Applying for disability with lupus in North Carolina

You can apply for and win disability in North Carolina on the basis of lupus. If you call our office, one of the questions we may ask you about your condition is how much weakness or fatigue you are experiencing. We may also ask you about joint stiffness, swelling, pain, rashes, headaches, hair loss, weight loss, anxiety, and other symptoms.

Obviously, Lupus is a serious condition and the symptoms are debilitating. Despite that, often, claimants will first begin to tell us what their condition is, but not what their symptoms are, or how their symptoms affect their daily activities and consequently impair their ability to work.

Note: if you need help with a disability claim, contact us at 919-890-8519.

But these symptoms are important to note on a disability claim because Social Security is not simply concerned with the condition you have, meaning the diagnosis, but instead what effect the condition has on your daily life and activities. Because this will impact your ability to work.

Particularly if your case goes before an Administrative Law Judge at a hearing in North Carolina, both the judge and we, as your representative, need to know what a normal day is like for you, and how much that has changed since your condition became disabling. And this is why we focus on a lengthy prehearing discussion with you if your case does have to go before a hearing. This is in addition to gathering additional medical evidence including statements from your doctors, not to mention analyzing your Social Security file to see what mistakes were made on your case that resulted in you being denied.

There are different ways to get approved for Lupus

Regarding the first way of being approved, for those who are unaware, Social Security has a list of impairments that may qualify a person for disability in NC. Here is some information regarding the listing:

The disability applicant must have a diagnosis of SLE or lupus with: A. involvement of two or more body systems or organs. Additionally, one of the organs or body systems must involve at least a moderate level of severity; and two or more constitutional signs or symptoms (i.e. fever, severe fatigue, malaise, or involuntary weight loss). OR B. Recurring manifestations of SLE, with two or more of the constitutional symptoms or signs and one of the following at a severe or marked level:

1. Limitation in maintaining social functioning.
2. Limitation in completing tasks timely because of deficiencies in persistence, pace, or concentration.
3. Limitation of activities of daily living.

Listings are generally difficult to get approved under. Most of the time, a case will be approved because we are able to show that, based on a claimant’s age, education, work skills, and the limitations caused by their condition (in this case, Lupus) that they simply lack the ability to do their past work, and cannot switch to a different type of work.

Obviously, to do this we need to know about both your medical and work history, information that is typically gathered when we first speak with you but also later as we gather additional evidence for your case.

The main mistake made by claimants with Lupus is not getting the claim filed. Many people are hopeful that they may return to work and so they put off filing. But this is often a mistake because it leads to months of wasted time.

The second mistake that is often made is that the case is not appealed when a denial has been received. At our office, we assist individuals with getting their claim started and we immediately file an appeal if the case is turned down.

The best thing to do on a disability case is to keep the ball moving forward.