No one ever wants to be in a situation where they have to file for disability. However, accidents, injuries, and illnesses happen, and being able to file for assistance that will help you for a couple of years or the rest of your life can be a big weight off of an individual’s shoulders or those of their family members.

Filing for disability payments can be a hassle, and an even bigger hurdle if you are already sick or hurting. Hiring a lawyer, such as one of the expert professionals at Morgan and Morgan in Athens, Georgia, is always a smart choice. They will be able to help you get the money you need (and deserve!) in a timely manner that makes it as easy on you as possible. They also know the ins and outs of the Social Security rules and regulations so that you don’t have to wade through those muddy waters yourself, on top of everything else.

What Conditions Qualify for Disability in Georgia?

The Social Security Administration keeps a list of those conditions that automatically qualify someone for disability. These are separated into adult and childhood listings.

 

Adult Listings

This list comprises all the medical situations that an adult (someone over the age of 18) can use to apply for disability benefits. (Many of these also apply to the children’s listing set, especially if they will also affect that child as an adult.)

Musculoskeletal Disorders – These are disorders of the skeletal spine or of the extremities that affect musculoskeletal functioning. The term “skeletal” refers to the structure of the bones that make up the skeleton.

 

• Skeletal spine disorders that result in a compromised nerve root(s)
• Lumbar spinal stenosis that results in a compromised cauda equina
• Reconstructive surgery or surgical arthrodesis of a major weight-bearing joint
• Major joint in any limb with an abnormality
• Pathologic fractures, any cause
• Amputation, any cause
• Soft tissue injury or abnormality that undergoes continual surgical management
• Non-healing or complex fracture(s) of the femur, tibia, pelvis, or one or more talocrural bones
• Non-healing or complex fracture of the arms or upper extremity

 

Special Senses and Speech – Visual disorders are eye abnormalities or brain disorders that cause loss of vision or visual acuity. Statutory blindness is defined as blindness that is 20/200 or less in the better eye even with corrective lenses.

 

• Loss of central visual acuity
• Contraction of the visual fields in the better eye
• Loss of visual efficiency
• Disturbance of labyrinthine-vestibular function
• Loss of speech
• Hearing loss that is not treated with a cochlear implant
• Hearing loss that is treated with a cochlear implant

 

Respiratory Disorders – Respiratory disorders that make it difficult to move air in and out of the lungs are evaluated under this section. This also includes cancers that affect the respiratory system.

 

• Asthma
• Cystic fibrosis (CF)
• Bronchiectasis
• Chronic pulmonary hypertension, any cause
• Lung transplant(s)
• Respiratory failure

 

Cardiovascular System – Cardiovascular impairments mean anything impairing the proper functioning of the circulatory system, including the heart. These disorders or impairments can be either genetic or acquired.

 

• Chronic heart failure
• Ischemic heart disease
• Recurrent arrhythmias
• Symptomatic congenital heart disease
• Heart transplant
• Aneurysm of the aorta or major branches
• Chronic venous insufficiency
• Peripheral arterial disease

 

Digestive System – To determine this qualification, you need medical evidence that includes clinical and lab findings or tests, including medically acceptable imaging and reports that evaluate and document duration and severity.

 

• Gastrointestinal hemorrhaging that requires a blood transfusion(s), any cause
• Chronic liver disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Short bowel syndrome (SBS)
• Chronic weight loss due to any digestive disorder
• Liver transplant

 

Genitourinary Disorders – These disorders need evidence in the form of documentation of signs, symptoms, and lab tests. These can include clinical exam reports, records of treatment, and documented responses.

 

• Chronic kidney disease; chronic hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis
• Chronic kidney disease with transplant
• Chronic kidney disease with impaired kidney function
• Nephrotic syndrome
• Complications associated with chronic kidney disease

 

Hematological Disorders – These disorders are non-malignant, or non-cancerous. Lab reports or tests are needed to determine qualifications.

 

• Hemolytic anemias (sickle cell, thalassemia, and other variants)
• Thrombosis and hemostasis disorders
• Bone marrow failure disorders
• Hematological disorders treated with bone marrow and/or stem cell transplant
• Chronic complications from hematological disorders

 

Skin Disorders – Skin disorders that qualify for disability might be genetic, congenital, or acquired. Necessary documentation will include information about onset, duration, frequency, and prognosis. It should also include details about the physical appearance, location, and size of skin lesions and possible exposure to toxins, allergens, and/or irritants as well as familial incidence, variations in seasons, triggers or stressors, and the patient’s ability to function when not in a protected environment. Lab findings are also necessary to confirm evidence of disease.

 

• Ichthyosis
• Bullous disease
• Chronic skin infections
• Chronic mucous membrane infections
• Dermatitis
• Hidradenitis suppurativa
• Photosensitivity disorders, genetic
• Burns

 

Endocrine Disorders – Endocrine disorders are conditions caused by hormonal imbalances. When the endocrine system is out of balance, it can produce either too much or too little of a hormone which causes complications.

