Social Security Disability Blog Provides Information for Claimants with Lupus
Lupus is evaluated in the social security administration's impairment handbook, or blue book, though in some sense no actual and specific disability criteria has been established for the disorder. Due to the nature of the condition and the fact that it is often misdiagnosed or diagnosed late, claimants filing on the basis of lupus may often not receive proper consideration for their claims.
Raleigh, NC, January 09, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Tim Moore, publisher of My Social Security Disability Blog, recently posted a new page focusing on the unique challenges those with lupus face in trying to win social security disability (SSD) benefits.
The new information regarding filing on the basis of Lupus is posted with the title "Lupus and Social Security Disability Benefits."
Lupus is an ongoing medical condition which, like many autoimmune diseases, is characterized by flare-ups and remissions. Over time it can cause severe, irreparable damage to the skin, joints, and all internal organs, and there is no cure. However, people diagnosed with lupus are quite often turned down for disability. The state disability determination services (DDS) agency does not exactly go the extra mile to award disability benefits to anyone, regardless of their medical condition. DDS examiners exist in a culture of denial and are neither required nor encouraged to err on the side of the claimant. Thus, a disability examiner may choose to focus only on the most recent medical records if those records indicate that the symptoms are less severe (i.e., if the lupus happens to be currently in remission).
Of course, this method of evaluation is not fair to those applying for disability on the basis of lupus. Lupus is not a linearly progressive disease, and the fact that symptoms are dormant today certainly does not indicate that the claimant is “getting better” or that he or she is likely to hold a steady job in the future, a fact that a disability examiner may or may not understand.
One chief problem with the disability determination process is that claimants are not allowed to explain or argue their case to the disability examiner. Once a claim is denied, the applicant’s only real choice is to give up the claim or to appeal the decision, and the first appeal, a request for reconsideration, also decided by DDS, is likely to fail as well (85% of them do).
However, people with lupus are much more likely to be approved for disability benefits at the second level of appeal, a hearing before an administrative law judge. During a hearing a claimant or the claimant’s legal representative can explain to the judge the nature of the illness, how it is expected to progress, and how it has affected the claimant’s ability to sustain gainful employment.
DDS, by contrast, does not provide this opportunity to those with lupus or any other condition, so it is really not surprising that so many disability claims that are denied by DDS are later approved by a federal judge at a hearing.
Additional information about the federal disability system may be found here: Questions about Applying for Social Security Disability or SSI.
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The new information regarding filing on the basis of Lupus is posted with the title "Lupus and Social Security Disability Benefits."
Lupus is an ongoing medical condition which, like many autoimmune diseases, is characterized by flare-ups and remissions. Over time it can cause severe, irreparable damage to the skin, joints, and all internal organs, and there is no cure. However, people diagnosed with lupus are quite often turned down for disability. The state disability determination services (DDS) agency does not exactly go the extra mile to award disability benefits to anyone, regardless of their medical condition. DDS examiners exist in a culture of denial and are neither required nor encouraged to err on the side of the claimant. Thus, a disability examiner may choose to focus only on the most recent medical records if those records indicate that the symptoms are less severe (i.e., if the lupus happens to be currently in remission).
Of course, this method of evaluation is not fair to those applying for disability on the basis of lupus. Lupus is not a linearly progressive disease, and the fact that symptoms are dormant today certainly does not indicate that the claimant is “getting better” or that he or she is likely to hold a steady job in the future, a fact that a disability examiner may or may not understand.
One chief problem with the disability determination process is that claimants are not allowed to explain or argue their case to the disability examiner. Once a claim is denied, the applicant’s only real choice is to give up the claim or to appeal the decision, and the first appeal, a request for reconsideration, also decided by DDS, is likely to fail as well (85% of them do).
However, people with lupus are much more likely to be approved for disability benefits at the second level of appeal, a hearing before an administrative law judge. During a hearing a claimant or the claimant’s legal representative can explain to the judge the nature of the illness, how it is expected to progress, and how it has affected the claimant’s ability to sustain gainful employment.
DDS, by contrast, does not provide this opportunity to those with lupus or any other condition, so it is really not surprising that so many disability claims that are denied by DDS are later approved by a federal judge at a hearing.
Additional information about the federal disability system may be found here: Questions about Applying for Social Security Disability or SSI.
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Disability Secrets
Tim Moore
919-749-8853
www.disabilitysecrets.com
Tim Moore
919-749-8853
www.disabilitysecrets.com
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