WHAT DISEASES WILL QUALIFY FOR DISABILITY BENEFITS?

What medical conditions will qualify me for Social Security disability?

The answer is, any medical impairment may qualify you for benefits, as long as the following are met:

1.  The condition is medically determinable.  This means your doctor knows what causes it and has taken steps to diagnose your exact problem.

2. The condition has lasted 12 consecutive months, is expected to last for 12 consecutive months, OR is expected to end in death. 

3.  It is a severe medical condition with symptoms so severe that it prevents you from being able to work.

Number 3 is the most difficult to prove.  Merely being diagnosed with a medical condition will usually not show that you are disabled.  For example, you may have migraine headaches but if you can still work you are not disabled.  You may have diabetes but if you can still work you are not disabled. It is the severity of the condition that may be disabling.

And this all boils down to medical evidence.  Your doctor holds the key.  When you file a disability claim, be sure that Social Security obtains all your medical records from every doctor, hospital, clinic, emergency room or other provided who has treated you.  You must report the name, address and telephone number of each doctor on your application. Social Security will pull the records (but only the ones you tell them about).

Evaluating a Social Security disability claim is pretty complex.  There are several factors, other than medical history, that must be considered.  These include age, past work history and education.  All of these factors will influence the medical-vocational guidelines or "grid rules" and affect the probable outcome of your claim.

Finally, you should know that Social Security is prone to deny over 75 percent all applications right off the bat.  So, be prepared for a denial.  Respond with an appeal within the 60 day deadline.  The appeal is your best chance to be approved.

SOCIAL SECURITY JUSTICE: THE FORSYTHE FIRM