Can I Get Disability for Gout in Detroit?
You can claim disability benefits for gout, but only if you can show that you meet Social Security’s definition of disability. This means showing that:
- Your gout prevents you from working your current or most recent job
- Your health, age and other factors make switching jobs impossible
- You will be unable to work for 12 months or longer
If you’ve been diagnosed with gout, we don’t have to tell you how painful it is and how difficult working with your symptoms can be.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can provide monthly disability checks and qualify you for Medicare, but meeting the above standards is difficult.
To give yourself the best chance of winning benefits, you should work with the Detroit disability lawyers of the Levine Benjamin Law Firm. We know this system well, and we know how to build a convincing gout disability claim.
These benefits can provide a valuable lifeline when you’re sick and can no longer work. They can change your life when you’re worried about your health and how you’re going to pay your bills.
Our disability lawyers have helped more than 100,000 people in Detroit, Toledo, Traverse City and across Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
A consultation about your gout disability claim is free, and you won’t pay an attorney fee unless you win benefits.
From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
What would you like to do?
When Does Gout Qualify for Disability in Michigan and Nationally?
Social Security keeps a “blue book” of physical and mental health conditions that could qualify someone for disability. Gout falls under listing 14.09, which is for inflammatory arthritis.
When a claims examiner looks at your application for benefits, they want to see that you meet one of the following criteria:
- Persistent inflammation or persistent deformity of a lower extremity along with medical documentation of either or both:
- A need for a mobility device like a walker, crutches or wheelchair
- An inability to use one upper extremity for work-related tasks involving fine and gross movements
- Persistent inflammation or persistent deformity of one or more major peripheral joints in each upper extremity and medical documentation that neither can be used to independently perform work-related activities
- Inflammation or deformity in one or more major joints of an upper or lower extremity with:
- Involvement of two or more organs or body systems, with one organ or body system involved to at least a moderate level of severity
- At least two of the constitutional symptoms of inflammatory arthritis (severe fatigue, malaise, fever or involuntary weight loss)
- Repeated manifestations of gout with at least two of the constitutional signs and one of the following at a marked level:
- Limitation of activities of daily living
- Limitation in maintaining social functioning
- Limitation in completing tasks on time due to issues with concentration or persistence
This disease triggers sudden and immediate episodes of pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in your joints. Gout can attack your ankles, knees, elbows, fingers and wrists, making any kind of work task difficult to accomplish.
This is especially true for anyone who works a physical job or one that requires standing for a long time, but gout can even make it impossible to do a desk job where inflammation can affect your ability to type, write with a pen or sit for long periods of time.
But if you want to meet the blue book criteria or Social Security’s general definition of disability, your claim needs to rely on more than your word.
You need to back up your gout disability claim with objective evidence, and our Michigan disability attorneys can help you with that.
Talk to us and get a FREE disability claim evaluation today.
What Evidence Do I Need for a Gout Disability Claim?
Visiting a rheumatologist regularly to get medical documentation for your claim and following treatment instructions will be key to winning disability benefits.
You need to show the SSA that you’ve been doing your best to address your symptoms, but you still can’t work.
Items that can strengthen your gout disability claim include:
- A diagnosis from a specialist
- Results of lab tests, like blood tests showing high uric acid levels
- Imaging results (X-rays, MRIs, CT scans) that show joint damage
- Your doctor’s assessment of your everyday functioning
- A list of prescription medications you take, their dosages and their side effects
- Information about treatments you’ve tried and their effectiveness
- Statements from friends, family and coworkers who have witnessed your health struggles
- Information about accommodations, like extra breaks or reduced workloads, you needed when you worked
It can take significant work to gather and organize all this evidence, but that’s something that our Michigan & Ohio disability lawyers can assist with.
How a Detroit Disability Lawyer Can Help
Now that you know more about how Social Security evaluates gout disability claims, you may think that you’re ready to apply for disability benefits on your own.
You can do that, but we don’t recommend that. You should work with an experienced disability attorney from the very beginning.
We don’t just help you gather evidence and understand what claims examiners look for. We also answer your questions and help you fill out forms so that you don’t make mistakes that could get you denied.
And if you do get denied disability benefits, an unfortunately common occurrence, we’ll be there to support your appeal. We’ll help you stay aware of that 60-day deadline to respond to Social Security and represent you at your disability hearing.
We’re the top Michigan-based law firm when it comes to how much we win in disability benefits for our clients.
Our disability lawyers are ready to guide you through this entire process, and we’ll do everything that we can to give you the best chance of winning disability benefits for gout and the financial relief you need.