What Back Injuries Qualify For Disability in Michigan?
The Support You Need in a Tough Time
A back injury can change the course of your life.
This isn’t just a normal ache. With severe back pain, everyday activities become impossible feats. It’s bad enough to force you out of work.
If you can’t work, how can you pay your bills?
Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits are made for people in your position. The monthly checks can provide lifesaving financial security while you focus on what’s most important right now: your health.
Winning these benefits can be hard, however. Many are denied on their initial application.
At the Levine Benjamin Law Firm, we’ve been helping people get the disability benefits they need since 1964. We understand what you’re going through, and most importantly, how to make this process easier for you.
If you’re in Detroit, or anywhere in Michigan or Ohio, give us a call today to start getting your life back on track.
From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
What would you like to do?
Types of Back Pain That Qualify for SSD
You can’t just tell Social Security about your back pain and expect to get benefits. You’ll have to prove your case.
Some back ailments we see qualify:
- Herniated (slipped or prolapsed) disc
- Degenerative arthritis
- Degenerative disc disease
- Fractured vertebrae
- Fused vertebrae
- Fibromyalgia in severe cases
- Arachnoiditis
- Nerve root compression
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Scoliosis
- Spinal stenosis
- Spondylitis
- Spondylolisthesis
Maybe your back pain doesn’t fit one of those categories. That’s OK. If you can prove the following, you could still qualify:
- Your back pain makes it impossible to continue in your job.
- You’re unable to switch to a new line of work.
- Your condition will be this severe for at least a year.
It can all feel overwhelming, right? Dealing with the massive Social Security Disability system is intimidating. But you don’t have to go through this alone.
Get in touch with us today for a free evaluation.
How to Prove You Deserve Disability Benefits
Medical evidence is at the core of your case for disability benefits for back pain.
Social Security says MRIs, X-rays, physical exams and reports from physical therapy are all forms of medical evidence you can use to prove your case.
Your evidence must show one of the following:
- You’re suffering from nerve root compression, have a limited range of motion in your spine and have sensory or reflex loss.
- You’re suffering from spinal arachnoiditis, as supported by medical imaging evidence, meaning you need to change positions or posture at least twice every two hours.
- You have a medically documented inability to move about, caused by lumbar spine stenosis that produces leg pain, especially when standing or walking.
What If My Back Pain Doesn’t Meet the Disability Listings?
Sometimes, you can’t prove any of the above conditions, but you still have back pain that makes you unable to work and medical evidence to document it.
In this case, the Social Security Administration may look at your “residual functional capacity,” or RFC.
A Social Security medical consultant determines your RFC rating by measuring how your health is affecting your daily life.
Your RFC rating indicates whether you can do light, medium or heavy work. Based on this rating, you may receive what’s called a “medical-vocational allowance” which means:
- You can’t return to working the least strenuous job you’ve had in the past 15 years, before your back condition occurred.
- Based on your current work ability, age and transferrable skills, you can’t find any new line of work to move into.
Denied Disability? Don’t Give Up
A denial can feel like the end of the road.
What can you do when your lifeline is taken away?
The good news: You could still win benefits. Remember that most people are denied on their initial application.
Social Security features a multi-step appeals process with chances to win at each point. Your best opportunity comes at an appeals hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ), the only chance you’ll have to plead your case in person.
It can be daunting. Social Security operates its own legal system, with its own rules, regulations and even courts and judges.
It’s why you need someone experienced on your side. At Levine Benjamin Law Firm, we know the system, the people in it and most importantly, we know how to give you the best chance to win.
In fact, a Government Accountability Office study found that you’re almost three times more likely to win benefits at an appeals hearing if you hire representation.
There’s no fee unless you win. So don’t take a chance on your future.