If you have a serious case of lymphoma and have not worked because of the disability for 12 months or do not expect to be able to work for at least 12 months you have the right to apply for a social security disability benefit from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Approximately 70% of benefit applications are rejected initially, but you have a good chance of having a denied disability benefit application reversed if you file an appeal.
An initial denied benefit decision may be due to the inability to match the symptoms you show with any listing in the SSA’s Blue Book.
Organizing a residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment by your doctor may be one way of improving your chances of winning an appeal.
Who Can Appeal Denied Disability with Kidney Disease
The main criterion for an appeal is that you still think that your disability is sufficiently severe to prevent you from paid employment for at least the next 12 months.
The keys to improving your chances of successfully appealing is to keep to time restrictions throughout the appeal process, improve medical evidence demonstrating the lymphoma symptoms, including an RFC and using a disability lawyer to help with the legal process.
How an Appeal Can be Successful
Lymphoma is not a single disease. Oncologists recognize up to 40 or more variations of the disease. The SSA’s Blue Book has three separate listings for lymphoma, including Non –Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Mantle Cell lymphoma.
It would be unlikely to have a benefit denied if you have been diagnosed with Mantle Cell lymphoma as this almost automatically means a benefit is approved.
SSA’s Disability Determination Services assessors will look at the treatment you have had for Non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s lymphoma and are more likely to approve a benefit if treatment has failed to reduce the cancer or if there has been a recurrence of the cancer after initial successful treatment.
Assessors are more likely to approve a benefit if they have supporting data and prognosis directly from a treating oncologist than from your own doctor.
How to Use the RFC in an Appeal for a Denied Disability with Lymphoma
A residual functional capacity assessment can help tip the balance when appealing a denied benefit decision.
Rather than re-visit the medical symptoms associated with lymphoma, an RFC focuses on your physical and / or mental capacity through a series of specific tests.
The RFC assessment will provide information about your ability to be able to keep working over the next 12 months, a critical criterion for eligibility for a SSD benefit.
File Your Appeal for Denied Disability With Lymphoma Promptly
There are quite strict time limitations if you choose to appeal a denied disability decision. You must request reconsideration of your initial application within 60 days of receiving a denial notification.
Failing reconsideration, a hearing may be requested with an administrative law judge. Throughout the protracted appeal process, you need to keep to time restrictions, so the earlier you start the process of appeal the better.
Get a Free Case Evaluation Today
You are advised to seek legal representation if you decide to file an appeal against your denied disability benefit decision.
It won’t accelerate the process, which can be lengthy, but it does improve your chances of having the original decision overturned.
Start the appeal process now by filling out our Free Disability Evaluation.
