What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition that affects people who do not produce enough insulin. Many times it can be treated or controlled with medication, or sometimes diet. However, there are cases where it cannot be controlled, especially as people get older or suffer from the condition for a prolonged period of time. Diabetes can lead to loss of vision, neuropathy, amputation, and other major medical problems. Diabetes also generally coincides with other conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, liver damage, kidney damage, and heart failure, therefore, even if your diabetes is not severe enough on its own to make you eligible for Social Security Disability, another condition related to your diabetes could be.
How Does Social Security View Diabetes?
When Social Security looks at the severity of your condition to determine if you are medically eligible for the benefit or not, they look at two main criteria. The two main questions Social Security asks are whether your condition meets or equals a listing, or whether your condition affects your ability to do certain tasks so much that you can no longer perform any kind of work competitively.
Listings: Listings are 14 different types of conditions, that if you meet the exact criteria Social Security has set up, you will be considered medically eligible for Disability.
Because diabetes can cause so many other related health problems it is not covered under only one listing. Below we will some of the listings that deal with diabetes, but for a more in-depth look at your case and whether or not it could possibly meet a disability listing you should call our office and speak with an attorney today at 1-800-488-4775.
Diabetic Retinopathy (Listing 2.00) – Diabetes can seriously affect your ability to see, if you have diabetes and your vision continually worsens over time, you may meet the disability listing for diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic nephropathy (Listing 6.06)
Diabetes has long been linked to kidney disease, kidney disease can cause your body to no longer filter and produce hormones correctly which can cause a great deal of health problems; many times the treatment for kidney problems may be disabling by themselves.
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (Listing 11.14)
Diabetes usually causes damage to the nerves in the hands, feet, and legs. This nerve damage can make it extremely difficult to walk, stand, or even use your hands and feet effectively.
Other Diabetes relates listings include amputation (Listing 1.05), Cardiovascular Conditions (Listing 4.02, 4.12, and 4.05), and Skin and Bacterial Infections (Listing 8.04).
Functional Ability:
If you do not meet the listing for a condition, or if a specific listing does not exist for your condition, you can still win your case if you show that you are unable to do any sort of competitive work due to your condition.
Many people are discouraged when they hear that their condition may not exactly meet a listing, and they think that their case has no shot, but this is not the case. Most people who are awarded benefits because of diabetes win by proving that their diabetes affects their ability to function on a day-to-day basis.
To prove your case based on your functional ability you have to show that your specific diabetes keeps you from being able to perform any type of work on a full-time competitive basis. The best way to do this is by showing how your diabetes affects your ability to stand for long periods of time, sit for long periods of time, walk long distances, bend, or lift heavy objects.
The best way to show how your diabetes limits your ability to do these types of activities is by having your attorney and your doctor work together to explain the effect on your body. We create specialized medical assessment forms for your doctors to fill out and work directly with your doctors to explain how your condition affects you to the judge.
Call our office today and see if you qualify:
While we provide the information above about Social Security Disability benefits so that you will better understand if you are eligible, the best way to check your eligibility is by calling our office and speaking to one of our client service representatives today. You may reach our office toll free at 1-800-488-4775.