 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 High Cholesterol and Filing for DisabilityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits 1) Cholesterol is needed by the body and is an important factor for many body functions. It can be found throughout the body naturally, but if too much is present, resulting in high cholesterol, it will be deposited into the arteries causing a variety of health issues, including heart disease. 2) Although cholesterol is found naturally in the body, diet is the main cause of high cholesterol. All foods containing animal fat, including cheese, milk, egg yolks and animal meats such as poultry, pork and beef, contain high cholesterol. Plant-based foods do not contain high cholesterol unless they are added from outside sources. 3) Since cholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance, too much of it begins to remain stuck in the arteries, causing them to narrow and calcify. This can cause chest pain (angina) and atherosclerotic heart disease, the number one cause of death in the United States. A completely blocked artery can cause heart attack. 4) Since there are usually no symptoms to high cholesterol, blood tests to check your cholesterol are available. The best ones measure your low-density lipoproteins (LDL - bad cholesterol), high-density lipoproteins (HDL - good cholesterol), triglycerides, and your total cholesterol. It is recommended that adults get this test every five years so they can modify their diet, exercise routine, and stress levels to lower their cholesterol and stay healthy. 5) When checking cholesterol levels, the LDL should be around 100, while the HDL should be at least 40 or higher. An HDL of 60 or over protects against heart disease. The recommended total cholesterol level is 200 or lower for optimal cholesterol health. 6) The risk for high cholesterol grows higher with age, and is more common is women older than 55 and men younger than 55. 7) Although high cholesterol may be hereditary, that is not always the case. To lower cholesterol levels it is advised to lower the consumption of animal-based products, or remove them from the diet completely. It is also recommended to lose weight, engage in regular physical exercise, lower stress levels, and only drink moderate amounts of alcohol. 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 |