Can You Get Disability If You Have Copd

Strokes And Breathing Problems

Strokes are frequently adjudicated by the Social Security Administration. See Can I Get Social Security Disability Benefits After a Stroke? However, most of the time the treating sourceeven if a neurologistdoes not consider the possibility of a breathing deficit resulting from the stroke. However, paralysis of half of the diaphragm is a definite possibility with resultant decreased ability to ventilate the lungs. Because treating sources, or consulting neurologists paid by the Social Security Administration, usually do not specifically address the possibility of diaphragmatic paralysis, SSA adjudicators are also likely to not even think of the possibility. Claimants themselves, following a stroke, may have thinking difficulties and neurological problems that occupy their attention as well as the attention of their family. The claimant cannot be counted on to mention breathing difficultyespecially since he or she may not even have symptoms in a resting state. The Social Security Administration adjudicator should ask to treating doctors, especially neurologists, regarding possible breathing deficits in post-stroke patients.

What Is Classed As Severe Copd

Very severe COPD. You are breathless all the time and it severely limits everyday activities, such as dressing and undressing. At the most severe stage of COPD, quality of life is significantly reduced because of ongoing shortness of breath. Trouble breathing may even be life-threatening during some episodes.

How Do I File A Long Term Disability Insurance Claim

When you require long term disability insurance, you must first speak with your insurer or employer to get a better understanding of your individual policy. From there, you will file your claim within 180 days. When you file a claim, you should always include doctors opinions, MRI results, medical records and more. In these opinions, your doctor must stress exactly how your medical condition impacts your daily life. Your attorney and doctor must make a clear case to your insurance company that you are unable to return to work. An attorney will walk you through every step of the process so you can ensure you present all the necessary documentation to help prove your claim.

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How Does The Social Security Administration Decide If I Qualify For Disability Benefits For Lung Disease

If you have lung disease, Social Security disability benefits may be available. To determine whether you are disabled by your breathing problems, the Social Security Administration first considers whether your lung disease is severe enough to meet or equal a listing at Step 3 of the Sequential Evaluation Process. See Winning Social Security Disability Benefits for Lung Disease by Meeting a Listing. If you meet or equal a listing because of lung disease, you are considered disabled. If your breathing problems are not severe enough to equal or meet a listing, Social Security Administration must assess your residual functional capacity , to determine whether you qualify for benefits at Step 4 and Step 5 of the Sequential Evaluation Process. See Residual Functional Capacity Assessment for Lung Disease.

Symptoms Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Shortness of breath is a common symptom of someone with COPD. Additional symptoms include wheezing, fatigue, lung infections, and coughs with mucus. Although not entirely curable, COPD can be treated. By quitting smoking, exercising, taking prescribed medication, or undergoing lung transplantation, one can minimize COPD symptoms and get back to living a normal and healthy life.

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Can I Get Social Security Disability Benefits For Copd

I am currently working on a New Orleans social security disability application for a client with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . I thought it would be good to discuss how a disability claim for COPD is evaluated by SSA under the listings.

COPD is a listing level disease. It is a Respiratory Impairment. It is listed at Listing 3.02. This means that if your medical records establish the requirements set forth in the listing then your disability application should be approved at Step 3 of the Sequential Evaluation Process. This is important because if your COPD meets the requirements in the listing, then SSA does not have to evaluate whether or not your COPD prevents you from performing past relevant work or work generally available in the national economy.

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What Are Lung Function Tests

The most important information the SSA needs when evaluating your claim for disability based on your lung disease are the results of x-rays, physical exams, and spirometry tests that show the extent of your lung disease. Without this information, the SSA will likely not accept the results of any other tests performed to prove that your respiratory disorder is disabling.

The SSA has specific requirements for the medical tests used to evaluate your respiratory disorder. One lung function test is a spirometry test, which measures your forced expiratory volume, or the amount of air you can breathe out. Although you may have undergone a spirometry test to evaluate your lung capacity, the SSA will likely send you to a doctor they have hired to re-administer the test. This is because the standards set by the SSA are high when considering the validity of spirometry exams. Also, the SSA will not consider outcomes of arterial blood gas tests or spirometry tests that were performed while you were acutely ill with diseases like pneumonia.

It is important that you put forth your best effort when undergoing a spirometry test, because the SSA doctor giving you the test will make a notation if he or she believes you have not. If the SSA orders its own spirometry test, it will take longer to decide your claim.

