SSDI for Specific Disabilities

Social Security Disability Insurance helps people unable to work. In order to receive the benefits, you have to prove your disability prevents you from keeping a job. This can be easier with more commonly-known impairments. But what if your disability is less common? Can you get SSDI for an unusual medical problem?

The SSA Blue Book of Impairments

The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses something called the Blue Book of Impairments. The SSA considers the disabilities on this list severe enough to make someone eligible for disability.

Many of the disabilities listed are chronic and permanent. Some might result in death. For example:

  • Cancer
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Chronic heart failure
  • Liver disfunction
  • Kidney failure
  • and of course many more.

If your disability falls on this list, you may have an easier application process. However, even including these impairments, the vast majority of applicants get denied the first time around. Yes, even cancer patients sometimes get denied.

If your condition should be obvious, you definitely don’t want an extra wait time. An experienced SSDI attorney can help you get past these frustrating hurdles.

SSDI for Conditions Not in the Blue Book

The Blue Book doesn’t include every disability that could keep a person from working. Some medical groups and patients have lobbied for their conditions to be included for years. Yet the book still doesn’t list them. For example:

  • Lyme disease
  • Certain bacterial infections
  • Certain thyroid disorders
  • Even narcolepsy.

If you’ve ever met someone with Lyme disease, you know it can be completely debilitating. And if a person suffers from narcolepsy, their condition could be fatal in certain job conditions. Surely we can all agree we don’t want someone with severe narcolepsy driving an 18-wheeler. But what if that’s the only job he’s ever been certified to do?

Fortunately, the SSA takes all of this into account.

If you have a condition outside of the Blue Book, you can still successfully apply for SSDI. You have to prove the impairment leaves you unable to work, and you have to show how. You’ll need:

  • Testimony from doctors
  • Complete medical records
  • A well-prepared work history
  • and more.

As an experienced SSDI attorney, I can help with all of this. You can get SSDI for an unusual medical problem, but you’ll need to make sure you have a strong application without any holes. That can be nearly impossible to prepare all on your own, because you don’t necessarily know exactly what the SSA wants to see.

Our Memphis SSDI attorneys will help prepare your disability application and your appeal, so you have the best possible chance of getting benefits for your disability.

Contact us today to talk with a disability attorney for free about your situation. We look forward to answering your questions.