Neuropathy Disability Lawyer in California

Neuropathy: Understanding the Condition and Your Disability Benefits

Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income are disability programs through the Social Security Administration. The programs pay monthly cash payments and medical benefits through Medicare or Medicaid when you cannot work due to a medical condition.

If you suffer from numbness, a burning sensation, or shooting pain in your limbs or other parts of the body, you may have neuropathy, a form of nerve damage. You should be evaluated by a physician, preferably a neurologist, who can diagnose the condition and recommend treatment.

Depending upon the severity of your condition and whether it prevents you from working, you may be eligible for Social Security disability for neuropathy. Sackett and Associates has more than four decades of experience providing outstanding representation to people in Northern California and throughout the United States with disability claims for neuropathy and other physical and mental health impairments.

Is Neuropathy A Disability? A Comprehensive Guide to Symptoms and Treatment

A network of nerves throughout the body, which you’ll hear your doctor reference as the peripheral nervous system, carries signals between various body parts and the central nervous system composed of the brain and spinal cord. Damage to peripheral nerve cells interferes with the transmission of the signals and is called peripheral neuropathy.

Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy could include the following:

1. Numbness
2. Muscle weakness or twitching
3. Loss of sensation or feeling
4. Tingling
5. Cramps
6. Emotional disturbances
7. Sleep disturbance
8. Loss of balance
9. Breathing difficulty
10. Irregular heart rate
11. Dizziness, fainting, or feeling lightheaded
12. Lack of bladder control

Depending on the cause of the neuropathy and the part of the body it affects, the symptoms can vary in type and severity.

Types And Causes Of Neuropathy

There are many causes of neuropathy as a disabling condition. It can be inherited from your parents, or an injury could cause it. A medical condition, such as shingles, cancer, diabetes, or autoimmune disorders may cause it. About one-half of people with diabetes develop symptoms of neuropathy.

Medical professionals have identified four primary categories of peripheral neuropathy:>

1. Motor Neuropathy: Caused by damage to nerve cells controlling muscle movement. If you have motor neuropathy, it could result in an inability to control or coordinate movement of your limbs and the ability to speak.
2. Sensory Neuropathy: The sense of touch and ability to feel pain are characteristics of sensory neuropathy.
3. Autonomic Nerve Neuropathy: Perhaps the most dangerous category of neuropathy because it affects bodily functions, such as the ability to breathe and the beating of your heart.
4. Combination Neuropathies: Different categories of neuropathy may occur simultaneously. The most common is the combination of motor and sensory neuropathies.

If the symptoms you have are severe enough to be disabling and prevent you from working, you may qualify for disability benefits through SSDI or SSI.

Medical Records Supporting Disability Claims For Neuropathy

If you experience any symptoms associated with neuropathy, make an appointment with your physician or other health care provider for an examination. Chances are that you’ll be asked about your medical history and given a physical exam. Your health care provider performs tests to aid in diagnosing the condition and extent of the nerve damage, including:

1. Blood and spinal fluid tests
2. CT scans
3. MRIs
4. Electromyography or EMG and nerve conduction studies

Social Security claims examiners want to see medications and other forms of treatment included in the medical records. Although peripheral neuropathy usually cannot be cured, if the condition is caused by diabetes or other underlying disease, treating the disease may prevent a worsening of the neuropathy or lessen the disabling effects of the symptoms. Sackett Law disability lawyers know that Social Security may deny claims for SSDI and SSI for neuropathy for claimants who refuse to take prescribed medications that could lessen the disabling symptoms.

Claiming Disability For Neuropathy

Applications claiming disability for neuropathy go through a sequential five-step evaluation process to determine if you qualify:

1. Substantial Gainful Activity: If you earn more than $1,550 a month in 2024, you are capable of substantial gainful activity (SGA) and are not disabled according to the SSA definition.
2. Medical Severity: If your medically determinable physical or mental impairment is not expected to last for at least 12 months or cause death, it is not severe, and you are not disabled.
3. Listing Of Impairments Or Blue Book: Social Security disability claim examiners use a listing of impairments and determine if your medical condition meets or equals the criteria of a listing. Medical conditions that meet the criteria are severe, and you are disabled.
4. Residual Function Capacity (RFC): Do the limitations imposed by your medical condition keep you from doing relevant work you did in the past? If they do, examiners move to the next and last step in the process.
5. Ability To Adapt: If your RFC and age, education, skills, and work experience do not allow you to adjust to other types of work, you are disabled.

The last two steps consider whether you can do common work-related activities, such as sitting, standing, lifting objects, walking, and using stairs.

Sackett Law Can Help

If you cannot work because of neuropathy, the disability lawyers at Sackett Law can help.  Claiming disability for neuropathy is not easy, but our team of outstanding disability lawyers has helped people with neuropathy disability eligibility for more than four decades. From filing the initial application to challenging claim denials through the appeal process, Sackett Law is the disability law firm that people in Northern California and throughout the country trust to provide them with trustworthy advice and legal representation. Contact us today for a free consultation and claim evaluation.