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Cumulative Effect Of Significant Restrictions

To be eligible for the DTC under cumulative effect, the person needs to meet all of the following criteria:

• The person is significantly restricted in 2 or more of the basic activities of daily living or in vision and one or more of the basic activities of daily living even with appropriate therapy, medication, and devices.
• These significant restrictions exist together at least 90% of the time.
• The cumulative effect of these significant restrictions is equal to being in one basic activity of daily living.

You cannot include the time spent on life-sustaining therapy.

Ssa Medical Standards: How Copd Qualifies For Disability Benefits

Before we discuss how you qualify with COPD, lets go over the general eligibility requirements which apply to all claimants. Your claim will not be approved unless you satisfy the following criteria:

• You must be severely disabled, meaning you are unable to work (or can only work in a very limited capacity contrary to popular belief, you can work and receive disability.
• Your monthly earnings must not exceed the income limits specified by the SSA. If they do, the SSA will conclude that you are well enough to support yourself through steady work, and therefore do not qualify for disability benefits.

• Your condition must either:

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What If My Copd Claim For Social Security Disability Benefits Is Denied

Your Social Security Disability attorney can appeal your case, including at the Request for Reconsideration level or before an administrative law judge, if your claim is denied. Some firms, like Disability Law Group, specialize in claims beyond the administrative hearing level, to include appeals before the Appeals Council and US District Court level. In preparation for an appeal, your attorney will prepare you for testimony and brief or legal memorandum, and and present additional arguments and evidence proving your inability to work:

Medical Conditions That Qualify For The Disability Tax Credit

Any Canadian, of any age, who has a significant health condition, may qualify for the Disability Tax Credit. BMD specializes in helping Canadians with health conditions to obtain credits that they are due. The Disability Tax Credit can often bring over $25,000 to qualifying claimants. Disabled Canadians as well as those less affected, who have health conditions and are restricted in their daily abilities can benefit! Many Canadians with medical conditions qualify for this income tax benefit and are simply not aware that they do. BMD Services helps Canadians with Disabilities, as well as those with lesser restrictions obtain their tax benefits. These refunds are important to those who qualify as these can equal $25,000 in a lump sum, as well as $2,500 per year for current and future tax years.

Some common conditions that regularly qualify are:

• Slowed Walking
• Memory Loss, Confusion, Alzheimers, Dementia, Depression, ADHD

See our list of other common medical conditions that qualify for the DTC.

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Can You Receive Disability Benefits If You Have Copd

Millions of Americans face Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease every year. It can be a pain to live with, but you can qualify for social security disability benefits, which can help make life a little easier. There are many treatments that can help you, so do not think that your disease is a lost cause.

COPD is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that prevents air from going into the lungs. It is extremely common among 40 to 60 year old adults. More than three million people in the United States get this disease per year. The principal cause is tobacco smoking, but people can acquire it when they are exposed to burning fuel fumes and from heating from poorly ventilated homes.

Symptoms often do not show up until significant damage has occured to the lungs. Some symptoms of are:

Shortness of breath

ABG test

Oxygen saturation test

If you have been to the hospital at least three times in the last year due to this condition, each trip lasting at least 48 hours and occurring at least 30 days apart, then you will be approved for disability.

How Do I Apply for Benefits?

There are a couple options for you to apply:

Call the Social Security Office. Their phone number is 1-800-772 1213.

Apply online at https://www.ssa.gov/applyfordisability/.

Talk do a disability attorney if you feel overwhelmed by the process and want to make sure you are properly applying for disability benefits.

Common Conditions

Eligibility Criteria For Disability Tax Credit For Copd

To be eligible for this tax credit, a person must be impaired for over the period of one full year. They can also be eligible if they have difficulty in one of the following daily life activities, such as walking. For a walking impairment, the patient must be unable to walk 100m or it must take them an inordinate amount of time to do so due to shortness of breath.

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Can I Get A Disability Check For Copd

Are you over 50 years old? There are special rules that may apply to your claim that can result in a finding of disability even if there is some other work you could perform on a full-time basis. An experienced Social Security disability lawyer will be familiar with these rules and can ensure that they are considered in the evaluation of your case

Having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can be a daily struggle, not just physically but also financially. You may truly deserve assistance, so dont be discouraged by the rigorous evaluation process of the SSA.

Contact A Social Security Disability Attorney At 512

Refractory asthma is asthma that does not respond to normal asthma medications.

