What Do I Need for My Arthritis Social Security Disability Claim?
Osteoarthritis can cause joint stiffness and make any kind of work difficult, even desk jobs that aren’t highly physical.
Rheumatoid arthritis can cause additional issues like fatigue and fever.
These different forms of arthritis and the physical limitations that come with them can contribute to mental health struggles, like anxiety and depression. All of this can combine to make working full time unrealistic.
But you can’t just tell the Social Security Administration (SSA) that your symptoms prevent you from working.
You need to demonstrate your limitations with medical and other evidence, such as:
- Your doctor’s diagnosis
- Medical imaging of joints and extremities (including MRIs and X-rays)
- Blood tests and other lab results
- Information about what treatments you’ve tried and their effectiveness
- Evidence that you’ve been to specialists, like rheumatologists and orthopedists
- Psychological evaluations
- A list of prescription medications you’re taking and how they’re working
- Evidence that you’ve needed accommodations at work, like extra breaks or reduced workloads
- Statements from friends, family members and coworkers who have seen how arthritis restricts your activities
Building a convincing osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis disability claim takes work, but an Indiana disability lawyer at Fletcher Van Gilder is ready to help you.
Contact FVG for a FREE disability claim consultation.
How Social Security Evaluates Arthritis Claims in Indiana and Nationally
A key factor in qualifying for disability benefits is your “residual functional capacity,” or RFC.
RFC is a measurement Social Security uses to determine what kind of work you could still do even with your arthritis symptoms.
A claims examiner looks for answers to questions like these:
- How does your arthritis make it difficult to sit, stand or walk?
- Can you lift, pull, push or carry objects?
- Can you climb, stoop, crouch or crawl?
- Do you struggle with typing or other tasks that require precise use of your hands?
- Do your symptoms make you tired or irritable in a way that affects your work?
- How do temperature changes or exposure to dust, fumes or sun affect your symptoms?
- Can you understand and remember information and follow instructions?
- How well can you tolerate stressors that arise during a typical workday?
When you answer these questions in your disability claim for arthritis, be specific.
Give details about how your arthritis and its effects interfere with everyday tasks at work and in your personal life.
Social Security could acknowledge that you have a health issue that stops you from doing your current job but conclude that you could switch to a less mentally or physically taxing line of work.
If you have been denied disability benefits in Indiana, Fletcher Van Gilder can help you appeal and strengthen your case that you cannot work.
