Disability for Rheumatoid Arthritis in Madison
How to Win Social Security Disability Benefits for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Having severe rheumatoid arthritis means experiencing terrible pain. Tasks that used to be easy are now impossible.
When you can no longer perform basic parts of your job, your health problems soon lead to money problems. You feel like your life is falling apart.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits provide monthly checks that can help you through this difficult time.
But it’s hard to win disability benefits. Most people get denied. When that happens, you need to appeal. Appeals are complicated.
Get help from someone who knows how to handle this system.
At the Becker Law Office, we’ve turned thousands of disability denials into approvals.
Disability law is all we do.
Qualifying for Disability with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the medical impairments the Social Security Administration (SSA) mentions in its list of conditions that qualify for benefits.
The SSA’s “Blue Book” of impairments explains how rheumatoid arthritis fits in with other debilitating conditions, including other forms of inflammatory arthritis.
As with any health problem, to win disability benefits you have to prove your case of rheumatoid arthritis is severe enough to make it impossible for you to work.
These are symptoms Social Security will check:
- Difficulty walking due to inflammation in your legs
- Difficulty performing tasks due to inflammation in your arms
- Inflammation of at least two organs or body systems, along with severe joint pain
- Severe fatigue, fever or malaise
- Involuntary weight loss
- Spine stiffening that makes it hard to move
- Frequent recurrences of your symptoms
You don’t have to match Social Security’s description of rheumatoid arthritis word for word. If the symptoms you have, whatever they are, prevent you from working, that’s what you have to prove.
Social Security can give you a rating, called your “residual functional capacity,” which measures the effect of all your health problems to determine what level of work you can perform—from strenuous to light to none.
The lawyers at the Becker Law Office don’t charge anything for you to get an evaluation of your claim.
Appealing SSDI Denials in Wisconsin
It can be devastating to get denied the Social Security Disability benefits you were counting on to get back on stable ground after rheumatoid arthritis or related conditions disrupt your life.
But it’s what happens to most people who apply.
When you appeal the decision, you’ll need to provide the most complete, up-to-date information on your medical history, work history and educational background.
You have to prove you can’t do previous jobs because of your bad health, you can’t switch to a new job and that your condition will last at least a year.
Having strong medical records showing all the treatment you’ve gotten for rheumatoid arthritis will be a key part of your case.
Social Security Disability appeals have four levels:
- Reconsideration: Getting a fresh review of your claim
- Administrative Law Judge Hearing: Going in front of a judge to argue your for your benefits in person
- Appeals Council Review: Asking a group at Social Security to review the ALJ decision and possibly send it back for a second hearing
- Federal Court Review: Suing Social Security in Federal District Court
Get Personal Care for Your Social Security Disability Claim
When you can’t work because of your health—and you need financial help—your situation is personal. You need help from someone who treats your case with dignity and respect.
At the Becker Law Office, we’re dedicated to helping our neighbors in Madison, Wausau, Janesville, Monroe—and all across Wisconsin—win the disability income they need for rheumatoid arthritis, or any combination of health problems.
We’ll be upfront with you about your case and chances of getting benefits. And you won’t pay an attorney’s fee until you win.