The bronchial airways tighten and swell. Medications can open the airways and return the lungs to normal breathing, but in refractory asthma, medications typically used to treat asthma fail to reverse tightening and swelling in the airways.

Common symptoms of COPD include:

• Shortness of breath and increased breathlessness
• Wheezing
• Swelling in lower legs

COPD occurs in four stages.

In the first stage, mild COPD, airflow is limited, but not very noticeable and the individual coughs up mucus only once in a while. In the moderate stage, airflow becomes more restricted and the individual experiences shortness of breath after activity. When COPD becomes severe, the person is unable to perform normal exercise without shortness of breath and other symptoms become more frequent. COPD is very severe when airflow is limited, and flareups become regular and intense, directly impacting the individuals quality of life.

COPD is often not diagnosed until the disease has become advanced.

A doctor will first review a patients medical history and exposure to cigarette smoke and other pollutants.

Several tests are employed in diagnosis:

Though there is no cure, most people with COPD have a mild form, and therapy can manage symptoms, allowing individuals to live a normal life.

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Can I Get Disability For Copd

If you have been diagnosed with COPD and you are unable to maintain your employment, you may qualify for SSDI benefits. The Social Security Administration has a Blue Book listing to evaluate COPD claims, Listing 3.02. If you review the listing, you will see it is very complicated. Having a supportive doctor and attorney on your side can be helpful. Your doctor may be able to review the listing and compare it to your records. They may be able to make an educated guess on whether you will automatically meet the listing, or if you may need to fight harder for your disability benefits.

In order to approve your claim for benefits, SSA needs to see medical evidence of your breathing difficulties, despite adhering to prescribed treatment.

Sometimes, people think that being prescribed oxygen should result in an automatic disability approval. The truth is, the prescription of oxygen doesnt result in an automatic finding of disability. In that case, SSA needs to see why oxygen has been prescribed. They need to see what kind of testing has been done, such as spirometry and pulse oximetry. SSA will also review your file to see if you have been hospitalized.

Contact Gillette Law Group

You can pursue a highly effective disability application with our help at the Gillette Law Group. We can provide the experienced legal service you need to make your disability claim much more likely to get approved just as we have successfully served numerous applicants over the years.

Whether this is your first time applying or if you are in the process of an appeal, let us assist you. Consult with us for free by calling 873-2604 today.

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What Are The General Requirements For Disability

Even if you meet the listing requirements for disability approval, the SSA must make several determinations to evaluate your basic eligibility for disability: you cannot earn more than $1,310 a month from working and your emphysema must prevent you from working for at least 12 months.

There are two types of benefits: SSI and SSDI. SSI is intended for people with a limited work history and limited financial resources. For more information on the financial requirements of SSI, see our section on SSI eligibility.

SSDI is available to people with a qualifying work history, where you and your employer paid taxes to the SSA for a number of years. For more information, see our section on SSDI eligibility.

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How A Disability Lawyer Can Help You

The disability claims process is complex. An attorney will be familiar with all the steps of having a claim approved and will know the best way to proceed with your claim.

Your lawyer will be able to review the details of your claim and determine if you have adequate evidence or if more supporting documentation must be gathered to get your claim on the right track.

Most disability claims are denied on the initial review, and the highest chance of having a claim approved is when you reach the hearing level.

A study by the Government Accountability Office shows that disability claimants who were represented by a lawyer were three times more likely to be awarded disability benefits than claimants who did not.

When you should hire a lawyer depends on the specifics surrounding your situation and where you are in the claims process. You will definitely want to be represented by a lawyer when you reach the hearing level.

When go to the hearing, you will be questioned by a judge. An attorney can prepare you for questioning and review all the files to determine if everything is in order for a successful claim.

After all, your lawyer will not be paid until you win your claim and are approved for benefits. At that time, your attorney will receive a portion of your backpay.

Complete the Free Case Evaluation Form so someone with a disability lawyers office can review the details of your claim and determine how to proceed with your disability claim for COPD.

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What Happens If I Dont Meet The Criteria For Disability Benefits But I Have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease And Am Unable To Work

If you suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD, you know how difficult it can be to work. When breathing is impaired, working at your job at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, may be next to impossible. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration recognizes COPD as a disability and will grant benefits to some applicants. If you do not qualify based on the criteria for the listing for this condition, you can still qualify if you are able to demonstrate that COPD makes it so that you cannot work to earn a living.