Diseases & Illnesses
The Social Security Administration is required to consider any “medically determinable impairment”, physical and/or mental, in their evaluation of whether you are disabled. This would include any serious disease or illness that you have, in addition to any serious injuries.
Under their regulations, they have created a “Listing of Impairments”, which is fourteen different categories of medical conditions that they use to assess the severity of your medical condition(s). If your condition is documented to meet all of the criteria of a Listing, you are considered to be disabled without further considerations needed. The criteria, though, are very strict.
And, not all conditions are included in the “Listing of Impairments” – including commonly seen conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, RSD/CRPS, and obesity. This does not mean that these conditions will not be considered, but it does indicate that they are often not as “accepted” as other medical conditions.
Candidly, many of my clients are found disabled by illnesses or diseases that do not meet the Listing level of severity. Evaluation of disability is also required to consider the positional limitations that your condition(s) cause, as well as side-effects of the medication you must take, and things like the need to lie down, to frequently use the bathroom or to elevate parts of your body. Also, the combined effects of all your conditions must be included.
The categories in the “Listing of Impairments” (with the commonly seen conditions) are:
1.00 Musculoskeletal System (Herniated disc, degenerative arthritis of joints or the spine, deformed joints, amputation of two limbs, fractured arms or legs that did not solidly heal),
2.00 Special Senses (statutory blindness, loss of peripheral vision, labyrinth disorders, hearing loss) and Speech.
3.00 Respiratory System (COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis).
4.00 Cardiovascular System (Chronic heart failure, coronary artery disease, recurrent arrhythmias, vascular disease, aneurysms)
5.00 Digestive System (peptic ulcers, obstruction of the esophagus, chronic liver disease, ulcerative colitis, severe weight loss).
6.00 Genitourinary Impairments (Kidney disease).
7.00 Hematological Disorders (Chronic anemia, sickle cell, coagulation defects).
8.00 Skin Disorders (Burns, genetic photosensitivity disorders, dermatitis, chronic skin or mucous membrane infections)
9.00 Endocrine System (Thyroid disorders, diabetes).
10.00 Impairments That Affect Multiple Body Systems (Downs’ Syndrome).
11.00 Neurological (Epilepsy, stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, non-cancerous brain tumors, peripheral neuropathy, spinal cord or nerve root injuries. Myasthenia Gravis, syringomyelia) .
12.00 Mental Disorders (Brain injury, psychosis, depression, bipolar, mental retardation, anxiety, somatic disorder, personality disorder, autism).
13.00 Malignant Neoplastic Diseases (Cancer, leukemia, lymphoma).
14.00 Immune System (Lupus, HIV, systemic vasculitis, schleroderma).
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