Winning Your Arthritis Social Security Disability
Case by Meeting a Listing
As an attorney representing Social Security disability claimants, I have the responsibility of developing a clear strategy to win cases for my clients. As you may have read elsewhere on this web site, there are several different types of arguments that I use when preparing my case, including a functional capacity argument, a grid argument and a listing argument.
Often, I do not want to limit my presentation to one theory, so I will have several arguments prepared when I enter the courtroom. This is especially true in arthritis cases because arthritis is such a common ailment. Just about everyone develops some degree of arthritis as we age and some disability ALJ’s will discount arthritis complaints for that reason. Further, arthritis may be one of several disabling medical conditions that affect my client, meaning that I may use arthritis evidence and testimony to eliminate certain job-like activities and rely on other medically determinable conditions to get rid of other potential jobs.
In sum, listing level arthritis cases are not particularly common, and when I do see them, they usually involve a form of inflammatory arthritis, rather than the more common osteoarthritis.
Both osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis are including in the listings. Listing level osteoarthritis may be found at Listing 1.04, and limitations associated with osteoarthritis may also be seen at several of the other listings contained in Listing 1.00 - Musculoskeletal System.
Listing Level Osteoarthritis
In my experience, listing level osteoarthritis reflects scar tissue and osteophyte (bone spur) formation that is associate with some other significant orthopedic condition. For example, some individuals seem to be more prone than others to epidural fibrosis (scar tissue) and bone spur complications following surgery. In some cases, these complications can compress the nerve root and result in pain and numbness. In extreme cases, a patient may be diagnosed with “failed back syndrome,” in which surgery does not eliminate pain or restore function. Since failed back syndrome is usually the result of years of unsuccessful treatment, it usually requires a medical expert to testify at the hearing that one of the musculoskeletal listings has been met.
Inflammatory Arthritis - A More Common Listing Level Impairment
By contrast, the inflammatory arthritis listing at 14.09 is a more common listing level impairment. Types of inflammatory arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Inflammatory arthritis arises from an autoimmune reaction, which is why it is contained in the immune system listing. Whereas osteoarthritis involves a wearing away of the cartilage normally found at the end of bones, inflammatory arthritis occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the lining of the affected joint. Inflammatory arthritis is a disease process that can be identified by various blood chemistry markers.
When Social Security describes a medical diagnosis in a listing, they identify specific elements of that diagnosis which must be met. Because the listings reflect specific diagnostic conditions, I can transform the listing into a checklist for your doctor to complete. If we can get your doctor to complete one of my “statement on the listing” forms, we have a very good chance at winning your case.
Even if the doctor will not cooperate, medical experts who have been in medical practice will often recognize and testify to a listing level of impairment in the case of inflammatory arthritis. This is especially true if your blood chemistry markers clearly identify a disease process and if you have been seeking relief with one or more specialists over a long period of time.
Back to Case Studies and Case Strategies
|