 

• Pituitary gland disorders
• Thyroid gland disorders
• Parathyroid gland disorders
• Adrenal gland disorders
• Pancreatic gland disorders, including diabetes mellitus
• Hyperglycemia, including chronic
• Hypoglycemia
• Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)

 

Congenital Disorders Affecting More Than One Body System – Down syndrome also exists in a mosaic form, but it is only evaluated in this category in the non-mosaic variety.

• Non-mosaic Down syndrome (trisomy 21 or translocation of chromosome 21)

 

Neurological Disorders – Diseases and disorders evaluated under this section might manifest with a combination of physical and mental limits. If the neurological disorder only results in mental impairment, or if there is a concurrent mental condition that is not caused by the mental disorder (such as dementia), then it will be evaluated under the mental disorders section. These disorders need both medical and non-medical evidence to be able to assess the effects of said disorder. This could include all pieces of medical history, as well as your personal statements, restrictions, daily activities, and efforts and failures to function.

 

• Epilepsy
• Vascular insult to the brain
• Benign brain tumors
• Parkinson’s disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Spinal cord disorders
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Post-polio syndrome
• Myasthenia gravis
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Huntington’s disease, Friedreich’s ataxia, spinocerebellar degeneration, or other neurodegenerative disorders
• Traumatic brain injury
• Coma, persistent vegetative state
• Motor neuron disorders (not ALS)

 

Mental Disorders – There are multiple paragraphs for certain listings in this category, and if the disorder is one of those, then your disorder must satisfy the requirements of all listed paragraphs. The exception to this is intellectual disorder, having two paragraphs, but there need only be impairments from one.

 

• Neurocognitive disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Psychotic disorders
• Depression, bipolar, or related disorders
• Intellectual disorder
• Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders
• Somatic symptoms and related disorders
• Personality disorders
• Impulse-control disorders
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Eating disorders
• Trauma-related and stressor-related disorders

 

Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic Diseases) – Evaluation of cancer considers its origin, the extent of involvement, its duration, frequency, and response to anticancer therapy, and the effects of any post-therapeutic residuals.

 

• Soft tissue cancers, head, and neck
• Skin
• Soft-tissue sarcoma
• Lymphoma
• Leukemia
• Multiple myeloma
• Salivary gland
• Thyroid gland
• Breast
• Skeletal system, sarcoma
• Maxilla, orbit, or temporal fossa
• Nervous system
• Lung
• Pleura or mediastinum
• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Small or large intestine
• Liver
• Gallbladder
• Pancreas
• Kidney, adrenal gland, or ureters; carcinoma
• Urinary bladder; carcinoma
• Female genital tract; carcinoma or sarcoma
• Prostate; carcinoma
• Testicles
• Penis
• Unknown primary site
• Cancer, treated by bone marrow and/or stem cell transplant
• Malignant melanoma

 

Immune System Disorders – These disorders cause dysfunction in the immune functioning of the body. This might be due to antibody production, impaired cell-mediated immunity, or a complement deficiency, among other things. They may be recurrent or unusual. They can also cause limitations in other organs or systems.

 

• Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus)
• Systemic vasculitis
• Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)
• Polymyositis and/or dermatomyositis
• Undifferentiated and mixed connective tissue disease
• Immune deficiency disorders, not HIV
• Inflammatory arthritis
• Sjögren’s syndrome
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

 

Childhood Listings

These listings include everything that might affect an adult in the above listings, but for a child (under the age of 18). Once they are an adult, if the condition still applies, they would qualify under the adult listings. It also includes the following additions to these categories:

 

Low Birth Weight and Failure to Thrive

• Low birth weight infants (from birth until age 1)
• Failure to thrive (from birth to age 3)

 

Musculoskeletal Disorders

• Musculoskeletal disorders of infants and toddlers, from birth until age 3, with an associated developmental motor delay

 

Respiratory Disorders

• Growth failure due to any chronic respiratory disorder

 

Cardiovascular System

• Rheumatic heart disease

 

Digestive System

• Growth failure due to any digestive disorder
• Need for supplemental daily enteral feeding via a gastronomy

 

Genitourinary Disorders

• Growth failure due to any chronic renal disease
• Congenital genitourinary disorder
• Congenital complications of chronic kidney disease

 

Endocrine Disorders

• Diabetes mellitus in any child under the age of six that requires daily administration of insulin

 

Congenital Disorders Affecting More than One Body System

• Congenital disorder, catastrophic

 

Neurological Disorders

• Communication impairment
• Muscular dystrophy
• Neurodegenerative disorders affecting the central nervous system, such as juvenile-onset Huntington’s and Friedreich’s ataxia
• Traumatic brain injury is characterized by disorganized motor function in at least two extremities
• Coma or vegetative state that lasts for at least one month

 

Mental Disorders

• Developmental disorders in infants and toddlers

 

Cancer

• Malignant solid tumors
• Retinoblastoma
• Neuroblastoma

 

Final Thoughts

Here at Morgan & Morgan, we want you to get every penny that should be coming to you, especially if your disability injury, or condition was not your fault. Reach out to us whether you live in Athens or the surrounding areas in Georgia, and we will make sure to get you the respectful, understanding help you deserve.