Disability for Ulcerative Colitis in New York

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Can You Get Disability for Ulcerative Colitis in New York?

Living with ulcerative colitis isn’t just about occasional stomach flare-ups; it’s a chronic condition that can make steady work feel impossible.

If ulcerative colitis keeps you from earning a living for 12 months or longer, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. Benefits provide financial support to stabilize your life.

Getting approved isn’t automatic. You need to prove that your condition meets strict standards from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

At Lachman & Gorton Law Office, our disability lawyers help people across Upstate New York, including Binghamton, Elmira, and Rochester, put together strong disability claims, including with ulcerative colitis.

Lachman & Gorton has helped thousands of people.

We work to understand your situation, and we know how to communicate it effectively to Social Security.

The Best Way to Get Social Security Disability for Ulcerative Colitis

The most likely way you’ll win Social Security Disability benefits for ulcerative colitis is to show Social Security how your case limits your everyday activity—documenting what physical and mental tasks you can or cannot do with your condition.

Social Security calls this your “residual functional capacity” or RFC.

Your doctor does the assessment of your RFC. Our disability attorneys have found this to be how the vast majority of people win disability benefits for ulcerative colitis.

But be careful because Social Security has an RFC assessment doctors can follow, and that report might not come out in your favor. It’s not designed to truly show how ulcerative colitis impacts your life.

Instead, work with the Social Security Disability lawyers at Lachman & Gorton.

We have our own RFC form for your doctor to use that allows you to fully tell your story.

We make sure you give your doctor a complete picture of the disruption that ulcerative colitis causes you.

For example:

Explaining if a delay in reaching the restroom—like finding a restroom occupied or locked—could cause a major problem
Explaining how you sometimes must spend longer times in the restroom, detracting from your ability to work
Explaining pain symptoms that rob you of the ability to concentrate on work
Explaining fatigue that hinders your work
Explaining how often you have symptoms that interfere with work

Here are more tips from our Upstate New York disability lawyers on getting Social Security Disability benefits for ulcerative colitis:

Track your medical history closely. Keep calendar dates for hospital visits, flare-ups, weight changes and lab results. Schedule colonoscopies, nutritional assessments, and any procedures, and preserve documentation.
Gather strong medical records. Include endoscopy reports, biopsies, lab values, imaging results, doctor’s notes, and therapy or treatment logs.
Document your daily limits. Keep a journal of how your symptoms affect you, the time spent away from work, mood and focus challenges.
Stay persistent. Disability claims for ulcerative colitis (and all health conditions) often face rejection. But you can appeal that decision, and you probably should. Each level of disability benefits appeals, through reconsideration, hearing, Appeals Council, and federal court, gives you another opportunity to win benefits.

You can start out by getting Lachman & Gorton to evaluate your disability claim for ulcerative colitis for free.

What to Know About Social Security’s Impairments Listing on Ulcerative Colitis

You may have heard about the SSA’s “blue book” listing of impairments that qualify for disability benefits. Ulcerative colitis is on the list in the category for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The listing gives medical guidelines for proving your ulcerative colitis disability claim.

It is good that they recognize your condition. But like we said, most people use the residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment to qualify for benefits, not the exact directions in the blue book.

To qualify under the listing, your medical records must show at least one of the following, despite ongoing treatment, within a six-month period:

Hospitalizations for bowel obstruction or surgery at least 60 days apart
Severe anemia (hemoglobin under 10 g/dL)
Low serum albumin (≤ 3.0 g/dL)
A tender abdominal mass with pain or cramping
Perineal disease with abscess or fistula
Unintentional weight loss of 10 percent or more
Need for daily nutritional support via feeding tube or catheter

Alternatively, if you have repeated severe flare-ups, at least three flare-ups per year each lasting two weeks or more can also meet the standards for disability benefits.

Your flare-ups must cause what the SSA calls “marked” limitations in your daily activities, social functioning, or concentration

You don’t have to navigate the process of applying for Social Security Disability alone.

Our disability attorneys bring years of focused experience and a deep commitment to serving Upstate New Yorkers.

We can help you put together a claim that reflects the reality of your daily struggles. You pay nothing unless we win.

We want to see you get the resources you need for a more secure life.