Many people are worried about being out of work for a week or two or even longer from COVID-19. However, there are several viruses, bacteria-based illnesses, and other diseases that can ultimately lead to disability. Not every case meets the qualifications for disability. Wisconsin requires people to expect or to be out of work for over 12 months. Additionally, you may need to prove your disability long before you’ll receive a check.
The thing is, sometimes, being too sick to work can lead to SSDI benefits. However, you won’t know if you qualify or not until you meet with a professional. Then you can carefully go through your situation. Finally, assess how your situation meets the state guidelines for disability benefits. That will help you know how likely it is for your application to get an approval.
Viruses and Respiratory Disease
The rise of COVID-19 spiked concerns regarding the full impact of respiratory disease. Is this something that could lead you to file for disability benefits? Not likely. Even with the most substantial damage from various respiratory diseases, including pneumonia, it’s not likely that you’ll get SSDI.
In fact, even with COPD, which can drastically impact your quality of life is probably not applicable. When you get SSDI, you’re getting benefits for not being able to work for a year. Living with the impact or damages of a virus or respiratory disease will probably not meet the requirements for SSDI.
Severely Reduced Quality of Life
The top or most common conditions that have the largest impact on the quality of life still don’t qualify you for SSDI. Really, there’s no guarantee no matter the diagnosis, because every SSDI claim goes through an individual evaluation. But hypertension, depression, substance use disorder, Type 2 diabetes, and even Crohn’s disease won’t guarantee you SSDI.
If you’re looking at a severe change in the quality of your life that’s holding you back from work, then you have a long road ahead. The path before you requires proving that the drastic changes have driven you out of your career and that you can’t do anything else either.
Losing a limb or function of an organ doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get disability benefits. You need to showcase that you have something that will make it impossible to get gainful employment. The disability office isn’t forgiving. Losing a leg won’t stop you from getting a job with your accounting degree. Additionally, it won’t stop you from working in a call center, and that’s what they’ll argue.
Polio, Hepatitis, and Other Debilitating Illnesses
Few can recall the days of people spending hours in an iron lung and then using it to survive every single night. Some can remember the changes that came when FDR entered office, and you subtly couldn’t see his wheelchair. The iron lungs, the wheelchairs, and more were all scars that society knew to recognize a polio survivor.
While many polio survivors could work because they contracted the illness as a child, many others could not. Some illnesses are so debilitating that it’s nearly impossible to jump right back into anything after beginning a recovery. Slower recoveries will be much more likely to gain the positive attention of the SSDI office.
People with Hepatitis B, for example, may go through months of active infection, even with treatment. They may not live for more than five years; they may experience liver failure and be constantly sick. When you have a debilitating illness that makes it unreasonable for your employer to provide accommodations, then you may likely benefit from the disability program. Ideally, you’ll have a medical team that can explain the full extent of your needs for treatment.
Consider Calling Your SSDI Attorney in Milwaukee
Not every SSDI application gets through because of an injury. In fact, many go through disability insurance with the state as a way to help ease the financial burden of an illness. Unfortunately, many illnesses simply don’t take you out of work for over a year. The result can be a long-term struggle to get the benefits you need while also working to recover properly.
At Tabak Law, our offices in Milwaukee help set the stage for your entire SSDI process. From the start, we aim to help you file a complete and accurate application explaining why you will be out of work for over 12 months. Additionally, we’ll look at your specific illness, the symptoms, and long-term damages that come with it as we guide you through filing for SSDI.