West Virginia Social Security Disability Law Blog

People suffering from a variety of medical conditions are eligible for Social Security disability benefits. In order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits, a person needs to meet certain criteria established by the Social Security Administration. First, an applicant needs to prove that he or she has a documented and provable medical condition. Second, the applicant needs to show that the condition prevents him or her from working. Additionally, the applicant needs to demonstrate that the condition is expected to last 12 months or longer.

Heart failure is one example of a disease that can qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Generally, heart failure happens when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Heart failure is a common condition, and estimates indicate that it affects more than 5 million people across the nation. An additional 500,000 Americans are diagnosed with heart failure every year. Although heart failure is commonly found in elderly patients, as many as 1 in 5 people diagnosed with heart failure are under 65 years of age.

A government program known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) makes monthly payments to disabled children of low-income individuals and families. Payment amounts differ from state to state, as some states supplement the government payments with additional state funds.

The program covers children under the age of 18 as long as they meet the program's requirements for disability and income limitations. The income and resources of the child along with that of the family living with the child are evaluated. Qualifying children can live at home or be away at school as long as they come home periodically and are under a parent's control.

Social Security Disability Insurance is an important program that gives financial assistance to people who lose their ability to work because of a long-term physical or mental health condition. Unfortunately, people who need Social Security disability benefits are often confronted by an overburdened application and appeals system, which appears to be filled with red tape and delays.

Disability applicants initially apply to local Social Security offices. The local offices handle the initial review of disability claims. Applicants who have their claims denied twice are entitled to appeal the decision to one of the Social Security Administrations administrative law judges.

To those who have never struggled with the condition, an anxiety disorder may not sound like a serious problem. Yet, those who do have this condition will readily tell you that that it is very disability, and can even affect their ability to work.

Popular singer-songwriter Adele is one who struggles with a serious anxiety disorder. Recently, she disclosed that she is unable to perform at festivals due to her anxiety caused by the large audiences that are common at such events. Because of this, she has turned down singing opportunities that would have earned her thousands, if not millions, of dollars because of her disorder.

Unfortunately, many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were exposed to the chemical defoliant known as Agent Orange while serving in the Vietnam War. One of the ingredients in Agent Orange was dioxin, which is known to cause many serious diseases and health conditions in people who are exposed to it. Veterans living in West Virginia who were exposed to Agent Orange and later developed one of these diseases are typically entitled to veterans' benefits to compensate them.

In 1991, Congress passed a law that made the process of obtaining Agent Orange benefits for Vietnam Veterans more simple. Under that law, any veteran who served in Vietnam who also developed one of the 14 diseases recognized as being connected to Agent Orange exposure would be automatically treated as though their disease was connected to their military service in Vietnam. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs limited the scope of the rule to only personnel who actually set foot on Vietnamese soil or were stationed on "brown water" ships that operated in inland waterways.

After critical questions were raised late last year about whether disabled children on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) were being properly evaluated for improvements in their condition, Commissioner Michael Astrue of the Social Security Administration recently admitted that the program needs to put under review.

In an article published recently in the Boston Globe, Astrue acknowledged questions by critics of the program about the rapid growth of SSI claims for children with mental illnesses, behavioral disorders and learning disabilities. Critics have charged that the increases are turning SSI into another form of welfare.

The SSI program, which was started in 1972, provides benefits for low-income adults and children afflicted with major disabilities. Over the course of time, as the scientific understanding of emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities has grown, many more children have begun to receive SSI benefits for such disabilities.

Strokes are among the most feared, yet least understood, medical conditions suffered by people in West Virginia today. Strokes happen when the blood supply to functional areas of the brain is reduced or cut off, which can lead to long-term impairment of motor function and permanent disability.

The majority of strokes are caused by fatty plaques that build up in arteries, limiting blood flow to the brain or stopping it completely. These strokes, known as ischemic strokes, occur in about 85 percent of all stroke victims.

People in West Virginia who suffer from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease, know and understand how devastating the disease can be. One of the most frustrating aspects for people suffering from ALS is the fact that ALS is often referred to as a mystery disease, meaning that very little is understood about what causes it.

People with ALS can take some solace in the fact that the Social Security Administration has streamlined its processes for handling disability claims made by ALS patients. The Social Security Administration added ALS to its list of compassionate allowances, which is a list of diseases that are so severe that disability claims for those diseases go through a streamlined approval process. In the past, ALS patients needed to go through the traditional process of showing that their ALS was advanced and that it prevented them from working.