Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance can be overwhelming, but your disability lawyer in Queens, NY can help you figure out whether you meet the requirements for SSDI and support you throughout the application process. While the Social Security Administration maintains an extensive list of qualifying medical conditions, unlisted conditions may still qualify if it’s determined that your disability prevents you from working for at least 12 consecutive months.
What Medical Conditions Qualify for SSDI in New York?
Physical Disorders
A variety of physical conditions are covered by SSDI, broadly including musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, genitourinary, hematological, skin, endocrine, and immune system disorders. If you have a physical disability that prevents you from working, your attorney can help you navigate the SSA’s evaluation standards to determine whether your disorder qualifies.
Mental Disorders
There are 11 categories of mental disorders that may qualify you for SSDI, depending on how they affect your ability to function at work:
- Neurocognitive disorders
- Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders
- Bipolar, depressive, and related disorders
- Intellectual disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders
- Somatic symptom and related disorders
- Personality and impulse-control disorders
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Eating disorders
- Trauma- and stressor-related disorders
Neurological Disorders
The SSA evaluates neurological disorders based on how severely they impact your physical and mental functioning, and how they respond to treatment. Qualifying conditions include epilepsy, benign brain tumors, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and more.
Congenital Disorders
Non-mosaic Down syndrome that has been established through lab or physician reports qualifies for SSDI. Other congenital disorders that affect multiple body systems are evaluated based on how they impact your body systems. Examples of these include but aren’t limited to mosaic Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, Tay-Sachs disease, and Trisomy X syndrome.
Special Senses and Speech
Multiple sensory disabilities could be severe enough to qualify for SSDI, including vision, hearing, and speech disorders. The SSA will evaluate the severity of your vision or hearing impairment, as well as whether it can be corrected with the help of aids like eyeglasses or cochlear implants. You may also qualify if you can’t speak in a way that can be heard, understood, or sustained, or if you have a vestibular disorder that causes vertigo or tinnitus, including Ménière’s disease.
Cancer
The SSA considers multiple factors when determining whether cancer qualifies for SSDI, including its type and stage, how it has spread, whether it is recurrent, the type of treatment required and how it responds, and the residual effects of treatment.
Talk to a Disability Lawyer in Queens, NY
If you have a disability that prevents you from maintaining gainful employment and have previously paid into Social Security through work, you may qualify for SSDI in New York. Speaking with an experienced disability lawyer can help you figure out whether you should be evaluated for benefits. A disability attorney can also help you navigate the process to ensure that you recieve any benefits you are entitled to, even if your condition isn’t explicitly listed by the SSA.
If you’re in Queens or anywhere else in New York City and trying to figure out whether you qualify for SSDI benefits, contact our trusted attorneys at Simon & Gilman, LLP to schedule a free consultation.
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