Is COPD a Disability for People Seeking Benefits in Michigan & Ohio?
Social Security recognizes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, as a disability. Not everyone with COPD can qualify for disability benefits, though.
Around 11 to 16 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed with COPD, but the symptoms vary from person to person.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) won’t award you benefits solely because you have a diagnosis of COPD. You must prove your COPD interferes with your ability to work and support yourself.
You need to make a convincing case to get Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, showing that:
- Your COPD is stopping you from working at your current or most recent job.
- You can’t switch to another job or career field.
- Your COPD will continue to inhibit your ability to work for 12 months or longer.
Social Security has high standards. Even legitimate claims can get rejected. You may think it’s obvious how your COPD symptoms prevent you from working, but you can still get denied.
The Michigan disability lawyers at Levine Benjamin Law Firm can help with your disability claim.
We’ve helped over 100,000 people win benefits.
It’s frustrating process, but our disability lawyers are ready to answer your questions and support your COPD disability claim.
From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
When Social Security Considers COPD a Disability
Many symptoms of COPD can hinder your ability to work. Sufferers have to contend with medical issues like:
- Wheezing and shortness of breath
- Persistent, long-term coughs
- Fevers
- Dizziness and fainting
- Chest tightness and discomfort
- Fatigue
These symptoms can interfere with your work day, but just being inconvenienced isn’t enough to qualify for disability.
The SSA has its own way of measuring the severity of respiratory disorders and determining whether you should receive disability benefits and you’ll have to meet at least one of its four criteria.
- The first requirement is a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) that is equal to or lower than the minimum for your height, sex and age. This is how much air you can exhale in the first second of a spirometry test.
- Your second option is showing that you have a forced vital capacity (FVC) that is equal to or lower than the minimum for your height, sex and age. This is the total volume of air you can forcibly exhale, and it’s also measured by spirometry.
- The third requirement is a chronic impairment of gas exchange, meaning that your lungs are losing their ability to provide oxygen to your blood or remove carbon dioxide from your body.
- If you do not meet any of these standards, you could show that your condition is severe enough to require three hospitalizations lasting at least 48 hours in a 12-month period.
It needs to be clear that you can’t work enough to support yourself. If a claims examiner thinks you can work a less strenuous job or cut back your hours, you’re not going to be approved for disability.
Our Michigan disability application lawyers can help you learn more about what the SSA looks for and how you can improve your chances of winning disability benefits for COPD.
How Can I Prove My COPD Disability Benefits Case?
Even if you think you clearly meet the SSA’s requirements for disability, you can’t assume that whoever examines your claim will see it that way.
You need to take time to build your case and gather evidence that shows you’re unable to work due to your health.
Some items that help include:
- Results of medical tests, like spirometry and DLCO tests
- Medical imaging results
- Details about your treatments and how your condition has responded
- Reports and medical documentation of your symptoms from your doctors
- Evidence of other related health conditions
- Hospitalization records
- Verification of your work history
- Description of your previous jobs
- Statements from employers, coworkers, and loved ones who have seen your health struggles firsthand
The more complete your application, the more evidence you have of how your COPD symptoms have impacted your daily life, the better for winning benefits.
Our disability lawyers help people in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Toledo, Elkhart and all over Michigan, Ohio and Indiana make their disability claims more convincing.
Reach out to our firm and see how we can help you.
How a Michigan Disability Lawyer Helps You Get COPD Disability Benefits
You’re not required to have an attorney when you apply for benefits, but you shouldn’t just fill out forms and hope for the best.
We know how tough it is to apply for Social Security Disability benefits successfully.
Our Detroit disability lawyers can:
- Help you figure out which type of benefits you qualify for
- Identify evidence that supports your disability claim
- Help you avoid paperwork errors that can delay or endanger your benefits
- Support your appeal if your initial application gets denied
- Prepare you for your disability hearing so you know what to expect
- Represent you in front of an administrative law judge at your hearing
- Cross-examine expert vocational and medical witnesses
The disability lawyers of Levine Benjamin Law Firm can help you from your very first application for benefits.
We’re the top Michigan disability law firm by the amount of benefits we’ve won because we give our clients the personal attention they deserve.
If you need Social Security Disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,