Most of the time, the process of applying for and receiving approval for Social Security Disability benefits is filled with frustration and disappointment; among first-time applicants, as many as 7 of every 10 are denied. By some estimates, that number is conservative. With that in mind, it becomes easier to understand why the appeal process is so bogged down. For those applicants who decide to continue their quest for benefits, the next step is the appeal process. Not surprisingly, for fiscal year 2010 the number of cases backlogged in the disability system was well in excess of 700,000, rapidly approaching three-quarters of a million.
Before we get too busy blaming the Social Security Administration (SSA), it is important to note that the system has had to become so cautious due to rampant fraud and identity theft. Multiple stories have surfaced recently regarding individuals who have been receiving benefits fraudulently, often for decades under more than one name and for conditions they didn’t have, all while continuing to work for a living. While the agency’s attempts to preserve the funds for the people who legitimately need them are truly admirable, the downside has been that those who do have a legitimate need for them often have a very difficult time gaining access to them.
In an effort to both reduce the backlog and also make benefits easier to access for some applicants, the SSA devised the Compassionate Allowance program. Under this program, the agency created a list of illnesses and conditions which are severe enough to automatically necessitate disability status. For applicants who can adequately document the presence of one of these conditions, the approval process has been expedited so benefits can begin in a much timelier manner.
Heart Transplant Graft Failure is one of the conditions that qualify for the compassionate allowance program. If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed with a Heart Transplant Graft Failure, it is very important to begin the application process as soon as possible so your benefits will not be delayed.
Heart Transplant Graft Failure – Condition and Symptoms
Sometimes, the human heart can become so damaged by disease, injury or infection that it is no longer able to circulate the blood efficiently enough to meet the body’s need for oxygen. This condition is known as heart failure. When heart failure reaches a certain level of severity, the only hope to save the patient’s life is a heart transplant. In this delicate and complicated surgery, a healthy donor heart is removed from the body of a person who died and replaces the failing heart of the recipient.
One of the potential complications from this surgery is that the recipient’s immune system will recognize the new heart as a foreign body that must be destroyed. This is known as rejection. Transplant patients are given immunosuppressant medications to stop this from happening. Still, almost one fourth of all heart transplant recipients show signs of rejection during the first year. Sometimes, an adjustment to the medications can be enough to take care of the problem. At the point where the body clearly is not going to accept the new heart, this condition is known as Heart Transplant Graft Failure.
Symptoms of Heart Transplant Graft Failure include heart failure, fever,
general discomfort, and edema (swelling due to fluid retention). Left untreated, this graft failure can result in death.
In cases of Heart Transplant Graft Failure where immunosuppressant medications fail to adequately address the problem, the only other alternative is to perform another heart transplant.
Filing for Social Security Disability with a Heart Transplant Graft Failure diagnosis
A transplant recipient who has been diagnosed with Heart Transplant Graft Failure will automatically qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, because this condition has been identified by the SSA as one which meets the criteria for a Compassionate Allowance. If there is any good news to be found in this diagnosis, it is that disability benefits may well be on their way to you in a matter of weeks.
While a Compassionate Allowance speeds up the approval process for benefits, it would still be in your best interests to have your case reviewed by a Social Security Disability attorney. The simple truth is that many of the cases which are denied end up as part of the backlog because of incorrect or inaccurate documentation, even if the claimant is entitled to benefits. An experienced disability attorney can prevent this from happening to you.
Your Heart Transplant Graft Failure disability case
If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed with Heart Transplant Graft Failure, you can be confident that help is on the way in the form of Social Security Disability benefits. Even so, your best bet is to have your case evaluated by a Social Security Disability lawyer.
To begin the process of having your case handled by a disability lawyer, please fill out the request form on this website today.
