CAN I GET SOCIAL SECURITY DISABIITY FOR....?

Q.  "Can I get Social Security disability benefits for Lyme disease?" ANSWER:  Yes, you may, but it is very difficult.  Most cases of Lyme Disease can be cured after a few weeks or months on antibiotic therapy and do not qualify for SSDI benefits.  But not always.  The individuals with severe, chronic complications are candidates to try for SSDI benefits. I recently won a Lyme Disease case involving a younger adult who has chronic complications that have not been cured or well controlled by repeated antibiotic therapy or other types of treatment. In these cases, it is necessary to have a specialist evaluate the symptoms and attempt treatment. This treatment can be very expensive. It's also very important to tie symptoms directly to Lyme Disease as the cause--eliminating other possible causes, from a medical standpoint. As with other disability cases, proving the severity of symptoms is key.  The claimant must prove that symptoms are so severe that i...

Lyme Disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of the black legged tick, commonly called a "deer tick."  The infectious agent is a little bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi.  Symptoms can include a rash (but not always),  fatigue, dizziness, neurological symptoms, joint aches,  and sometimes a fever.  Getting a correct diagnosis for Lyme Disease may be difficult because the symptoms of Lyme Disease are quite similar to many other illnesses and doctors often have never encountered a case of Lyme.  Lyme is usually curable with a few weeks of antibiotics.  However, if the disease goes untreated, it can cause severe symptoms, including joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), heart problems, disorders of the central nervous system, and more. There is no specific listing for Lyme Disease in the Social Security blue book.  If there are severe associated symptoms, a claimant may meet a listing for another body system:  nervous system disorder, h...

Social Security disability is awarded base on a claimant's limited ability to function.  It is not awarded based on diseases, but on functional limitations. The primary way Social Security evaluates your functional ability is by a detailed questionnaire that they refer to as "the ADL (Activities of Daily Living) questionnaire.  The official name of the document is the "Function Report." The Function Report is a n 8- page document with Sections A-D and it contains approximately 60 questions. I understand the temptation to ignore this form (just not bother with it) or to fly through it quickly because you feel it is a waste of time.  This is a crucial mistake.  You should spend a lot of time with this form.  In fact, this form should be your constant companion for a couple of days until it is completed lovingly, comprehensively, thoughtfully and very, very completely. The Function Report will ask you things like: Do you cook your own food? H...

Can you get Social Security disability benefits if have not worked in the last 5 years and become disabled?   If you stopped working more than 5 years ago, you do not have coverage for disability with the Social Security Administration. You need to have recent work to be eligible for disability benefits.  You must have worked at least 20 out of the last 40 quarters, or more simply put, you must have worked 5 out of the last 10 years. If you stopped working at a job that pays FICA tax more than 5 years ago, you will not be able to get disability benefits, no matter how much you paid into the system.  That money remains in the trust fund (pool) until you reach retirement age. Your Date Last Insured (DLI) is the date you stopped being insured for disability claims with Social Security.  If a disability begins after the DLI, it is not covered.  This is one more good reason not to delay in filing a claim as soon as you feel you have become disabled...

The federal regulations reserve Social Security disability benefits to individuals who an prove disability with objective medical evidence.  Generally, you must be able to provide medical records from doctors, psychologists, clinics, hospitals or other acceptable medical professionals that show....... the existence of impairments the severity of impairments the duration of impairments (how long symptoms have lasted) There are two types of medical evidence.  Objective medical evidence may include imaging studies, laboratory reports, EKG, and comprehensive examinations by a qualified doctor.  Subjective medical evidence refers to opinions of professionals who have viewed the objective evidence and given a professional opinion concerning your symptoms, diseases or injuries. It isn't enough for a claimant to allege back pain, for instance.  It isn't enough for a doctor to make a note in her chart that the patient has complained of back pain.  Mos...

If you are a disabled veteran with a 70 percent or higher VA disability rating, there is an excellent chance you may also qualify for Social Security disability benefits.  The Social Security process is totally separate from the VA process, however a high VA disability rating only helps your Social Security claim. Because of the similarity between a VA finding of unemployability and what it means to be disabled under the Social Security disability program, it is the rule in many federal circuit courts that VA disability ratings are entitled to “great weight.” (See McCartey v. Massanari, 298 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2002); Chambliss v. Massanari, 269 F.3d 520, 522 (5th Cir. 2001); Brady v. Heckler, 724 F.2d 914, 921 (11th Cir. 1984); and De Loatche v. Heckler, 715 F.2d 148, 150 n.1 (4th Cir. 1983).) And one circuit court said that VA disability ratings were entitled to “substantial weight.” (Kane v. Heckler, 776 F.2d 1130, 1135 (3d Cir. 1985).) In addition, Social Security Ruli...

In Social Security disability cases, decision makers will often deny a claim on the supposition that the claimant can still perform unskilled, sedentary work.  Examples of such unskilled sedentary work might be a surveillance system monitor, or a document preparer. All work has mental as well as physical demands.  The mental demands of unskilled sedentary work are defined by SSR 96-9p and SSR 85-15.  Those demands include the abilities (on a sustained basis) to understand, carry out, and remember simple instructions; to respond appropriately to supervision, coworkers, and usual work situations; and to deal with changes in a routine work setting. The loss of any of the above abilities will substantially erode the occupational base for sedentary, unskilled work and will, therefore, justify a finding of disability. Note that in order to work, a person must be able to meet the mental demands of full time, remunerative work "on a sustained basis."  A...

Is there work that you are able to do?  If so, you are probably not disabled under Social Security rules.  So, let's consider what Social Security means by the term 'work.' Work refers to the ability to sustain work activity for 8 hours a day, 5 days per week, or an equivalent schedule.  Anything less than that is not work under Social Security rules. You are unable to work, for example, if you can...... work 5 or 6 hours a day but not 8 hours work 3 or 4 days a week but not 5 days work part-time but not full-time work for a few weeks but then have to miss several days due to a flareup work for several months but then have to miss a month or two due to illness on a persistent, regular basis report to work 5 days a week but have to leave early several times a month because of illness, pain, depression, etc. work most days but often have to come in late due to sickness work most days but will be absent 3 or more days per month due to illness. So, the ...

It is no secret that Social Security is backlogged in trying to hold hearings.  And we all know it is taking up to 24 months for a claimant to get a hearing scheduled.  The obvious answer would be for Social Security to hire more administrative law judges; however, Congress simply will not appropriate enough money for that.  So, how does the Social Security Administration react?  By offering claimants the option to have a hearing by video-teleconference (VTC).  At a VTC, the claimant and representative appear in a hearing center near the claimant's home.  However, the judge may be in another city, even another state.  Witnesses called by Social Security, such as the vocational expert, may be anywhere:  in the room with the claimant, in the room with the distant judge, or even at home and testifying via telephone. Why would a claimant sign up for a cockeyed arrangement like a hearing by Video-Teleconference?  The main sellin...