Experienced Fibromyalgia Disability Attorneys Fighting for Your Benefits
Fibromyalgia is a complex medical condition that causes pain in the joints, tendons, muscles, and soft tissue. The challenge to qualifying for fibromyalgia disability benefits is the objective medical evidence needed to prove that it causes functional limitations preventing a person from working.
The fibromyalgia disability attorneys at the GCC Law Firm have the experience, knowledge, and understanding of the regulations and procedures needed to help you take on the challenge of qualifying for fibromyalgia disability benefits. Working with a compassionate disability attorney dedicated to helping you obtain the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits you need. When fibromyalgia symptoms make working impossible, contact GCC Law for a complimentary consultation and disability claim evaluation.
Fibromyalgia – Diagnose, Symptoms, and Treatment, and What You Need To Know About Qualifying for SSDI and SSI
The Social Security Administration did not recognize fibromyalgia until 2012 as a disabling medical condition that could qualify a person for disability benefits through the SSDI and SSI programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that fibromyalgia affects four million adults in the United States.
Muscle and joint pain and stiffness throughout the body are not the only symptoms of the condition. Common symptoms of fibromyalgia can include:
- Fatigue.
- Sleep disorders, such as difficulty falling and staying asleep.
- Cognitive issues, including impaired memory, concentration, and ability to think clearly.
- Extremity numbness and tingling.
- Headaches, including migraines.
- Light and noise sensitivity.
- Depression, anxiety, and other mood changes.
Treatment of the disorder generally focuses on relieving the pain and other effects of the symptoms patients experience. The following treatments may be used separately or in combination with each other based on a patient’s symptoms:
- Prescription and over-the-counter medication, including those for pain relief and antidepressants.
- Sleep therapy.
- Stretching and exercise, including strength training.
- Cognitive behavioral and other types of psychological therapy.
- Stress reduction techniques.
- Occupational therapy to assist patients in adjusting to their normal daily activities with their symptoms.
Some people diagnosed with the disorder have only mild or moderate symptoms with infrequent flare-ups. Others may experience severe and frequent symptoms that significantly interfere with their work and daily activities.
Qualifying for Fibromyalgia Disability Benefits Requires Proof of A Disability and Compliance with SSDI and SSI Program Requirements
You must have a disability for both the SSDI and SSI programs, but you also need to comply with non-medical requirements unique to each one. For instance, the SSDI program is for workers who become disabled before they are eligible to receive Social Security retirement benefits. A worker applying for SSDI must have worked long enough and paid into the Social Security system through payment of payroll taxes.
SSI is a need-based program, so instead of a work-history requirement, applicants cannot exceed strict limitations on their income and resources. For example, resources may not exceed $2,000 in value for individuals and $3,000 for couples.
The disability standard used to evaluate applications for benefits through the SSDI and SSI programs requires documentation in the form of medical records that you cannot do substantial gainful activities. The inability to work must be the result of a physical or mental impairment that has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death.
GCC Law fibromyalgia disability attorneys relieve you of the burden of the application and disability review process by serving as your representative to navigate you and your claim through the complex process with ease and professionalism. Contact us for a free consultation to have a disability professional evaluate your claim.
How Our Disability Attorneys Use Their Familiarity with the Disability Review Process To Give A Client’s Claim The Best Chance For Success
When Social Security recognized SSDI and SSI disability claims for fibromyalgia several years ago, it established the following essential criteria for a disability determination based on the disorder:
- Evidence of a history of widespread pain.
- Documentation of six or more fibromyalgia symptoms with particular emphasis place on fatigue, memory or cognitive issues, sleep disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, and irritable bowel syndrome.
- Evidence documenting the exclusion of causes other than fibromyalgia as the cause of the symptoms.
Medical records and other documentation submitted in support of applications for Social Security for fibromyalgia should be from within the 12-month period preceding the date of the application unless the examiner reviewing the claim requests documentation from a different period.
GCC Law disability attorneys work with you and your medical providers to ensure that your application has the evidence needed to prove that you cannot work because of a disability caused by fibromyalgia. We also go further by including evidence from sources other than healthcare providers when it helps strengthen the claim by proving how the symptoms of the disorder limit your ability to function. For example, statements from friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others can be used to prove the limitations caused by the condition by describing what they witnessed firsthand.
The Fight For Your Right To Social Security Disability Benefits Does Not End With The Initial Review Process. Our Commitment to You Continues Throughout the Appeal Process.
Of the disability applications it receives annually, the Social Security Administration denies benefits to almost 70% of them, but you have a right to challenge a denial through the appeal process. The process begins with a request for reconsideration of your claim by an examiner who was not involved in the original review. It can proceed to a hearing, an Appeals Council review, and ultimately to a lawsuit in federal court to obtain the benefits you need.
When You Cannot Work Because Of A Fibromyalgia Disability, Contact GCC Law.
Get in touch with GCC Law to find out how our fibromyalgia disability attorneys can make your life easier by taking on the fight to get you the disability benefits you deserve when a medical condition prevents you from working. Contact us for a free consultation and disability claim evaluation.
Medical Conditions Listed for Disability Benefits:
Call Our Illinois Fibromyalgia Disability Lawyers Today
At GCC Law Firm, our Illinois Fibromyalgia disability attorneys provide personalized, solutions-driven legal advocacy for clients. If your SSDI or SSI claim has been denied in Illinois, we can help. Contact us to schedule a free and completely confidential initial consultation, please contact our law firm today.
Call (479) 340-0002.