Tuberculosis can support a finding of disability from Social Security, although the argument that will work best in your case will depend on the severity of your symptoms, the duration of those symptoms and whether you have other medical problems in addition to TB.
Social Security defines disability in terms of your capacity to perform work or work-like activities. [1. Disability is defined as the inability to engage in substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable condition or conditions that has lasted or is expected to last 12 consecutive months or result in death.]. If you have been infected the tuberculosis bacteria, you may be experiencing symptoms that include such things as
- chronic cough, often with blood
- chest pain
- pain with breathing
- unexplained weight loss
- fatigue
- low grade fever
- night sweats
- chills
- poor appetite
In addition tuberculosis is a contagious condition, meaning that the disease can be spread from person to person by coughing or sneezing. If an otherwise healthy person contracts TB, that person must take a course of antibiotics for at least 6 to 9 months.
Not surprisingly, employers will be reluctant to hire or retain the services of an employee who is or may be contagious.
How to Win Your Tuberculosis Social Security Disability Claim
As discussed elsewhere in this website, there are three arguments or case theories that your (the “claimant”) and your lawyer can use to convince a Social Security judge or adjudicator to issue a favorable decision. These arguments are:
- meet a listing [2. for more about the listings please visit https://www.meetalisting.com]
- meet a grid rule [3. for more about the grid rules please visit https://www.gridrules.net]
- prove that your capacity for work has been so eroded by your medical condition or conditions that you would not be reliable enough to perform full time work [4. Click to read more about how the functional capacity argument works]
If TB is your primary impairment the grid rules will not apply because the grid rules are limited to claimants with exertional impairments [5. An exertional impairment impacts your physical capacity – things like lifting, pushing, pulling, standing and walking. TB may impact your energy level but it does not directly affect your back, knees, arms, etc..] Thus, the two arguments that remain available to you are the listing argument and the functional capacity argument.
Using a Listing Argument to Win your TB Case
Social Security’s listings are published in something called the blue book. The blue book contains 14 chapters, each focusing on a particular body system. Within each chapter are detailed descriptions of specific medical conditions. For example, Listing 14 focuses on the immune system. Within Listing 14 there are numerous immune conditions described – conditions such as lupus, inflammatory arthritis and HIV. For each condition described, specific lab report results or treatment regimens must be present in your medical record.
Social Security intentionally makes it difficult to meet a listing, so you should not be discouraged if your lawyer tells you that your case is not at listing level.
Currently there is no listing specifically for tuberculosis. There are, however, at least two places where a tuberculosis infection could reach listing level:
- Listing 14.08 – HIV – you can meet a listing if you have an HIV infection with 1. Mycobacterial infection (for example, caused by M. avium-intracellulare, M. kansasii, or M. tuberculosis) at site other than the lungs, skin, or cervical or hilar lymph nodes, or pulmonary tuberculosis resistant to treatment
- Listing 3.02 – Chronic pulmonary insufficiency – you can meet this listing if your breathing capacity falls below certain measurements based on your height. Although tuberculosis is not specifically mentioned in this listing, it can, of course, be a cause of pulmonary insufficiency.
When I have a case that may be listing level, I will create a checklist form for my client’s treating doctor which tracks the language of the listing along with several other questions that I believe will firm up the claim and I’ll send to the doctor and then send the completed form to the judge with a cover letter explanation.
Using a Functional Capacity Argument to Win your TB Social Security Disability Claim
In my experience, most cases involving TB usually end up before a judge and the majority of these are decided based on the judge’s evaluation of my client’s functional capacity.
I find that the best approach for a functional capacity argument involves my creation of a functional capacity evaluation form that asks a treating doctor to answer questions about my client’s reliability. For example, I always include questions about expected missed days from work and expected need to take unscheduled breaks.
Usually the functional capacity forms I create contain 20 to 25 questions that focus on the impact of my client’s symptoms in a work environment. I always make sure to include a duration question – remember that in order to get approved for disability we have to show that your condition will be at a disabling level for at least 12 consecutive months. Since the typical course of antibiotic treatment for TB is 6 to 8 months (and falling), we will need to produce evidence to show that your reduced capacity has lasted (or will last) 12 consecutive months.
Since TB alone is curable within some period of time (unless you have an antibiotic resistant form), you can expect the judge – if he approves your case – to include a mandatory review of benefits 12 to 36 months after the approval date.
If your TB has already been controlled by medications as of the date of your hearing, we can also ask the judge to award a closed period for the time during which you were symptomatic or recovering.
Finally, I have also found that most of my TB cases get approved on the record after I submit a brief without the need for a hearing because judges are reluctant to take the risk of getting infected.
If you have been infected with tuberculosis or have just recovered, you may very well have a claim for Social Security disability benefits. Please call me at 770-393-4985 to learn more about these government benefits.