Medical or mental disability can be awarded for any of the following conditions
- Musculoskeletal problems including fractures, poorly healed bone breaks, soft tissue injuries, spinal arachnoiditis, arthritis, osteoarthrtis, rheumatoid arthritis, hip, neck, shoulder, ankle, wrist, back, or other joint problems, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fascitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, low back pain, RSI or repetitive stress injury.
- Endocrine related problems including diabetes (type I diabetes, type II diabetes), diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetes related kidney nephropathy, thyroid problems including hypothryoid disorder, hyperthyroid disorder,
- Autoimmune disorders including MS (multiple sclerosis), autoimmune hepatitis, type I diabetes (an autoimmune condition), ankylosing spondylitis, coeliac disease, endometriosis, addison's disease, grave's disease, narcolepsy, lupus, interstitial cystitis, sjogren's syndrome, vasculitis, vitiligo, wegner's granulomatosis, polymyositis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis
- Cardiovascular related conditions such as heart attack (heart attacks are gauged according to how they resolve three months post), arrhythmia (including tachycardia, bradycardia and murmur), ischemic coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure (termed by social security as "chronic" heart failure), cardiohypertrophy (englargement of the heart), cardiomyopathy, heart valve disease, congenital heart defect, blocked artery, cyanosis, syncope, peripheral artery disease (a.k.a peripheral vascular disease), chest pain (angina), cardiovascular disease related to high blood pressure, chronic venous insufficiency, aortic aneurysm (possibly involving renal kidney failure)
- Neurological conditions such as stroke, coordination, strength, and speech deficits resulting from strokes, epilepsy a.k.a. seizure disorder (including petite mal seizures and grand mal seizures), lyme disease (neurological deficits are one aspect of lymes), TBI or traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, cerebral palsy, parkinson's disease, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease), myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral trauma (head injury), migraines, cluster headaches
- Digestive system impairments including wilson's disease, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), peptic ulcer, esophageal varices, ascites, ulcerative colitis, regional enteritis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, liver disease, pancreatitis, crohn's disease
Genito-urinary impairments such as kidney disease, kidney problems, dialysis, kidney transplant, nephrotic syndrome, ESRD or end stage renal disease
- Mood related disorders including bipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression and termed by the social security administration as bipolar syndrome, a subset of mood disorders) and depression in all its various forms, such as mild depression, major depression, and dysthymia (The mental disability definition is no different from that for physical impairment cases. Social Security mental disorders, alleged on a claim, may require a consultative mental exam, i.e. a social security mental evaluation, to detemine benefits).
- Anxiety related disorders including PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and panic attacks.
- Vision related problems such as low vision, poor peripheral vision (contraction of peripheral fields), decreased visual acuity, macular degeneration, statutory blindness, loss of visual efficiency, and diabetic retinopathy
- Hearing and speech impairments including hearing not restorable by a hearing aid, inner ear problems (vertigo, meniere's disease), and loss of speech
- Respiratory impairments including COPD, emphysema, asthma and asthma attacks, bronchitis, pneumothorax, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary vasculitis, cystic fibrosis, sleep apnea, cor pulmonale, pneumoconiosis, bronchiectasis, pneumonia, sarcoidosis
- Hemic and lymphatic problems including lymphedema, chronic anemia, sickle cell diease, polycythemia, lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, aplastic anemia
- Skin disorders such as exfoliative dermatitis, hidradentitis supparativa, psoriasis, exema, pemphigus
- Conditions for which the etiology is unclear such as fibromyalgia, chronic pain, chronic fatigue
- Mental conditions, mental illness, and mental disorders including borderline intellectual functioning, low IQ, mental retardation, learning disability, personality disorder, schizo-affective disorder, schizophrenia, somatoform disorder, autism, asperger's syndrome, down syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), memory loss, nerves
- Hiv and Aids
- Neoplastic disorders such as cancer of the throat, cancer of the larynx, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, skin cancer, cancer of the thyroid, hodgkin's disease, sarcoma, malignant melanoma, lung cancer, cancer of the stomach or esophagus, prostaste cancer, intestinal cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular and uterine cancer
Brief Answers to common Questions about SSDI and SSI benefits
- How long does it take to receive the social security disability award letter? - After a case has been approved at the request for reconsideration or request for hearing level, it will generally take several weeks to receive the SSD or SSI award letter. Those approved for SSI will need to have their non-medical eligibility qualifications verified (assets and income) at a subsequent disability interview. Those approved for SSD, however, will receive disability benefits based on how long they have worked and may learn what kind of disability benefits their children can get based on their social security disability approval. They will also learn how far back disability benefits will be paid.
