 SSDRC Filing a Social Security Disability Application - How to File & the Information that is Needed by SSA Do you need a Lawyer at the Administrative Law Judge Disability Hearing? Social Security Disability Back pay and How Long it Takes to Qualify for it How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of benefits If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much is paid for the Social Security Disability Attorney Fee? How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? How To Get Disability Through SSDI or SSI Approved Should you get Help from a Disability Attorney before the Claim has been Denied? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability Qualifying for Disability - What is Social Security Looking for? How do I check the status of my Social Security disability claim? What Expenses Will A Social Security Attorney Charge In Addition To The Fee? |
Facts about Aplastic Anemia and Filing for DisabilityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits 1. A rare blood disorder, aplastic anemia is a type of anemia that is characterized by the lack of sufficient new blood cells being produced by bone marrow; this includes a lack of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. 2. Aplastic anemia may come on progressively and slowly, or rapidly and suddenly. Some people may have the disorder for a very short time, and some people may find the disorder becomes chronic. It may be mild or severe, and left untreated it can be fatal and cause rapid death. 3. Aplastic anemia occurs in response to damage to the bone marrow. This damage can be caused by a number of things, from chemotherapy, exposure to toxins, viral infections and pregnancy, to certain medications, and autoimmune disorders. An inherited disease, Fanconi’s anemia, may also lead to aplastic anemia. 4. Bone marrow biopsy and blood tests are used to help diagnose aplastic anemia. 5. A rare disorder, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, is present in about 30 percent of those who have aplastic anemia. 6. Aplastic anemia is sometimes mistakenly confused as myelodysplastic syndrome. In aplastic anemia the bone marrow is empty or has very little blood cells, while in myelodysplastic syndrome the bone marrow is usually packed with blood cells, but in some cases the marrow may be empty. The two disorders are hard to tell apart in the circumstance when myelodysplastic syndrome causes empty bone marrow. 7. Symptoms for aplastic anemia include pale skin, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, infections that reoccur or prolonged, skin rash, headache, easy bruising, bleeding gums, dizziness, and nosebleeds. 8. Treatment depends upon the severity of the case of aplastic anemia, but may include the following: blood transfusion, bone marrow transplantation, immunosuppressants, corticosteroids, bone marrow stimulants, antivirals, and antibiotics - although some cases may improve on their own, especially when caused by chemotherapy, radiation treatments, or certain medications. Can you qualify for disability benefits with this condition? Whether or not you qualify for disability and, as a result, are approved for disability benefits will depend entirely on the information obtained from your medical records. This includes whatever statements may have been obtained from your treating physician (a doctor who has a history of treating your condition and is, therefore, qualified to comment as to your condition and prognosis). It will also depend on the information obtained from your vocational, or work, history if you are an adult, or academic records if you are a minor-age child. The important thing to keep in mind is that the social security administration does not award benefits based on simply having a condition, but, instead, will base an approval or denial on the extent to which a condition causes functional limitations. Functional limitations can be great enough to make work activity not possible (or, for a child, make it impossible to engage in age-appropriate activities). Why are so many disability cases lost at the disability application and reconsideration appeal levels? Speaking as a former Disability Claims Examiner, I can state that there are several reasons: 1) Social Security makes no attempt to obtain a statement from a claimant's treating physician. By contrast, at the hearing level, a claimant and his or her disability attorney will generally obtain and present this type of statement to a judge; 2) Prior to the hearing level, a claimant will not have the opportunity to explain how their condition limits them, nor will their attorney or representative have the opportunity to make a presentation based on the evidence of the case. At the hearing level, of course, this is exactly what happens. And a number of disability representatives will also take such steps even earlier, at the reconsideration appeal level; 3) Disability judges, unlike disability examiners who decides cases at the first two levels of the system, can make independent decisions without being overturned by immediate supervisors--which happens frequently. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Topics and Questions Other Links SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |