Social Security

The other day I had a Social Security Disability hearing for a client who suffers from lupus. It is also called or systemic lupus erythmatosus. Lupus is a chronic disorder that involves exacerbations and remissions and involves multiple body systems.

The symptoms of lupus can vary greatly and are oftentimes mistaken for other diseases. Initially patients will suffer from fever, muscle pain, joint pains, malaise and fatigue. There are other symptoms that will diagnose lupus, from dermatological, musculoskeletal and hematological symptoms to cardiac, pulmonary and neurological symptoms. These can vary greatly from thick, scaly rashes and lesions on the skin, extreme joint pain, anemia, low white blood cell count and inflammation of organs, to pulmonary hypertension and hemorrhage, as well as the presence of excess red blood cells or serum proteins in the urine. There are many, many other signs and symptoms of the disease and nearly 10 percent of those affected by lupus will have seizures or psychosis.

Often after winning a case or even while a case is pending, a client will ask how much will I get paid monthly from the social security administration? The dollar amount Social Security Disability or SSi benefits an individual will get depends on how much that individual worked in the past and earned during that time or in the case of SSi it depends on the individual's claim circumstances. For disabled widow's, it depends on how much the spouse earned and for a disabled child, it depends on how much the parent earned.

From start to finish, Social Security Disability claims can take from one to two years in Michigan. Unfortunately, during this time it is possible for a claimant to pass away while his/her case is pending. This has happened twice in the past few months. What happens to his/her claim if this happens? Underpayments in disability claims follow very specific rules and differ depending of whether the claim is for SSD or SSI benefits.

Social Security has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet disability standards.

Compassionate allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical information. Compassionate allowances allow Social Security to quickly target the most obviously disabled individuals for allowances based on objective medical information that we can obtain quickly.

We recently had a client who was clearly disabled because she suffered from bad seizures. When we went to the hearing the Social Security Judge would only focus on the fact that the client was an alcoholic and not her physical disabilities. The Client was disabled enough to win her case, but lost the case because she continued to drink in excessive amounts. The Judge felt that if she was so disabled she should not be drinking so much.

Sleep-related breathing disorders are evaluated under the category of impairments known as the Respiratory System –– Medical Listing 3.10. Sleep-related breathing disorders (sleep apneas) are caused by periodic cessation of respiration associated with hypoxemia and frequent arousals from sleep. Depending on severity, the disturbed sleep pattern and associated chronic nocturnal hypoxemia causes daytime sleepiness with chronic pulmonary hypertension and/or disturbances in cognitive function. Because daytime sleepiness can affect memory, orientation and personality, a longitudinal treatment record may be needed to evaluate mental functioning. Daytime somnolence may be associated with a disturbance in cognitive function, and is then evaluated under the criteria established for organic mental disorders. There also may be a physiologic basis for the sleep-related breathing impairment attributable to chronic cor pulmonale secondary to chronic pulmonary hypertension, which requires documentation by signs and laboratory findings of right ventricular overload or failure. The medical evidence of record should establish that cor pulmonale is chronic and irreversible.

The government says there will be no increase in Social Security benefits next year, the second year in a row without an increase for more than 58 million retirees and disabled Americans.

The Social Security Administration said Friday that inflation has been too low since the last increase in 2009 to warrant one for 2011. The announcement marks only the second year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted in 1975. The first year was this year.

Age can be a factor when it comes to deciding the outcome of your Social Security Disability case. Social Security has to consider age, because that is what the Social Security Act requires. As people get older, they become less adaptable, less able to switch to different jobs to cope with health problems. A severe back injury which might cause a 25 year old to switch to a job in which he or she can sit down most of the time, whereas a 60 year old person who could not make the adjustment to a different type of work.

When you apply for Social Security Disability benefits, there is a good chance that your application will be denied. Frequently deserving cases will be denied because the Social Security claims agent does not have medical records or other documentation to fully evaluate your claim.

If you are denied, do not give up. You can and should appeal your denial by filing a request for reconsideration within 60 days after receiving your denial. If your reconsideration appeal is also denied, you can and should request a hearing before a Social Security judge. Here, too, you have 60 days to file an appeal.

About 22 million people in the United States are sufferers of asthma with roughly 6 million of those being children. Asthma is a type of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the breathing or bronchial tubes . Muscles in the bronchial tubes constrict due to irritation, which can be an innate problem or can be caused by inhaling certain substances. In addition to constriction, inflammation causes swelling and excess mucus that further narrows the bronchial tubes. The combination of constricting muscles and inflammation obstructs the flow of air in the lungs. Asthmatic attacks can cause shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, and coughing.