Arthritis is a disabling medical condition that afflicts more than 25% of Americans. If you have an arthritis disability that prevents you from performing the activities needed to work, you may be eligible for arthritis disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Although it is the most frequently listed cause of disability by people filing claims through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs, fewer than one-third of the applications are approved for benefits. The claimants whose applications for benefits are denied either give or retain the services of an arthritis disability benefits attorney to challenge the denial through the disability appeal process.
The disability lawyers at Disability Partners, PLLC, believe that giving up when your financial wellbeing is at stake is a mistake. Instead, you need to fight for the benefits that you need, deserve, and may have been denied because of a weak application that did not have the medical evidence to support your claim for benefits.
The Listing of Impairments maintained by the SSA contains medical conditions, including arthritis, considered as being severe enough to meet the definition for disability that Social Security claim examiners use. You must meet specific criteria in order to match a listing impairment.
For instance, if your doctors diagnosed you as having inflammatory arthritis, you must meet at least one of the following requirements to match the listing impairment:
It’s a complicated process, but an experienced arthritis disability benefits lawyer understands the listings and how to present strong and well-documented claims.
If you have arthritis that does not meet the listing criteria, it does not mean that you cannot be approved for benefits for arthritis disability. Social Security will arrange for a residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment to be done to determine whether your medical condition prevents you from doing a type of work that you did in the past. If it does, the SSA uses the RFC along with your age, training, work experience and education to determine if your impairment allows you to adjust to doing any other type of work. An inability to do past types of work or adjust to other types of work may qualify you for arthritis disability benefits.
When you rely upon an arthritis disability benefits lawyer to handle your claim, you have someone with an outstanding knowledge of the law, regulations and procedures that apply to SSI and SSDI claims. Contact Disability Partners, PLLC, to arrange for a free consultation to discuss your arthritis disability claim with one of our lawyers.