As a disease that considerably weakens the body’s bones, osteoporosis often makes a highly negative impact on a patient’s work performance.
Ranging from a fall at work to simply sneezing at home, the body’s bones are vulnerable to severe damage that dramatically limits physical activities, as well as significantly causes mental distress. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration (SSA) runs a safety net program that helps injured workers receive financial compensation for lost wages and medical bills.
If you suffer from osteoporosis, and the disease has limited your time at work, you should consult with an experienced Social Security lawyer to apply for benefits.
How Osteoporosis Negatively Affects Your Physical Ability to Work
Like most diseases, osteoporosis goes through several stages. However, even mild symptoms of the disease can limit mobility at work. A simple fracture keeps you home to recover, and a compound fracture requires extensive surgery that leads to weeks, if not months of no mobility.
Professionals that work highly physical jobs cannot perform the same job duties they performed before the body’s bones began to degrade. Mid to late-stage development of the disease makes it impossible for utility, construction, and home services professionals to hold down a job.
The fractures that frequently occur because of osteoporosis can be crippling. Acute pain limits physical activity of any kind. Taken for granted movements such as getting out of bed becomes an arduous chore.
Consistent sharp back and neck pain negatively impact professionals that sit at a desk for hours on end. Osteoporosis needs to be detected early in development, as well as aggressively treated to minimize the adverse physical impact of the disease.
How Osteoporosis Negatively Affects Your Mental Ability to Work
Osteoporosis is typically not a one and done disease. If the disease caused you to break one or more bones for the first time, the chances are good that the same bones eventually break again. Repeated fractures to the same bone or bones can trigger depression, especially if osteoporosis limits your ability to move around.
The disease can cause an abnormal posture that includes stooping while walking. Self-conscious about an abnormal posture, you might begin to self-isolate about the fear of being ridiculed. Fear of falling is another common mental block for osteoporosis patients.
How to Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits
The SSA runs a program called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) that helps physically and mentally impaired workers receive financial assistance. To qualify for SSDI benefits, you must have worked enough to earn credits, as well as paid taxes to support the SSA.
SSA administrators refer to a guide called the Blue Book to determine eligibility for SSDI benefits. Although osteoporosis is not listed in the Blue Book, severe symptoms of the disease might qualify you for SSDI benefits. Receiving a reply from the SSA about your SSDI application can take months, although there is a way to shorten the decision-making process.
Act with a Sense of Urgency
Hiring a state-licensed Social Security lawyer is an effective way to move your application through the SSA bureaucracy at a faster pace.
Not only does an attorney monitor the progress of your SSDI application, but your lawyer also ensures that you submit the most convincing evidence in the form of medical documents and copies of your paychecks. To initiate the application process, go online to ssa.gov to complete the online form.
Schedule a free case evaluation today with a highly rated Social Security lawyer.
