KING

Donna Doughtie worked for the federal government for 34 years, but she's been denied three times for disability benefits from Social Security and a judge said she wasn't "credible."

If you have a job, a portion of every paycheck goes into that fund most of us would never want to use: Social Security.

It's money for people who become so disabled before retirement age, they cannot work. Yet, the KING 5 Investigators have found that if you need that money, you'll wait longer for it here in the Northwest than in nearly every other part of the country. We're not talking about weeks or months, but years that disabled people are being forced to wait to get the benefits they need and are entitled to.

Social Security is so bogged down that people's lives are falling apart waiting for the process to work, and we've found the Seattle area is one of the worst.

Donna Doughtie of Puyallup has a chronic immune disorder called Guillain-Barre. She can't walk, take care of her basic needs or work.

"I stopped working because I couldn't move," says Donna.

At Fort Darby in Italy, Donna helped military families access services. She had a wall filled with degrees and awards. As her husband Tom pursued a 30-year career with the military, Donna traveled the world with him, working for the Navy, the State Department and the Department of Defense.

"I want to be, who I was, this is not me," says Donna, with tears in her eyes. "I miss giving and helping people. My whole life, that's what I've done."

After Donna got so sick, she turned to the federal government she had served for three decades. She applied for disability benefits through Social Security – an insurance fund she paid into during her working years.

"I'm asking what I worked for my whole life," says Donna.

The first denial came in 1998. The military hospital didn't send her medical records to Social Security. Three years later, Donna was denied again. Social Security said she wasn't disabled under their rules.

In 2003, another denial.

In 2005, despite letters from doctors saying her condition precluded normal employment, a judge didn't believe Donna. The judge said she wasn't "credible."

This about a woman who had top secret clearance to work for the State Department.

"I was hurt," says Donna. "How can they think that you want to live like this? It doesn't make sense."

Donna's appealing again, but during the nine long years of waiting, she's watched her life crumble.

"We lost our home, we lost our cars," says Donna.

Wait times for disability benefits are long nationwide, but we've found the Northwest is especially bad. If you're denied, you'll wait an average of 19 and a half more months just to plead your case in court in our area. Only the Chicago area is worse at 19.8 months.

"As a citizen it breaks my heart, as a professional it bothers me," says Don Uslan, a psychotherapist who treats chronically ill patients. One third of his clients have pending disability cases.

"This time period, this three or four or five years appears to be the slowest and the most inefficient I've ever seen in my 30 years of practice," says Uslan.

Social Security says the wait times are so long because there's too much work, not enough money, and a shortage of judges to hear cases. But they couldn't come up with any explanation as to why Seattle's particularly slow, and they refused our repeated requests to talk about these important issues on camera.

Diane LeMoi lives on welfare, earning $339 a month. She's a former foster parent and preschool teacher with a debilitating joint disease. She became homeless while fighting the government for her benefits.

"It was degrading," says Diane. "If someone asked me where I live, I'd give them my post office box. That was my address. It made me feel useless."

One of Don Uslan's patients is Halina Bojarski. She's been denied three times in four years after a distinguished career with the state, promoting international business.

"If I didn't have kids, I would have somehow tried to end my life," says Halina. "It's a really painful, unfulfilling life, and I'm not saying I have to have a fulfilled life to live. I'm saying it's a torturous existence."

These women are just three of more than 10,000 people in the Seattle area with pending Social Security disability cases. In the end, more than two-thirds will get their money on appeals, but it's the agonizing process to get there that's so devastating.

"You're not supposed to lose your entire life before you get this money that you worked for," says Diane.

"It's very stressful, it's humiliating," says Halina.

"I don't understand. That's the whole thing, I don't understand," says Donna.

We're not talking about a lot of money. Depending on your work history, the benefit ranges from $800 to $1,400 per month. But to someone like Diane Lemoi who tries to scrape by on $339 per month, that's a lot of money.

Progress of the three women in the story since the interview:

Halina Bojarski, who worked for the state, is still waiting.

Diane Lemoi, the foster parent who became homeless, was just approved and should be getting her first check soon.

And after a 9-year fight, Donna Doughtie has been approved as well. But Social Security lost her paperwork, so she'll have to wait another 7 months or so to see any of the money.