In evaluating a disability claim, Social Security adjudicators must determine your residual functional capacity (RFC), that is, the most you can do despite your limitations. The Social Security Administration classifies work exertions as very heavy, heavy, medium,...
In the final step of the disability evaluation process, Social Security Administration must consider your age along with your education, past work experience, and residual functional capacity to see if you can make an adjustment to other work in the national economy. ...
Pets can often be of great service to disabled individuals. Some pets are designated as service animals to detect onset of seizures for people with epilepsy or assist the deaf and blind in navigating a hearing and seeing world. Others can relieve stress and anxiety or...
The medicalization of transgender identity has long been a controversial topic, in part due to concerns about further stigmatization of a marginalized group. In 2013, the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) was updated to drop...
Skin disorders can affect an individual’s ability to work, sometimes to the extent that maintaining substantial gainful activity is impossible. In determining whether an individual meets the severity requirements for disability based on a skin condition, Social...
As disability attorneys, we have all witnessed the difficulties faced by our clients. Some clients have limited education and a poor understanding of the world in which we live. They are often rightfully angry about the hand they were dealt in life. While some people...
To prevail on a Social Security Disability claim, the claimant must prove an inability to engage in substantial gainful activity, which the Administration generally defines as “work activity that involves doing significant physical or mental activities… [and] is the...
A medical disability can severely limit an individual’s exertional capacity to work. Exertional capacity addresses an individual’s limitations and restrictions of physical strength and defines the individual’s remaining ability to perform activities in the areas of...
Many people recognize that a disability can impose exertional restrictions on performing physical activities at work. However, the inability to work does not just depend on exertional limitations. A medical impairment or combination of impairments can also affect...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term for a series of respiratory disorders that prevent proper breathing. The most common COPD conditions are asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. These conditions can occur separately, together, or in...
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic condition in which the heart cannot adequately pump (systolic) or fill (diastolic). While chronic heart failure can make it difficult to maintain full-time employment, the loss of income caused by an inability to work can be...
The thyroid creates hormones that tell the body’s cells how much energy to use, thus regulating your metabolism. While at first glance a thyroid disorder may not be disabling, disorders of the thyroid can affect changes in other body systems which may warrant a...
An assistive device is any equipment that you use to improve your stability, dexterity, or mobility. An assistive device can be worn (i.e., a prosthesis or orthosis), used in a seated position (i.e., a wheelchair or rollator), or hand-held (i.e., a walker, cane, or...
Sarcoidosis is a rare condition characterized by the formation of small lumps of inflamed tissue called granulomas. It can occur at any time of life and affect people of all ethnic backgrounds, though it is more frequent in African American and Scandinavian adults...
All disability claims require medical evidence to prove that a medical impairment prevents a claimant from working. For claims based on mental health impairments such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety, medical records may often refer to...
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