If you are applying for disability benefits with liver disease over age 50, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may use a few other requirements to decide whether you qualify for disability benefits.
Anyone with severe liver disease may qualify for Social Security disability benefits. If you suffer from cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis, or any of the many other chronic liver conditions, you could qualify for disability benefits if your condition meets a listing in the SSA’s Blue Book. However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may also use grid rules if you are unable to meet a Blue Book listing with your current medical condition. Grid rules are used by the SSA to determine if the condition you are experiencing keeps you from working in any previous careers and earning a living.
Grid Rules and Qualifying for Disability Benefits with Liver Disease Over 50
The SSA’s grid rules are used to determine if you are able to work a different job if you are no longer able to perform the duties and tasks of your current job due to your condition. The grid rules’ criteria that are considered when deciding on your claim are:
- age;
- level of education;
- occupational skills;
- if current skills can be used in another job;
- ability to do physical work.
These rules are designed to take the fact that your skills may have a lower likelihood of being transferable to other types of employment into consideration. Grid rules also take into consideration the fact that employers are less likely to employ you when you are 50 or older.
Medical Requirements for Liver Disease and SSD
Liver disease is characterized by liver cell necrosis, scarring (fibrosis or cirrhosis), or inflammation, that persists for more than 6 months. Chronic liver disease can result in hypertension, extrahepatic manifestations, liver cancer, or suppression of bile flow. The SSA evaluates liver cancer under section 13.19. in the Blue Book. There needs to be significant loss of liver function which may be detected by hemorrhage from accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.
Applying For Disability Benefits Liver Disease Over 50
In addition to meeting the Blue Book listing for liver disease and providing the right medical evidence proving you are unable to work for at least 12 months, you will need to meet other SSA requirements for liver disease over 50 in order to qualify for disability benefits. More specifically, the biggest additional requirement is having enough work credits. If you are over 50, it is likely that you have obtained enough work credits to qualify for SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance). This is because someone who is over 50 will likely have had to work for at least 7 years before getting diagnosed with liver disease. This means you will have accrued the necessary 28 work credits.
Get Help with your Liver Disease Disability Benefits Claim
If you want to avoid the need to appeal a denied disability benefits claim, talking to a disability attorney could help do this. People who work with disability attorneys from the start of their claim typically have higher chances of winning disability benefits for their condition compared to those who don’t. By working with an attorney for your Social Security Disability claim for liver disease, your attorney can ensure you have enough work credits as well as sufficient medical evidence that proves you are unable to work for at least 12 months.
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