Fibromyalgia Part 2
If you are suffering from fibromyalgia that’s preventing you from working, you may qualify to receive Social Security disability benefits. But first, the Social Security Administration must determine that you are “disabled.” The hallmark of being “disabled” is if you have a severe medically determinable impairment.
There are two ways of meeting this requirement: (1) your fibromyalgia is severe enough to meet or equal a listing in the Social Security Administration’s Listing of Impairments; or (2) an examination of your residual functional capacity (RFC) reveals that you’re not able to do any past relevant or other work. In this article, Ocala disability lawyer Claudeth Henry will focus on the first route: winning Social Security disability benefits by meeting or equaling a listing.
The Social Security Administration has formulated a Listing of Impairments that enumerates the most common impairments. For each particular impairment that is listed, there’s a description of the level of severity that the Social Security Administration will automatically presume prevents the person from being able to do any substantial work activity. Any claimant who meets or equals a listing will be considered disabled.
However, the Listing of Impairments does not list fibromyalgia. Thus, there is no way for you to “meet” a listed impairment based solely on your fibromyalgia. You may still “equal” a listed impairment by showing that the severity of your fibromyalgia reveals a “medical equivalence” with a different impairment that is listed in the Listing of Impairments.
If you have psychological issues that are concurrent with your fibromyalgia, make sure to have these evaluated under the mental disorder listings. The Social Security might determine that your medical impairments meet or equal the severity of a mental disorder listing.
Getting the Social Security Administration to believe that your fibromyalgia is equal to a listing in the Social Security Administration’s Listing of Impairments can be difficult, especially since fibromyalgia is not listed and is a condition with largely subjective symptoms. However, with the help of your Ocala disability lawyer, you may be able to show Social Security that your condition equals a listed impairment. Ocala disability lawyer Claudeth Henry has the expertise and dedication to help you make the best possible case to the Social Security Administration. Simply fill out the form on this page to schedule a free initial consultation.