Super Bowl Sunday is this Weekend!

Super Bowl LII takes place this Sunday, February 4, 2018, right here in our hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota at the majestic U.S. Bank Stadium. The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the New England Patriots, with Justin Timberlake performing at half-time. We all hope for an exciting game.

Unsurprisingly, football leads a number of studies as the most dangerous sport. Injuries occur during football games and practice due to the combination of high speeds and full contact. While overuse injuries can occur, traumatic injuries such as concussions and knee or shoulder injuries are the most common. Some ex-NFL players now suffer from an incurable degenerative brain disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head.

You may be able to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits if you have suffered severe physical injuries – even if they were not sustained at work. The Social Security Administration has designated several impairments, including reconstructive surgeries of major weight-bearing joints, spine disorders, amputations, bone fractures, and soft tissue injuries, that may lead to an automatic finding of disability when certain requirements are met. You may also qualify for Social Security Disability benefits if you have sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury under the Administration’s neurological listings (see links below).

Even if your injury does not meet one of Social Security’s listings, you may still qualify for disability benefits if your impairments have (or are expected to) put you out of work for one year or longer. The Social Security Administration will consider whether your conditions prevent you from returning to your past work or any other work available in the regional or national economy.

If you or someone you know is unable to work due to a medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim!

By: Thomas A. Klint of Premier Disability Services, LLC®

Complete list of Musculoskeletal Adult Listings: SSA.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/1.00-Musculoskeletal

Complete list of Neurological Adult Listings: SSA.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/11.00-Neurological

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®

Social Security Disability for Heart Conditions

American Heart Month begins in February. Heart conditions are among the leading causes of disability in the United States. Certain impairments are considered severe enough to warrant a finding of disability based solely on your condition. These are Social Security’s “Adult Listings” for disability. The most common Listings for heart conditions are:

• Aneurysm of the Aorta or Major Branches. Regardless of the cause, you will be considered disabled if appropriate medical imaging confirms an aneurysm of the aorta or any major branch.
• Chronic heart failure. To qualify for disability benefits, your condition must have systolic or diastolic heart failure. Additionally, your heart conditions must fall within given parameters while it is stable. Additionally, you must meet one of the following conditions: Poor performance on an exercise tolerance test, two or more occurrences of heart failure within one year (must have fluid retention and require hospitalization), or symptoms which would limit your ability to work and which would suggest that an exercise test would present a danger to you.
• Chronic Venous Insufficiency. You will be considered disabled if you have an obstruction and meet one or more of the following: brawny edema which involves 2/3 or more of your leg from the knee to the ankle or 1/3 from your ankle to your hip OR persistent or recurrent ulcerations which fail to heal after being treated for three months.
• Heart Transplant. You will automatically be considered disabled for at least one year after a heart transplant.
• Ischemic Heart Disease. To qualify for disability benefits, you must meet one or more of the following: Coronary artery disease (this requires an angiography, medical imaging, and either an exercise test or medical documentation showing why an exercise test would be too dangerous to your health), three distinct ischemic episodes, with each of them needing revasucularization (or in which revascularization is not possible), or an exercise test which shows that you fall within the SSA’s guidelines for complete disability.
• Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). Must be shown by medical imaging and fall within the SSA’s guidelines for your blood pressure.
• Recurrent Arrhythmia. To qualify for disability benefits based on recurring arrhythmias, the medical evidence must show that the condition is not reversible and that it results in near syncope or syncope.
• Symptomatic Congenital Heart Disease. For symptomatic congenital heart disease, the SSA considers evidence from medical imaging or a heart catheter. They will look to see whether your hematocrit levels and O2 saturation meet with their criteria. You may also qualify if you have right to left shunting or if your systolic pressure is significantly elevated (70% of systemic or higher).

Even if your heart condition does not meet one of the listings above, you may still qualify for disability benefits if your impairments have (or are expected to) put you out of work for one year or longer. The Social Security Administration will consider whether your conditions prevent you from returning to your past work or any other work available in the regional or national economy.

If you or someone you know is unable to work due to a medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim!

Adult Listings for cardiovascular impairments: SSA.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/4.00-Cardio

SSI Expedited Payments

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides monthly income to individuals who are low income and do not have the requisite working credits for Title II Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) can start payments more quickly than usual in four different types of situations:

1.Presumptive Disability (PD) or Presumptive Blindness (PB) payments.
If your claim is for SSI benefits for disability or blindness, the SSA may make PD or PB payments for up to 6 months while you are waiting for the Disability Determination Services (DDS) to make a final decision. The decision to grant PD or PB payments is based on the severity of your condition and the likelihood that your claim will be ultimately approved, and is not based on your financial need. If you are later denied SSI benefits, you do not have to repay your PD or PB payments; however, if you received an overpayment for other reasons then you may be asked to repay some of the PD or PB payments.

2.Emergency Advance Payments.
The SSA may be able to make an emergency advance payment to new applicants who face a financial emergency (meaning you need money right away due to a threat to health or safety, such as not enough money for food, clothing, shelter or medical care) and who are due SSI benefits that are delayed or not received. The SSA can only pay one such advance payment. The maximum emergency advance payment you may receive is the smallest of: the SSI Federal benefit rate (plus any federally administered State supplement); the total amount of the benefits due; or the amount requested for the financial emergency. These payments are later recovered when the SSA subtracts your emergency advance from the payments already due to you. If you are not due past payments, the amount is subtracted form your current monthly benefits in up to 6 monthly installments.

3.Immediate Payments.
The SSA may be able to make an immediate payment to new applicants and those already receiving SSI whose benefits are delayed or not received and who face a financial emergency (see above). The immediate payment cannot be higher than $999.00. Immediate payments are entirely discretionary on the part of the SSA and you do not have formal appeal rights if the SSA determines you are not eligible for an immediate payment. Immediate payments are later subtracted from the first regular payment due to you.

4.Expedited Reinstatement cases.
If your benefits ended because you worked and had earnings, you can request to have your benefits started again without having to complete a new application. This process is called “expedited reinstatement”. You can request that your benefits start again if you: stopped receiving benefits because of earnings from work; are unable to engage in substantial gainful activity because of an impairment(s) that is the same as or related to the impairment(s) that allowed you to get benefits earlier; and make the request within 5 years from the month your benefits ended.

The SSA can give you provisional benefits for up to 6 months while they determine whether you can get benefits again. These benefits include Federal payments and Medicaid coverage. If the SSA decides that you cannot get benefits again, they usually will not ask you to repay the provisional benefits.

If you or someone you know is unable to work due to a medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim!

Source: SSA.gov/ssi/text-expedite-ussi.htm

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®