 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 Spina Bifida and Filing for DisabilityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits 1. Spina bifida is a birth defect that involves the neural tube, which is the part of the embryo that eventually develops into the brain and spinal cord. With spina bifida the neural tube does not close properly, leading to problems with the spinal cord and bones in the spine. 2. Cases of spina bifida disability range from mild to severe, in three times. 3. Spina bifida occulta is mild, with a small separation or gap between bones in the spina. Only one or several vertebrae may be involved. 4. Those with spina bifida occulta may never have any symptoms and the condition may only be discovered if some type of imaging test, such as an x-ray, is performed, usually for another reason. 5. Signs of spina bifida occulta may include physical markers such as a patch of hair, fat deposit, dimple or birth mark over the affected part of the spine. 6. Meningocele is a a rare form of spina bifida. Meningocele occurs when there is a separation between vertebrae and the membranes that protect the spinal cord push through the opening. 7. In meningocele, surgery removes the membranes with little to no damage to nerves, and the spinal cord otherwise develops normally. 8. Myelomeningocele is the most severe of all types of spina bifida. Myelomeningocele is also called open spina bifida, because the spinal canal does not close at all at one point of the middle or lower back. The membranes and spinal cord stick out, sometimes covered by skin but not usually. Exposed tissues and nerves create the potential for infection. 9. Myelomeningocele is commonly what is referred to when people use the general term of spina bifida. This type of spina bifida typically causes paralysis, problems with bowel and bladder control and seizures. 10. Some studies have shown that folic acid supplements before and during pregnancy can reduce the risk of spina bifida by 75 percent, supporting claims that folic acid deficiency is linked to spina bifida. 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 |