Many Social Security disability claimants have been diagnosed with diabetes. What does it take to win? Here is a question I received from a reader of this blog:
Jane, my girlfriend of 25 years (54 yrs old) has been diagnosed with Type I Diabetes for 35 years. She has had a number of problems over the years (uncontrollable diarrhea, Retinopathy, Neuropathy) all of which were more or less under control until recently. She has suffered a massive hemorrhage in one of her eyes and is completely blind in one eye. The eye may be able to be helped by surgery but one thing is for certain it will never be as good as it was 3 weeks ago. Jane has been employed as a land surveyor (self employed last 10 yrs) for 30 years and it is very difficult to carry on with the physical impairments brought on by diabetes. Given her age I would very much like to get her on a government sponsored disability program so as to supplement my earnings while waiting for SS retirement to kick in at age 62. Do you think I have any chance of this? Given your experience which of the numerous symptoms of diabetes are the easiest to document for a SSDI claim?
Here are my thoughts: under Social Security’s definitions, Jane is “closely approaching advanced age” and has a skilled work background, and quite possibly transferrable skills. Her educational background is not mentioned but I will assume that she has a college education. As such, it is unlikely that any of the medical-vocational guidelines (the grid rules) will apply.
I would therefore analyze her case as Continue reading →