Social Security Administration Listings of Impairment
When you apply for Social Security Disability Benefits it is important to know what rules and regulations the Social Security Administration will use to determine whether you are disabled. It is also important to know that unless you can provide medical documentation of your disability, your chances of obtaining benefits are almost nonexistent. The Social Security Administration will collect all your medical records. They will ask you and loved ones to supply written statements about your disability and your activities of daily living. They will ask you to see a doctor or doctors they have contracts with to determine the extent of your disabilities.
Once they have this information the Social Security Administration will look to their rules and regulations to determine if the disability you are able to document meets a Listing of Impairment. The listing of Impairments is exactly what it sounds like. It is a list of injuries, illnesses and/or problems. If you have one of the listed disabilities, and it is severe enough, then you will be found to be disabled. The “severe enough” part of the equation is just as important as the “do you have a listed disability” part. Let’s take an example, diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that affects different people differently . Some peoples high blood sugar can be controlled by diet and exercise. If this fails, some peoples diabetes can be controlled with oral medication. If this fails the patient is prescribed injectable insulin. Some people, despite taking their insulin develop problems with their feet, hand, eyes, heart or kidneys. So you are starting to understand that the more severe the diabetes the more likely the person is to be found disabled.
There are 14 categories for listings of impairments. They are:
1:00 Musculoskeletal System
2:00 Special Senses and Speech
3:00 Respiratory System
4:00 Cardiovascular System
5:00 Digestive System
6:00 Genitourinary System
7:00 Hematological System
8:00 Skin Disorders
9:00 Endocrine System
10:00 Multiple Body Systems
11:00 Neurological
12:00 Mental Disorders
13:00 Malignant Neoplastic Disorders (cancer)
14:00 Immune System
Each Category was developed with the assistance of doctors and are carefully explained in the Code of Federal Regulations. It is most helpful to have an attorney on your side who understands these listings and the rest of the Social Security Administration’s rules and regulations and can apply your medical records to the rules to maximize your chances of a fully favorable finding.