Americans unable to work due to a debilitating medical or mental health condition may be eligible for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). To qualify, your condition must meet the standards for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). A significant qualification for benefits is proving how your condition qualifies as a disability. The process can involve many complexities and frequently results in initial claim denials and subsequent appeals. To ensure thorough and accurate documentation of cancer before filing for SSDI or SSI, schedule a free claim review with an experienced Akron, Social Security disability attorney.
Qualifying for Disability With Cancer
The SSA employs a sequential five-step evaluation process to determine if you qualify for disability due to cancer. If a Social Security adjudicator finds you eligible at any step, they proceed to the next until all five steps confirm that your cancer qualifies as a disability. The SSA’s sequential evaluation process for assessing disability reviews:
- Substantial Gainful Activity: The SSA considers your work activity and earnings against their set standard called Substantial Gain Activity (SGA). When an individual’s earnings fall under the SGA monthly limit, the SSA adjudicator moves on to step two. If it exceeds, your cancer will not qualify as a disability. The SGA amounts change annually.
- Severity of Condition: During the second step, they consider the severity of your cancer. To qualify as severe, the cancer must interfere with your basic work-related activities and be expected to last 12 months or be diagnosed as terminal.
- Meeting Qualifications: In the third step, the SSA adjudicator determines whether your cancer meets or equals the medical criteria detailed in the SSA’s Blue Book of Impairments. A disability lawyer will ensure that treating physicians provide necessary medical documentation. They work with a network of healthcare professionals and expert witnesses who will review your claim before it is submitted.
- Past Relevant Work: At the fourth step, the SSA evaluates your residual functional capacity (RFC) to determine whether you can perform your past relevant work (PRW) duties. This is a function-by-function comparison of your RFC and PRW.
- Work Adjustments: During the fifth and final step, they assess your RFC, age, education, and work experience to determine if any adjustments can help you find an alternative profession. If the adjudicator cannot identify an adjustment to other work, claimants will be deemed disabled.
If the SSA determines you are not disabled at any stage during the sequential five-step evaluation process, they will forgo the following steps and deny your claim. It is highly beneficial for disability claimants to have a qualified Social Security disability lawyer review their case. Attorneys assist you in completing your application and navigating the complex regulations surrounding SSDI and SSI claims.
What Types of Cancer Qualify for Disability?
The Social Security Administration’s Blue Book lists the impairments that qualify for disability, including how they evaluate the medical or mental health condition. When evaluating malignant neoplastic diseases (cancers), they consider origin, extent of involvement, duration, frequency, and response to anticancer therapies, as well as the effects of any post-therapeutic residuals. The SSA’s Blue Book of impairments lists the following forms of cancer:
- Bladder cancer that metastasizes, is inoperable, or recurrent
- Bone cancers that are inoperable or recurrent
- Breast cancer (some types)
- Cervical cancer
- Esophageal or stomach cancers
- Gallbladder cancer
- Kidney or intestinal cancers that are inoperable or recurrent
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Penis cancer metastasized beyond regional lymph nodes
- Prostate cancer that is progressive, recurrent, or metastasizes
- Skeletal system sarcoma
- Skin cancers spreading (metastasizing) beyond localized lymph nodes
- Soft tissue cancers of the head and neck
- Testicular cancer
- Uterine cancer
Cancers treated through bone marrow or stem cell transplantation, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, also qualify as disabilities. If a condition does not meet the outlined medical criteria of any listing, a claimant may still be eligible for benefits. To qualify, they must demonstrate that their cancer is medically equivalent in severity to a listed impairment. An experienced disability lawyer can assist with that often challenging process.
Does Cancer Treatment Qualify As a Disability?
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments experience a devastating range of side effects that may make it impossible to work for some time. You may potentially qualify for disability due to those side effects in extreme circumstances. However, because the side effects of cancer treatments vary and fluctuate, the SSA generally requires extensive medical evidence proving you’re unable to work due to the overwhelming side effects of cancer treatments.
Compassionate Allowances
Compassionate Allowances is an SSA program that streamlines the disability review process for eligible claimants. It promptly recognizes conditions that distinctly meet the Social Security standards and medical criteria for disability benefits. When cancer is severe enough that it obviously qualifies, a lawyer may help you complete your application so the SSA will expedite it for a compassionate allowances condition. Considerations include the type of cancer, as well as where it is located when you first reported symptoms, and what stage it was in when diagnosed.
How an Experienced Disability Lawyer Helps With Claim Approval
An experienced Social Security disability attorney can help with several aspects of the application and appeal process, including accurate claim completion, handling all communications with the SSA, and helping you schedule medical care. Other benefits of a disability lawyer are as follows:
- Evidence Collection: A disability attorney understands the importance of securing solid evidence. They will help collect and ensure documentation of your detailed medical records, functional limitations, and employment history demonstrating when your cancer began to impact your ability to work.
- Preparing for Hearings: Social Security disability attorneys help prepare clients for meetings, including what they can expect and how to present their disability cases. They may conduct mock interviews to prepare you for how to answer questions and ensure a smooth claims approval.
- Appealing Denials: Lawyers assess and gather missing information to strengthen documentation and prepare for appeals. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that claimants with personal representatives, like disability lawyers, were allowed benefits at a rate almost three times higher than those without representation.
Schedule Your Free Consultation With A Disability Attorney
When appeals are denied, a Social Security disability lawyer can file a civil lawsuit and represent your case in court. They will present evidence of cancer disability, rely on expert witness testimony, cross-examine witnesses, and make a strong closing argument for your disability case. Schedule a free consultation with an experienced disability lawyer to get started today.