- Is fibromyalgia considered a medical disability? The qualifications for disability for fibromyalgia are same as for any other medical condition (for example degenerative disc disease) or mental condition (for example depression or bipolar disorder). Fibromyalgia does not appear in the social security disability list of impairments; however, the basic disability criteria remains the same, meaning that to be approved for disability benefits and to be eligible for back pay disability benefits on a claim, it must be shown that a person can no longer do their past work or any other form of work while earning a substantial and gainful income.
- How does it work with disability lawyers? Very simply, a disability attorney is only paid if your case is won (usually at the social security hearing level). The lawyer is paid 25% of your back pay up to a maximum of $5300.00. The best disability attorneys tend to be those who will A) properly appeal a denied disability application, B) explain the requirements for back pay if you receive conflicting correspondence (usually when a person is approved for SSd and also approved for SSI), C) explain his or her strategy on how to get disability awarded for your particular case and medical problems, D) gather sufficient medical evidence to achieve a decision on your case that is an approval. A good disability representative will also explain what it means when social security wants you to be seen by one of their doctors at an examination, whether or not you will receive medicare or medicaid healthcare benefits in the event you are awarded an approval, and discuss with you if members of your family will be entitled to benefits as a result of you being approved (not the case if you receive supplemental security income a.k.a. SSI benefits).
- If you get denied for disability, is it better to file a disability appeal, or start a disability claim all over? In most cases, appealing a denial will be the better route, simply because filing appeals will move your case toward a disability hearing where the odds of winning are better. To qualify for disability, a claimant must show evidence supporting functional limitations that preclude the ability to work. However, prior to the social security hearing, an applicant does not have the option of actually "showing" anything for the purpose of influencing a decision on a claim. At a hearing, though, the claimant can appear with an advocate and respond directly to questions about their ability to work and can address their medical history and work history.
- Is SSI disability substantially different from social security disability income? SSI eligibility is determined in exactly the same manner, by evaluating a claimant's medical records and vocational factors. As such, SSI disability requirements are the same. There is no separate SSI disability application or SSI disability forms, nor is there a processing difference between SSI disabiilty benefits for adults and SSI disability for children.
- How hard is it win disability benefits? Statistics from the following states illustrate this. Bear in mind, however, that these are denials on disability applications which can be sucessfully appealed: Filing for Disability in Texas - sixty -one percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Florida - sixty-five percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in California - more than fifty-five percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Indiana - nearly sixty-eight percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in VA, Virginia - more than sixty-one percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in NC, North Carolina - sixty-seven percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in PA, pennsylvania - fifty-five percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Ohio - seventy-one percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in NJ, New Jersey - fifty percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in NY, New York - nearly sixty-two percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in MO, Missouri - nearly sixty-seven percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in KS, Kansas - sixty-seven percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Michigan - sixty-four percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in GA, Georgia - nearly seventy-two percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in TN, Tennessee - seventy-four percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Illinois - sixty-one percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Maryland - sixty-six percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Arizona - fifty-three percent denial rate; Filing for Disability in Arkansas - sixty-three percent denial rate
- Additional information can be found at the former blog for this site which, though discontinued, provides extensive information regarding SSDI and SSI: SSD Disability
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