You may be wondering whether you qualify for getting Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or not. To be eligible for obtaining disability benefits by the Social Security Administration, you must have worked for some years and been properly paid into the social security administration system.
Some of the outlines given by SSA specify that the age of a person and the number of years he or she has worked determine whether he or she will qualify for SSDI or not. As specified by SSA, the people who are of age 31 to 42 years must have earned a credit of 20 and have worked for 5 years before they become disabled.
What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
If you are having a chromatic inflammatory disorder and it is having a severe impact on your joints and other parts of the body, then that condition will likely be called rheumatoid arthritis. In some cases, the disorder can completely damage many of the body systems including the eyes, lungs, blood vessels, skin, and heart.
Some people might suffer from an autoimmune disorder that affects the immune system of the body thereby damaging the tissues of the body and this can be considered a severe kind of rheumatoid arthritis. Mostly, rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining in the joints which causes swelling and pain. The outcome of the condition is bone erosion and deformity in the joints.
The fundamental cause of the damage of other parts of the body in rheumatoid arthritis is inflammation. In today’s scenario, medical science has developed enormously, yet, if rheumatoid arthritis is an acute one, then it might cause physical disability in an individual.
People might identify RA with the early symptoms such as swelling in joints or tender joints mostly seen in toes and fingers. And then as you reach an advanced stage of RA, the pain might affect your wrists, hips, shoulders, and even your knees. Therefore, it is often necessary that rheumatoid arthritis be properly treated as soon as it is diagnosed by the doctor so that it does not become more severe.
Is Rheumatoid Arthritis A Disability?
The answer to this question is yes, rheumatoid arthritis can qualify as a disability by the Social Security Administration (SSA). You will likely be able to get the disability benefits if you are suffering from acute rheumatoid arthritis on a condition that you must meet the criteria which are listed in the blue book of the SSA.
Blue Book is a manual in which there is a list of disabilities that qualifies an individual for attaining the benefits. When an individual sends an application, an SSA representative considers your disability for rheumatoid arthritis application and analyzes whether it matches with arthritis stated in the listing of the blue book.
If your rheumatoid arthritis has prevented you from working for at least 12 months or more than that, then the SSA will likely find you eligible and approve you for getting disability benefits.
Can You Get A Disability for Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Although, there is not any particular listing specified in the blue book for Rheumatoid Arthritis disability a person can still gain the benefits if he or she meets all the medical requirements specified for inflammatory arthritis. Some of the requirements are:
- A claimant must have his detailed medical records;
- A claimant must be able to show the medical history needed to prove the disability claim; and
- A claimant must prove that he or she is not able to work owing to rheumatoid arthritis.
Getting Disability Benefits for Rheumatoid Arthritis
It might happen that the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not confirm that your disability qualifies for getting disability benefits. However, your condition might be severe, which prevents you from doing your work. There may be another way that you can adopt which may qualify you for getting Social Security disability benefits.
An individual can ask his physician to fill out a Residual Functional Capacity Form (RFC) which specifies the condition and states how much a person can work. The RFC process is a complicated one as it requires complete determination of an individual level of work that he or she can perform. This will be certified by a qualified doctor who is treating you. Based on these proofs, the SSA will review your application.
The SSA will then determine if you are capable of doing any other work or if your condition is not letting you accomplish any work. In this case, your doctor can turn out to be your greatest savior as he or she will be responsible for clearly giving medical evidence of your symptoms, will define all your struggles, your adverse reactions to medicines, and how you are doing.
Always make a point to work with your doctor before submitting the RFC as this can help you get the disability benefits and help ensure that your RFC form is filed within the due time. Now, let’s be realistic and show you an exact scenario. The Social Security Administration (SSA) receives a plethora of applications every year and you must not get disheartened to hear that 70% of the disability applications get rejected.
Think in this way that there might be an infinite number of people who are applying for the benefits but how many of them will fill out the form within the allotted time or how many will fill out the form completely or how many will be able to show the necessary medical records. This may give you a sign of relief. So, be the one who applies for the benefits in the right manner within due time along with all the medical evidence, and submit the complete form.
If you find yourself lonely and have no one to help you or guide you in filling the form, then you should consult a Social Security Disability Lawyer who is well versed in handling the disability benefits application process. Lawyers can understand and help increase your chances of successfully being awarded disability benefits.
How Can An Attorney Guide You for Rheumatoid Arthritis Disability
As of now, you know that rheumatoid arthritis can qualify for getting disability benefits when in advanced stages. If you want to prove your claim in front of the Social Security Administration (SSA), then you may need the guidance of an experienced attorney.
There might be a situation that you are not able to qualify for section 14.09 as stated in the blue book of SSA. Then, you can apply for seeking the benefits by using RFC analysis. This can be clearer when you contact an San Diego Disability Attorney.
The attorney who is experienced in handling cases about disability is more likely to have a thorough knowledge of how SSA handles claims in RA. The lawyer will assist you in preparing your complete application, gathering all the vital evidence that will be necessary for proving your claim, getting you ready for the appeals process, and handling the communications that follow that a claimant will get from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Therefore, if you are denied the benefits initially, do not feel demotivated as your lawyer will guide you in the entire application process thereby making a disability appeal process convenient for you.