Blind In One Eye Disability Benefits

Medically Qualifying For Disability Through An Rfc Analysis For Those Who Are Disabled Due To Vision Loss

The SSA reviews blindness or severe vision loss under strict rules of medical eligibility. To prove youre disabled without meeting a listing means you must show your decreased vision or blindness prevents you from working in any job.

This is done through a residual functional capacity analysis or RFC. In an RFC, the SSA looks at your functional limitations, like your inability to drive, read, shop for food, or get around in unfamiliar locations.

These limitations in your everyday life help the SSA understand how youd be limited in performing specific kinds of job duties.

During an RFC, the SSA also looks at your age, job skills, and education level. As a person with severe vision loss that doesnt meet a Blue Book listing, youre more likely to be approved through an RFC analysis under certain circumstances:

• If you have a medical condition that causes progressive vision loss. While your vision may not meet a disability listing now, the SSA can see from your diagnosis that your vision will continue to worsen, eventually reaching the severity level noted in the Blue Book.
• If you are older and have a lower level of education or limited transferable job skills.

Qualifying through an RFC means youre granted a medical vocational allowance. This essentially means the SSA believes you cannot work in any job due to your functional limitations.

Qualifying For Disability With Partial Vision Loss

Of course, not all vision disorders or eye injuries are tantamount to being legally blind. Section 2.00 of the Listing of Impairments, Special Senses and Speech, covers a variety of ocular conditions, including:

• Loss of Visual Acuity
• Contraction in the Visual Fields of the Better Eye
• Loss of Visual Efficiency
• Disturbance of Labyrinthine-Vestibular Function

Notice the difference between loss of visual acuity, and loss of visual efficiency.

There is loss of acuity when the remaining vision in the better eye after best correction is 20/200 or less.

By comparison, loss of efficiency is defined as either:

• A visual efficiency percentage of 20 or less after best correction.
• A visual impairment value of 1.00 or greater after best correction.

The recurring phrase after best correction is also important to note. If naturally poor vision can be brought to normal levels with glasses or contact lenses, you will not be considered disabled by the SSA.

In terms of evaluating a claimants vision, SSA medical examiners may conduct tests and seek documentation including:

• 20-Foot Vision Measurements
• Cycloplegic Refraction

Contact Cannon Disability To Help You Win Benefits

Winning benefits for blindness or visual loss is difficult. However, at Cannon Disability, we have won over $100 million dollars for our clients. We have the experience you need in court to win your vision disability case. No matter where you live, we can help you, because we have clients in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and California.

The visual listing is one of the most complex rules. The SSA also has different rules for the blind with regard to being insured for benefits. Even if you are working on a part time basis, you may still be eligible for SSD benefits if you meet the SSAs visual listing.

Find out more about our lawyers and staff. Some of our staff have worked at our office for more than 20 years. They are experts in filing for benefits and negotiating the Social Security system.

Additionally, our lawyers have also done this type of law for years. Dianna Cannon has been practicing disability law for over 30 years. Brett Bunkall has won hundreds of cases in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and California. Andria Summers has over 19 years of experience helping thousands of people win their benefits. Our lawyers understand the law and we know how to make it work in your favor. Contact us today to hire a disability attorney with the experience to win your case for blindness or visual loss.

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Blind Disability Benefits For Low Vision Individuals: The Medical

Many people who dont qualify for legally blind disability benefits, as discussed above, still cannot work.

Even if Social Security finds you ineligible for legally blind benefits, it will still evaluate whether you suffer fromfunctional occupational limitations due to low vision that could prevent you from working.

If Social Security reviews your medical condition and finds that you cannot return to your previous position and you cannot perform any other suitable work in light of your age, experience, and education, you may remain eligible for benefits for the blind.

If you are facing this situation, retaining a disability benefits attorney with experience in obtaining benefits for legally blind individuals is critical because things can get complicated.

Your Right To Social Security Disability Benefits For Partial Or Complete Blindness

Suffering with vision loss can make life challenging and make it impossible for you to work. If you’re partially, legally, or totally blind, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits through the Social Security Administration .

However, your reduced vision must be significant in order to qualify.

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What Is The Disability Freeze Special Rule

The SSA has a unique rule known as the Disability Freeze. This rule is intended to assist individuals approaching retirement age who have not earned enough work credits to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits in qualifying for greater benefits. It can aid you in qualifying for additional disability compensation, as well as Social Security retirement benefits. When the social security retirement or Disability Benefits for Blindness calculations are made, the years before may be disregarded by SSA.

