What Does Social Security Look for in Endometriosis Disability Claims?
For the Social Security Administration (SSA) to seriously consider your endometriosis disability claim, you need to focus on your individual symptoms more than your diagnosis of endometriosis.
Describe details of your symptoms and how they interfere with the daily functions you need to work consistently and support yourself.
Symptoms that a claims examiner will look for in a claim include:
- Chronic pain
- Fatigue that doesn’t go away with rest
- Extremely painful periods and menstrual cramps
- Digestive issues like constipation, bloating, diarrhea or nausea
- Mental health struggles that can stem from your medical and financial stress, such as anxiety and depression
You’ll need evidence to back up your claim. Just telling Social Security about your symptoms isn’t enough to qualify for disability.
Items that strengthen your claim include:
- A written diagnosis from your doctor
- Medical imaging results
- Blood test and lab results
- A list of your prescribed medications, their dosages and their effects and side effects
- Surgical records
- Your doctor’s evaluation of your functional limitations
- Records of emergency room visits
- Records of hospitalizations
- An account of the treatments you’ve tried and their effectiveness
- Evidence that you needed accommodations at work, like extra breaks
A convincing endometriosis disability claim will show that your symptoms are so severe that they interfere with work often and long enough to make reliable employment impossible.
And you’ll need to demonstrate that you have tried to treat these symptoms, but endometriosis still interferes with your ability to work.
We can help you gather everything you need to support your claim. Our Georgia Social Security Disability attorneys have been helping women in Georgia steady their lives in the face of major health disruptions for decades.
What Is Residual Functional Capacity in Social Security Disability Claims?
Because endometriosis isn’t an official disability to Social Security, you’ll need to pursue what Social Security calls a “medical-vocational allowance.”
That includes assessing your practical, physical capabilities and analyzing what your age, education, work experience and transferable skills may mean for your ability to continue in your past work or switch to different work.
At the core of this is your residual functional capacity (RFC). This measures what activities you can do, physically and mentally, despite your symptoms.
Social Security may acknowledge that your endometriosis limits you in some ways, but it wants to see if there’s any kind of work you can do.
Your doctor may provide your RFC assessment, which includes:
- How long you can sit, stand or walk
- How well you can stoop, crouch or crawl
- How much you can lift, push or pull objects
- Whether you can maintain concentration
- Whether you can perform tasks on schedule
- Whether you can interact with others
- How well you can manage your emotions
- How well you can regulate your behavior
- Whether you can make daily decisions and judgments
Social Security divides work into five categories, in order from least to most taxing—sedentary, light, medium, heavy and very heavy work.
The level of work Social Security deems you able to do can become a big challenge for your endometriosis disability claim. The SSA might believe that you can’t do heavy physical work, but that a sedentary or light job at a desk is manageable.
You need highly specific details about how your symptoms impact your ability to work, including sitting for long periods at a desk or concentrating for extended times on a computer screen.
If chronic pain and fatigue make it difficult to sit for even 10 minutes, or if you can’t complete work tasks in a timely manner because you’re distracted by your symptoms, be clear about it in your disability application.
Our Georgia Social Security Disability lawyers will help you build your case.
What Do I Do if My Endometriosis Claim Gets Denied?
You can try your best on your endometriosis disability claim, taking great care explaining the symptoms that make it impossible to do any job, but still be denied disability benefits.
Social Security has high standards for who gets SSDI or SSI. Only around 35% to 40% of initial claims are approved.
So appealing and asking the SSA to reverse its denial is simply a part of the process for many Georgians.
You have multiple chances to appeal:
Step #1: Asking for reconsideration
The first stage is asking Social Security to have another claims examiner look at your claim to see if they come to a different conclusion.
Claims are rarely approved at reconsideration, but it’s a crucial first step in the appeals process.
Step #2: A disability hearing in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ)
This hearing in front of an administrative law judge is often the best chance to win disability benefits. You get to tell your story personally and make your case directly to a judge.
The judge could ask expert witnesses to testify about your case. They could argue that you can still work, so have a lawyer on your side to cross-examine them.
Step #3: The Social Security Appeals Council
If you disagree with the hearing decision, you can ask the Appeals Council at Social Security to review it. It can decline to take your case, uphold the decision, award you benefits or send you back for another hearing.
At this stage, you’re not introducing new evidence. You’re making legal arguments and identifying errors in the ALJ’s decision.
Step #4: Filing suit in federal court
The final step takes you out of the Social Security system entirely and into Federal District Court. Unlike a disability hearing, you won’t testify directly to the judge. This step is done mostly through legal briefs.
Act quickly to keep your appeal going. At each stage you have 60 days to respond and move on to the next step. Wait too long and you’ll need to start over with a new application for benefits.
Each stage of the appeals process gets more complicated and legalistic as you go along. Get support from the Silver & Archibald Georgia disability lawyers.
We can answer your questions and help you build a stronger case on appeal.
In fact, we have a record of winning more benefits for people in Georgia than any other law firm in the state, according to a Social Security listing of top disability representative firms.
Endometriosis disability claims are tricky. Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with Silver & Archibald to learn more about how to move forward.
Get to Know Silver & Archibald Disability Attorneys
Legal cases involving your health struggles are highly personal matters. When you’re looking for help, you want someone who treats you with the personal care, respect, and dignity this moment requires.
Answers to Common Questions About Social Security Disability
Social Security Disability is a huge program with a vast set of rules. As a resource for you as you sort out your disability claim, the disability lawyers at Silver & Archibald have prepared answers to some of the most common questions people have.
Common Disability Benefits Questions »
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