back up there, and the gentleman I talked to, I told him that they said I was supposed to get some sort of notice or something by the 18th," Carle said. "And his only response was, 'Yeah, they lied.'"

Carle said the hours spent on the SSA website, the waiting on hold on the phone, with hearings cancelled, and the pain in his back which he injured years ago on a Navy ship not getting better, all took a toll.

"So the combination of all of it just really maxes out my anxieties, depression, and I'm not afraid to admit that because of the Social Security stuff, at one point, I did attempt suicide," Carle said.

Eventually, Carle contacted CBS 6, and so I reached out to the SSA to ask about his years-long application process.

A spokesperson said she could not comment on individual cases, but that someone would reach out.

For Carle the response came quickly.

"I finally got in touch with you all, and ironically and thankfully, it only took one phone call," said Carle. "It's as if somebody just took a look at it and said, 'Oh, okay, approved. There you go.' That's all that needed to happen. It means so much. And I can't tell you 'thank you' enough times for this."

But as far as what we might learn about the disability benefit process, Carle said the most vexing thing is that he was never told what exactly was wrong with his application.

So his advice to anyone else applying is to keep track of all your documentation and contacts with the Social Security Administration.

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