 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 Transverse Myelitis and Filing for DisabilityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits 1. Transverse myelitis is inflammation that occurs across the width of the spinal cord. The surrounding material that protects the nerves in the spine from damage, called myelin, is what becomes inflamed and how the condition gets its name. 2. If the myelin becomes damaged, such as by inflammation, the signals between the brain and the spinal cord, as well as the rest of the body, may become disconnected or mixed up. 3. Transverse myelitis is generally connected with an infection, particularly a virus, or an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to mistakenly attack healthy tissue. 4. Multiple sclerosis, which attacks the protective covering of nerves in the spinal cord and brain, neuromyelitis optica, which causes inflammation and injury to the optic (eye) nerve as well as the spinal cord, and lupus, which causes widespread inflammation, are two conditions that may lead to transverse myelitis. 5. The chickenpox and shingles virus, as well as herpes viruses, are infections that may lead to the condition. In some rare occasions, the vaccines for infections like chickenpox and rabies may cause the condition. 6. Transverse myelitis comes on quickly, so symptoms such as pain, weakness, spasms, fever and headache develop in just a few hours. This includes shooting pain in the affected area of the spinal cord, which may radiate down the legs, arms or into the abdomen. Tingling, numbness, burning or extra sensitivity may occur in the back below the inflamed portion of the spinal cord. 7. Weakness in the arms or legs can be as minor as a heavy sensation or as significant as paralysis. There may also be abnormal bladder and bowel function, such as increased urge or constipation and difficulty urinating. 8. Abnormal blood vessel functioning, hardened arteries, spinal tumors or radiation therapy all cause symptoms similar to transverse myelitis, so they are ruled out before a diagnosis can be established. 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 |