Slowly but steadily, Parkinson’s disease disables your nervous system. Sooner or later, as it erodes your ability to move, it’s likely to take away your ability to work.
When you can’t work, you worry about how you’re going to pay your bills, but you need to focus on your health.
Help is out there for people wondering whether Parkinson’s could qualify for any financial assistance.
Social Security recognizes it and other closely related disorders—which it lists under “Parkinsonian syndrome”—as eligible for monthly checks and health care coverage with disability benefits.
Benefits make it easier for you to live a life of dignity and independence.
Getting those benefits, however, is no easy task. With forms to fill out, steps and requirements, Social Security makes it hard to win approval. In fact, most first-time applications are denied.
Having a skilled, experienced disability lawyer at your side can make all the difference.
Lachman & Gorton Law Office helps people in Binghamton, Elmira, Rochester and across upstate New York. We’ve helped thousands of people manage the Social Security Disability process.
If Parkinson’s disease is altering your life, you don’t have to tackle Social Security on your own.
Parkinson’s is a terrible thief. While almost every case is different, it often starts with small signs—a slight tremor here, a slower movement there—before it begins to become a real problem.
You know about the warning signs. The sooner you get a diagnosis, the sooner you can start treatment and medications that can slow the disease’s progress.
But once it becomes severe enough that you can no longer earn a living, that’s when your Parkinson’s may qualify as a disability eligible for economic aid under Social Security rules.
Social Security will want documentation of your symptoms, which could include:
You can also experience pain or suffer cognitive impairments related to Parkinson’s.
Social Security has requirements you must meet to qualify your Parkinson’s condition for disability benefits. You must show the following effects for three consecutive months despite your treatment and medications:
OR
a) Understanding, remembering or using information
b) Interacting with other people
c) Concentrating, persisting or keeping pace on tasks
d) Adapting to your surroundings and managing your everyday needs and behavior
The disability lawyers at Lachman & Gorton can assess if you might have a strong case for Social Security Disability benefits. You can get this evaluation for FREE.
When you’re ready to demonstrate that Parkinson’s qualifies you for disability benefits, there are some important steps you must take.
Because Parkinson’s is progressive, you should work closely with your doctor to document changes in your condition over time—up to and past the point where you can no longer work. This history will be important when dealing with Social Security.
Documents Social Security will want to see include:
If you feel you may fall short of Social Security’s requirements, you can undergo a “residual functional capacity” evaluation, where you and your doctor carefully document how your condition interferes with your everyday activities, regardless of other medical evidence.
At Lachman & Gorton, we help you through the application process and provide you with legal support should you be denied benefits and need to appeal.
When you’re living with Parkinson’s disease, let’s work together to get you back on stable financial ground and in control of your future.