This is due to the fact that your lifetime earnings are used to calculate your social security disability payments, and the benefits will increase if those years arent taken into account. The Disability Freeze is a regulatory rule that restricts how much money you may receive from Social Security each year. If you want further information on this regulation, consider consulting an SSD attorney.

Will My Blindness Qualify Me For Social Security Disability Or Ssi Benefits

Blindness or loss of vision can be disabling based on Social Security’s rules

Am I likely to get my disability claim approved based on my vision loss?

What process does SSA use to determine if my vision loss qualifies for disability benefits?

Step 1: Non-Medical CriteriaStep 2: Severe ImpairmentStep 3: Medical ListingsStep 4: Past WorkStep 5: Other Work

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Where Do I Apply

Call the Office of the Ombudsman at 877-787-8999, select a language and then select Option 3. You also can submit your request online.

For the Blind Childrens Vocational Discovery and Development Program, you can also email .

For DBMD, contact the interest list at 877-438-5658. For questions about DBMD, please email: .

How Do I Know If Im Eligible For Disability Payments

Social Security administrators define a disability as something preventing you from earning a living for a long time including permanently. Thus, SSDI benefits are not designed for short-term disabilities.

You have to meet three strict qualifications to be determined disabled:

• Youre no longer able to do work you could do before your vision became a problem.

• Your blindness or vision loss prevents you from switching to another kind of work.

• Youll be disabled at least a year .

Theres also a five-step process to scope out the full picture of your disability. If you have no job or income, Social Security forwards your application to your states Disability Determination Service . This service weighs a wide range of factors like your medical history, current diagnosis and severity of your condition.

If youre still working, your income is critical to determining your eligibility for disability benefits. Social Security uses an income standard called substantial gainful activity, or SGA, to sort this out.

If you’re blind or vision-impaired, then youre not eligible for SSDI if your monthly SGA exceeds $2,190 in the year 2021. Though SGA does not apply to SSI benefits if youre blind, SSI eligibility depends on your income and other resources its just measured in a different way.

Remember: You may be eligible for programs beyond SSDI and SSI. The U.S. government website Benefits.gov has a handy Benefit Finder to help you discover all the programs that might be able to help.

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Loss Of Central Visual Acuity

Central visual acuity is how clearly you can see straight ahead. To meet the requirements for Social Security’s listing for loss of visual acuity , the vision in your better eye, when you’re wearing glasses or contacts, must be 20/200 or worse.

This is the standard for what’s called legal blindness, or “statutory blindness,” even though it’s technically only partial blindness. Total blindness qualifies automatically for disability benefits.

Note that if you have one eye with vision worse than 20/200 and one eye with better vision than 20/200 , you won’t qualify under this listing .

Can You Be Blind In One Eye And Disability Benefits

You can be blind and one eye and could qualify for Social Security disability benefits Even if you dont meet the SSAs criteria for blindness, such as being blind in one eye, you may still qualify for Social Security disability benefits if you being blind in one eye makes it impossible for you to work full time.

You can also be blind and one eye and get disability benefits, if you have another severe health ailment with it that prevents you from being able to work full time.

In order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits while being blind in one eye, you need to meet the medical criteria outlined by the SSA and you need to have worked enough from a job where you paid Social Security taxes and earned enough work credits.

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When Can Poor Vision Qualify For Disability Benefits

There are two ways Social Security can approve you for Social Security disability benefits: based on looking at the medical evidence alone and based on looking at medical and vocational evidence.

To evaluate claims based on the medical evidence alone, Social Security has three “listings” in its impairment manual that apply to claims involving loss of vision. These listings deal with the remaining amount of visual acuity and peripheral vision.

If your vision loss doesn’t meet one of Social Security’s listings, you still might be able to get disability benefits based on a “medical-vocational allowance.” This requires you to show that there are really no jobs you can do safely because of your vision loss, taking into account your prior job experience, your age, and your education.

What Eye Problems Qualify For Disability Benefits

Vision is one of our most important senses. The inability to see clearly can interfere with our ability to move around or perform work-related fine motor tasks safely, if at all. That is why individuals who are statutorily blind or have profound vision loss may qualify for social security disability benefits.

The Social Security Administration Blue Book, which includes more than 100 disabling medical conditions, has an entire section devoted to eye disorders. Section 2.00 of the Blue Book defines visual disorders as abnormalities of the eye, the optic nerve, the optic tracts, or the brain that may cause a loss of visual acuity or visual fields. Visual acuity refers to the clarity or sharpness of vision, with a visual acuity of 20/20 considered perfect vision. Visual field refers to peripheral vision.

