Back pain can be a qualifying disability which entitles you to receive SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) benefits, but claimants need to understand disability examiners see a copious amount of back impairment claims. Unfortunately most of these claims get denied for a variety of reasons, but this doesn’t necessarily mean there is no chance of success. Any alleged condition which is causing you back pain needs to be properly documented and backed up by medical records. Even if you are experiencing debilitating back pain which is the reason for your claim, you will most likely be denied without sufficient evidence of the cause. There is a myriad of different conditions which can result in back pain, as such Social Security receives more claims regarding back problems than any other physical injury or illness, and they will not hastily grant benefits to those with the slight/moderate back pain which we all experience as we get older.
There is an ample amount of back impairment conditions which ravage a staggering amount of the U.S. populace. In order to be granted benefits, you need to have a medically determinable condition such as spinal arachnoiditis, ankylosing spondylitis, spinal nerve root compression, severe scoliosis, spinal stenosis, chronic or untreatable herniated discs, and a slew of other degenerative disc diseases (DDDs). Even if you have one of these specific disorders or something equivalent to it, you still must meet the SSA’s (Social Security Administration’s) and the DDS’s (Disability Determination Services’) criteria for severity regarding a particular spinal condition, which is more than arduous.
Despite what people say, the SSA and DDS use an objective system when determining if an individual qualifies for disability benefits. This means you don’t have to specifically be afflicted by the aforementioned spinal conditions (or any other “listed” disability) in order to be granted benefits, so long as you can argue that your impairment is limiting you in a similar manner. There is a “Blue Book,” utilized by both departments, which lists the approval criteria for most severe medical impairments. Arguing that your symptoms are functionally equivalent to a listed disability probably won’t do much to prevent claims examiners from initially rejecting you. However, hiring a disability attorney to represent you, and argue that your back pain is indeed a qualifying disability, to an administrative law judge (ALJ) during the “request a hearing” phase of an application would be your best bet.
In order to maximize your chances of being granted disability benefits for back pain you should acquire proper medical documentation by receiving regular medical treatment from a doctor who is attentive to your condition. By sticking with a single doctor and visiting them frequently you can achieve better medical records than you would through seeing multiple physicians infrequently. Another worthy consideration would be hiring an experienced disability attorney, like the ones found at us to fight on your behalf when it’s time to see an ALJ for your hearing. You can also watch videos on Youtube for more information.
