Disabilities Covered by Social Security

You cannot qualify for Arkansas disability services and payments simply by being unable to perform the duties of your old job or by virtue of your own definition of your disability. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is precise and specific in its descriptions of the impairments that qualify for Arkansas disability. Services provided on the SSA's website include detailed definitions of covered conditions at http://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/AdultListings.htm.

Listed disabilities

In order to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, you must have at least one of the conditions in the SSA's Listing of Impairments.  The Listing of Impairments describes, for each major body system, the disabilities SSA considers severe enough to prevent you from doing any gainful activity. In the case of children under age 18 applying for SSI, the impairment must be severe enough to cause marked and severe functional limitations.

The SSA listings of covered disabilities for adults includes diseases and disorders in fourteen categories:

1. Musculoskeletal system
2. Special senses and speech
3. Breathing disorders
4. Heart and blood vessel disorders
5. Digestive systems
6. Genitourinary impairments
7. Blood and lymphatic diseases
8. Skin disorders
9. Endocrine system
10. Impairments that affect multiple body systems
11. Neurological
12. Mental disorders
13. Malignant neoplastic diseases (cancer)
14. Immune system disorders

SSA listings for children under 18 also include disorders that produce disabling growth impairment.

Each category includes an exhaustive list of the various conditions covered by that listing. For example, neurological diseases and disorders that may be covered include epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, brain tumors, myasthenia gravis, and traumatic brain injury. Obesity was recently removed from the listing.

Requirements for disability duration

Most of the disabilities on the SSA's Listing of Impairments are permanent or expected to result in death. For some conditions, the listing includes a specific statement of duration of disability that is needed to qualify you for benefits. For all other listed conditions, the evidence must show that the impairment has already lasted or is expected to last for a continuous period of at least one year. An Arkansas Social Security Disability lawyer from Martin & Kieklak can help you determine whether your disability is covered and whether you meet duration requirements.

Arkansas Disability Services

Martin & Kieklak's Social Security Disability lawyers in Fayetteville, Arkansas assist clients by providing Arkansas disability claims services including evaluation of documents required for application, assessment of the applicant's qualifications for benefits based on the worker's health status and other factors, and support throughout the application and appeals processes. 

Let us fight for you. Call the Arkansas Social Security Disability lawyers at Martin & Kieklak to discuss your case today.