Filing For Disability For Loss of Limb

If you or someone in your family has recently lost a limb, you may want to learn about the process of filing a disability claim to receive Social Security benefits. There are several things that Social Security will evaluate as they determine whether or not to approve your claim:

• the severity of your disability from a medical perspective
• are you currently working

• can you work in the same job you had before you lost your limb or is there other work you can do

Disability Severity

When evaluating the severity of a disability that resulted from the loss of a limb, Social Security will examine if:

• you can walk without needing a walker, two crutches or two canes
• you can walk on an uneven surface for about a block
• you can use regular public transportation
• you can climb several steps using one handrail

If you cannot do these things you may be found to have "ineffective ambulation" which is part of the criteria for disability from the loss of a limb. In the course of determining whether you qualify medically for disability, your level of pain will be assessed, and if your pain and ineffective ambulation are expected to last more than one year.

Work or Income Criteria

When you have lost a limb through amputation or an accident, you will file a claim for disability in the same way everyone else does. You have the option, and the right to hire an attorney to help you file your claim and to work on your behalf through any appeals that may become necessary.

There are two different types of disability benefits potentially available to you. They both have the same medical criteria, but they differ when it comes to work or income. The two types are called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

• To be eligible for SSDI, you have to have worked long enough and recently enough in a job where you paid Social Security taxes. This is figured out using a table and the age you were when you became disabled.

• SSI is for disabled people who have a low income. If you are over 65 or blind you can also qualify for SSI.

Working After Disability

Whether you can continue to work at the same job you had before you lost your limb will be important to determining if you are disabled. If there is some other type of work that you can do with a missing limb, that will also be taken into consideration. Social Security will examine if you can participate in "gainful" activity that is significant enough to earn you $1,000 or more a month. Should you be able to do that, or spend 80 hours a month working in a business that you own you are not likely to be considered disabled.

Get Legal Help

Like many other medical conditions, having lost a limb does not automatically mean you can qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Hire an attorney who has a practice focused on Social Security issues to assist you with filing your claim. They know the system, and can help ensure that your application presents a complete medical and vocational picture to the Disability Determination Examiners in order to get you the best results in the least amount of time.