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If you struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you know it can interfere with every aspect of your life, including your ability to hold a job and support yourself.
Social Security Disability benefits are a financial lifeline for you when your PTSD symptoms have stopped you from working, but many people get denied the first time they apply.
Getting your disability claim rejected is demoralizing and stressful, but that’s not the end of the road. The Binghamton disability lawyers at Lachman & Gorton Law Office can help you appeal and fight for the benefits you deserve.
With Social Security’s strict rules, it’s tough to prove you should be awarded disability benefits. It can be even tougher for applicants who suffer from mental health disorders that are hard for other people to see and understand.
Don’t trust your PTSD disability claim to just anybody. Some law firms don’t connect you with an actual disability lawyer who can handle all stages of the appeals process.
The Lachman & Gorton Law Office helps people through every step of appealing a disability denial. We have been helping people win disability benefits for more than 40 years.
Read on to learn more about why these types of disability cases can be so difficult to win and what our Binghamton disability appeal attorneys can do to help you.
The symptoms of PTSD can make it impossible to work consistently. And being unable to work is what you have to prove to win Social Security Disability benefits.
During the day, you might have flashbacks, sometimes in response to triggers and situations you can’t control.
You might not escape this stress when you sleep because you could have nightmares as well.
How do you focus on work when your brain keeps replaying a traumatic event against your will?
How do you work if you’re exhausted because this disorder prevents you from getting enough rest?
In some cases, flashbacks and nightmares are so severe that people can’t go to work at all. You could miss hours of work or full days because of PTSD symptoms.
Just the fear of having an episode can discourage someone from leaving their home and going out in public for any reason.
Even when you have “good” days, you could struggle to regulate your mood or interact with others because of how exhausting PTSD can be.
On top of all this, many sufferers also deal with other health conditions, both physical and mental.
These health issues all interact, making it even more difficult to work enough to support themselves.
For your disability claim, you need to show the Social Security Administration (SSA) the full picture of how PTSD and any other health problems you have cause difficulties for you in a work setting.
A key part of your claim will be an assessment of your “residual functional capacity,” or RFC, which is a measure of what you can do despite your health limitations.
The disability lawyers at Lachman & Gorton have extensive experience and a strong focus on getting RFC assessments for successful disability claims.
To qualify for Social Security Disability, you need to show that your health issues will prevent you from working any job, and you’ll need evidence to prove it.
Our Binghamton disability attorneys can help you fill in the gaps in your initial disability claim and make a stronger case.
Talk to us about your disability appeal.
A Binghamton Social Security Disability lawyer can help you build the strongest possible case for PTSD disability benefits.
Many disability claims get denied because they don’t have enough medical documentation.
Some items that can help you make your claim more convincing include:
Medical records are good to have, but they’re not the only way to tell your story. It also helps to have evidence of disruptions to your work, like missed days, and statements from people who have witnessed your mental health issues firsthand.
You don’t want to exaggerate your symptoms, but you also have to be careful not to undersell your struggles.
Many people who apply for Social Security Disability have been fighting through their pain for a long time, and they’re trying to put up a brave demeanor, which can make it easy to downplay their medical issues.
You don’t want to do that when you apply for these benefits. You need to be clear about your health problems and how they limit you.
Our disability attorneys can offer more perspective on your disability claim and help you make a more persuasive case for benefits.
The Upstate NY disability attorneys of Lachman & Gorton have extensive experience with each stage of the difficult disability appeals process.
We can help you request a reconsideration, which gives another examiner from Social Security the chance to reevaluate your claim and grant you benefits.
We can prepare you for a disability hearing in front of an administrative law judge, represent you, and cross-examine expert witnesses who might doubt your PTSD disability status.
If your hearing doesn’t go your way, our team can take your case to the Social Security Appeals Council and make convincing legal arguments.
Finally, if all else fails, we can file a disability appeal in federal court. Few attorneys have the experience or credentials needed to take your appeal this far, but disability attorney Peter Gorton brings well over 75 cases to Federal District Court each year.
Getting denied Social Security Disability benefits is stressful, but you don’t have to navigate the appeals process on your own.
Talk to the team at Lachman & Gorton about your appeal. We’ve helped thousands of people like you in Binghamton, Elmira, Rochester, and across Upstate and Western New York.
Focus on your health. We’ll focus on your appeal.