Facts about Closed Head Injury and Filing for DisabilityThese selected pages answer some of the most basic, but also some of the most important, questions for individuals who are considering filing a claim for disability benefits. Facts about the condition 1) Head injuries are usually caused by a forceful physical blow to the head, and are categorized as either open or closed. A closed head injury is called 'closed' because it is a brain injury that is blunt and does not actually penetrate the skull, outermost layer of the brain, or the brain itself. 2) A closed head injury is sometimes referred to as a "nonpenetrating head trauma" or a "blunt head trauma". 3) Most CHIs are caused by falls, assaults, sports injuries, child abuse (shaking or hitting), or accidents that cause severe head trauma such as bicycle, motorcycle, or car accidents. 4) A mild CHI may cause dizziness, short term memory loss, slurred speech, nausea, temporary loss of consciousness, vomiting, and headache. 5) Even though a CHI does not penetrate the skull, it can cause nerve damage, seizures, personality changes, communication and cognitive difficulties, and still lead to severe complications such as intracranial pressure, brain swelling, brain damage, coma, and even death. 6) It is estimated that 200 people out of every 100,000 in the United States will suffer from a CHI at some point in their lives. 7) The most common form of closed head injury is a concussion, in which the brain is shaken and there is a temporary loss of brain function. Symptoms can be as mild as slight confusion for a moment, to amnesia. 8) There are many different types of CHI. A cerebral contusion causes a bruise on the brain tissue. A concussion involves a loss of brain function. A diffuse axonal injury is characterized by extensive lesions in white matter tracts. Intracranial hemorrhage involves a ruptured blood vessels and bleeding within the skull. 9) Treatment for CHI depends greatly upon the type and severity of the injury. It may range from over-the-counter pain medication to surgery. Those who have surgery usually follow-up with rehabilitation therapy to recover cognitive and motor skills. Qualifying for disability benefits with this condition Whether or not you qualify for disability and, as a result, are approved for disability benefits will depend entirely on the information obtained from your medical records. This includes whatever statements and treatment notes that may have been obtained from your treating physician (a doctor who has a history of treating your condition and is, therefore, qualified to comment as to your condition and prognosis). It also includes discharge summaries from hospital stays, reports of imaging studies (such as xrays, MRIs, and CT scans) and lab panels (i.e. bloodwork) as well as reports from physical therapy. In many disability claims, it may also include the results of a report issued by an independent physician who examines you at the request of the Social Security Administration.
Qualifying for SSD or SSI benefits will also depend on the information obtained from your vocational, or work, history if you are an adult, or academic records if you are a minor-age child. In the case of adults, your work history information will allow a disability examiner (examiners make decisions at the initial claim and reconsideration appeal levels, but not at the hearing level where a judges decides the outcome of the case) to A) classify your past work, B) determine the physical and mental demands of your past work, C) decide if you can go back to a past job, and D) whether or not you have the ability to switch to some type of other work. The important thing to keep in mind is that the social security administration does not award benefits based on simply having a condition, but, instead, will base an approval or denial on the extent to which a condition causes functional limitations. Functional limitations can be great enough to make work activity not possible (or, for a child, make it impossible to engage in age-appropriate activities).
Why are so many disability cases lost at the disability application and reconsideration appeal levels? There are several reasons but here are just two: 1) Social Security makes no attempt to obtain a statement from a claimant's treating physician. By contrast, at the hearing level, a claimant's disability attorney or disability representative will generally obtain and present this type of statement to a judge. Note: it is not enough for a doctor to simply state that their patient is disabled. To satisy Social Security's requirements, the physician must list in what ways and to what extent the individual is functionally limited. For this reason, many representatives and attorneys request that the physician fill out and sign a specialized medical source statement that captures the correct information. Solid Supporting statements from physicians easily make the difference between winning or losing a disability case at the hearing level. 2) Prior to the hearing level, a claimant will not have the opportunity to explain how their condition limits them, nor will their attorney or representative have the opportunity to make a presentation based on the evidence of the case. This is because at the initial levels of the disability system, a disability examiner decides the case without meeting the claimant. The examiner may contact the claimant to gather information on activities of daily living and with regard to medical treatment or past jobs, but usually nothing more. At the hearing level, however, presenting an argument for approval based on medical evidence that has been obtained and submitted is exactly what happens. About the Author: Tim Moore is a former Social Security Disability Examiner in North Carolina, has been interviewed by the NY Times and the LA Times on the disability system, and is an Accredited Disability Representative (ADR) in North Carolina. For assistance on a disability application or Appeal in NC, click here. Most popular topics on SSDRC.com Social Security Disability in North Carolina Common Mistakes to avoid after being denied for Disability Tips to Prepare for Filing for Social Security Disability or SSI Advice to Win SSD and SSI Benefit Claims Social Security Disability SSI Questions What is the difference between Social Security Disability and SSI? How to get disability for depression Getting disability for fibromyalgia SSI disability for children with ADHD What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? Social Security Disability SSI Exam tips More Social Security Disability SSI Questions What makes you eligible for Social Security Disability or SSI? Related Body System Impairments: Social Security Disability SSI and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Closed Head Injury and Filing for Disability Brain Aneurysm and Filing for Disability Head Trauma and Filing for Disability Memory Loss and Filing for Disability Alzheimer's and Filing for Disability If you apply for disability in Washington Getting a Disability Lawyer in Washington Disability Benefits in Washington |