To qualify for disability benefits due to an eye disorder you must be able to show that the condition is expected to last 12 or more months. For example, you may experience a temporary loss of vision following a brain injury sustained in an accident or have poor vision while awaiting cataracts surgery. In these cases, you would not qualify for disability benefits, even if you were unable to work while waiting for the issue to be resolved, because the vision loss or blindness is not expected to last more than the required 12 months.

Here are common eye problems that may qualify for disability benefits.

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Disability Claims For Vision Loss And Eye Disorders

About 30-40 million people are visually impaired worldwide, with about 50 million people blind in either eye. Loss of vision may result from an injury to the eye or a chronic medical condition. The loss of eyesight can prevent one from being able to perform the duties of their own or any occupation. In such a case, the person may be eligible for long term disability benefits. In order to receive disability benefits, youll need to submit disability claims for vision loss to any disability insurance carriers you have a policy with.

In disability cases where somebody has suffered damage to the eye as a result of a traumatic event, its usually easy to prove disability. However, if the person isnt blind but suffers a chronic eye condition, such as deteriorating glaucoma, cataracts, or macular degeneration, the long term disability insurance carrier may deny the disability claim. If your disability claim for vision loss was denied, dont give up on getting disability benefits. Instead, contact the Ortiz Law Firm for a free consultation. We can help you fight back and win the disability benefits that you rightfully deserve.

Answer A Few Questions To Check Your Eligibility

If you’re partially blind, legally blind, or totally blind, you may be able to qualify for Social Security disability benefits through the Social Security Administration . Social Security has rules about how significant your vision loss must be for it to qualify as a disability. Your vision must be quite poor with glasses or contacts on, and if you have good vision in one eye, you may not qualify for disability benefits.

Age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetes are the most common causes of vision loss. Retinal detachment and retinal disease caused by high blood pressure, lupus, melanoma, or other types of cancer can also lead to a loss in visual acuity.

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Heres how SSA defines blindness : We consider you to be blind if your vision cant be corrected to better than 20/200 in your better eye or if your visual field is 20 degrees or less in your better eye for a period that lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months.. This means that if your vision in ….

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How To Obtain Benefits For The Blind

• The Social Security Administration deems an applicant to be legally blind if his or her vision cannot be improved to better than 20/200 in the better eye. This Social Security Disability Blind In One Eye caveat is especially important.
• The SSA also applies another technical criterion. If an applicant has a visual field limitation in the better eye, he or she may meet the blindness definition. Such field limitations include the subtending of the visual field to an angle less than 20 degrees.
• Some applicants who qualify as blind may still be able to function and move around. In fact, a number of blind claimants use canes and service dogs.
• Applicants who fail to meet the legal definition of blindness may still qualify for benefits. Some applicants can receive social security benefits under the SSAs disabled definition. In some cases, vision problems and disabilities combine to prevent work.

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You can get disabilitybenefits if . you’re blind. You may qualify for SSDI benefits or SSI payments if you’re blind. We consider you to be blind if your vision can’t be corrected to better than 20/200 in your better eye. We also consider you blind if your visual field is 20 degrees or less in your better eye for a period.

Beware Of The Qualifiers: After Best Correction And In Your Better Eye

You will want to understand the qualifiers After Best Correction and In Your Better Eye.

After best correction refers to your vision after everything has been done that can be done to improve it. Typically, this means wearing a pair of glasses. In your better eye means just what it sounds like your better eye.

The implication is that to be eligible for benefits for legally blind individuals, both of your eyes must qualify as legally blind under at least one of the foregoing tests. One good eye can disqualify you.

Even if you do not qualify as legally blind, you will be considered low vision if your vision is impaired. If you have trouble reading or watching your television, you might qualify for benefits for the blind under the SSA Medical-Vocational Allowance .

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Disability Benefits For The Blind

• More helpful links for blindness disability benefits

Whether youre helping somebody with low vision or blindness acquire disability benefits or applying on your own, youll need a lot of patience and determination.

Theres a ton of paperwork to plow through and dozens of rules and regulations to follow. Dont let these obstacles deter you. The American people approved these benefits and all Americans who qualify have a right to receive them.

Disability benefits help people cover the costs of declining vision and loss of eyesight. This guide will explain the steps required to qualify for these payments.

At the start of the process, youre bound to have questions about applying for blindness benefits:

• How much vision loss is required to qualify for disability benefits?

• Which government-funded disability programs for the blind can I sign up for?

• Whats the difference between Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance ?

• How can I tell if Im eligible for disability benefits?

• Which documents do I need to gather to qualify?

• How do I start applying for blindness disability benefits?

• How much money will I get?

• How long will it take for benefits payments to arrive?

• How does having a job affect my benefits?

Lets explore the answers to these questions.