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How To Get Disability Benefits for Lyme Disease in Michigan

If you’re among the 30,000 American adults diagnosed each year with Lyme disease, you already know how this disease puts an enormous strain on your body.

You’re no stranger to worsening joint and muscle pain. You might experience fatigue so severe that you can’t function in your job.

The symptoms of Lyme disease sometimes aren’t visible to others, but the impact on your life is undeniable. If you can’t work because of Lyme disease, Social Security Disability benefits could provide financial relief.

Imagine how a monthly disability check could transform your life for the better.

But winning disability benefits for Lyme disease can be tricky. The attorneys at Levine Benjamin Law Firm can help you navigate disability for Lyme disease in Toledo, Traverse City and across Michigan and Ohio.

Tell us about your case today, so you’re one step closer to receiving the benefits you deserve.

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What Happens When I Get Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease often starts off like many other illnesses. At first, you might think you have a fever or the flu.

But after a few days of feeling fatigued and oddly sore, you notice a bullseye-shaped rash on your skin. That’s a telling sign that those feelings of tiredness and pain are Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is spread via black-legged or deer ticks that carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii. When a tick with these bacteria bites you, it triggers a number of symptoms following your initial rash, including:

  • Joint pain
  • Headache
  • Fever
  • Sore throat
  • Chills

If left untreated, Lyme disease can intensify and cause more serious complications: arthritis, facial paralysis, nerve pain, hepatitis and cognitive (particularly memory) impairments, to name a few.

But even when treated, the effects of Lyme disease can keep you from being your normal hardworking self. When that happens, it’s time to explore disability for Lyme disease.

A lot of other people might not understand your health problems, but at Levine Benjamin we take time to listen and focus on your needs. We’ll evaluate your claim FOR FREE.

How to Qualify for Lyme Disease Disability Benefits

While Lyme disease itself isn’t classified by the Social Security Administration as an official impairment for disability benefits, isolated symptoms (musculoskeletal impairments, hepatic dysfunction, etc.) and effects (heart or mental health problems, for example) can make you eligible for Social Security Disability for Lyme disease.

Your eligibility will be based on the SSA’s assessment of your “residual functional capacity”—the measure of the greatest amount of work you can do despite the limitations imposed by Lyme disease.

The SSA will look for these basic circumstances:

  • Whether Lyme disease prevents you from doing your previous job
  • Whether it would prevent you from working a similar, less demanding job
  • If your condition won’t allow you to work for at least a year, or could lead to death

Your experience with Lyme disease can vary widely from someone else’s, which makes it a challenge to prove to Social Security claims examiners and makes it crucial to document the unique characteristics and symptoms you encounter.

Get Help Winning Disability for Lyme Disease

Social Security requires “objective medical evidence” to determine whether your symptoms of Lyme disease qualify you to receive disability benefits.

Your disability claim hinges on you providing records of medical evaluations, diagnoses and treatments you’ve received. You’ll also need to share details of your work history, so you can highlight how your condition prevents you from working as you’ve always done.

It often feels like the Social Security system works against you rather than for you. Most people who apply get denied.

To improve your chances, work with an experienced disability attorney. If you need to take your case to a Social Security administrative law judge, one government study found that your chances of being awarded benefits are almost three times higher when you bring a representative.

At Levine Benjamin, we’ve helped more than 80,000 people win benefits. Our team understands what you’re going through as you navigate the disability system with Lyme disease.

This financial support could help you maintain the life you worked so hard to build. All it takes is a small first step to get started. Tell us about your case.

From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.

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