 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 Sciatica and Filing for DisabilityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits 1. Sciatica refers to back pain associated with the sciatic nerve, which runs from the spinal cord, through the hips and down the backs of the thighs. The sciatic nerve is the body’s longest, and this nerve is responsible for controlling leg muscles and sensation in the legs and feet. 2. Pain along the sciatic nerve is a symptom of a variety of conditions that affect the nerve. Often this is a herniated disk compressing part of the nerve. 3. It can also be caused by spinal stenosis in the lower back, a condition that causes narrowing of the canal around the spinal cord and creates pressure on the nerves. Spondylolisthesis, where one vertebra slips over another, can pinch the nerve as well. Tumors and injuries to either the spinal cord or the sciatic nerve specifically may also cause sciatic pain. 4. Sciatica pain typically radiates from the lower back down through one of the legs, and can be mild or severe, sudden or prolonged. It can also cause numbness, weakness and uncomfortable sensations such as tingling in the feet and toes. 5. Occasionally, both sides may be affected, but differently, such as with pain in one leg and numbness in the other. 6. One rare symptom, suddenly losing control of the bladder or bowels, is a medical emergency, as it is a sign of a serious condition. 7. Most of the time, sciatica is mild and acute, going away on its own in about a month. At home self-care measures can help treat and alleviate symptoms, including applying heat or cold, doing stretches and exercises, and taking over-the-counter pain relievers. 8. If the pain lasts for longer than a month or continues to get worse despite at home care, a doctor will be able to help with more aggressive treatment. This may include therapy, prescription pain relievers, steroid injections or, in the most serious circumstances, surgery. 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 |