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Coping With A Job Loss After A Stroke Using SSD

Strokes can be devastating and the effects can vary. In most cases, however, a stroke will affect nearly every area of life in some manner. If your everyday life has been negatively affected by a stroke, chances are high that your working life will also suffer. Many stroke patients are unable to carry on at their job and have to resign, and that can bring a loss of income. In some cases, those who have suffered from a stroke can apply and be approved for Social Security Disability (SSD). Read on and learn more.

Not An Automatic Approval

Strokes can be severe enough to create a wide variety of problems, but, unfortunately, having a stroke does not mean an automatic SSD approval. The Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates an applicant's situation based on a number of factors. First, you must have worked enough and made enough income before you can move on to the next level of evaluation. If you have enough recent work experience to qualify for benefits, the SSA then reviews the skills you used in your previous job to determine how likely you are to continue performing those same skills. For example, if your previous job involved driving a forklift, the list of job skills would include being able to sit and maneuver a large mechanical device in a safe manner. Each job has specific skills, and the SSA may use job descriptions from reference manuals to determine whether or not an applicant can do those job tasks given their medical condition at the present.

Comparing Job Skills and Conditions

The SSA maintains a book (the so-called blue book) of medical and mental health conditions they recognize. With the listing are the requirements for being approved. You might find under the stroke listing, which is known as a vascular insult to the brain, a number of factors that must be shown before the applicant is approved. In most cases, applicants should be ready to supply the SSA with medical proof of the stroke using medical records with diagnostic results. As you can see from reviewing the requirements, only those with severe impairments can qualify for benefits. In some cases, stroke victims can expect a gradual improvement after a stroke, and that is why the SSA will perform continual checks on stroke victims to determine whether or not they can return to work.

The SSA doesn't make things easy on applicants, and that is why many count on the support of a Social Security lawyer. These lawyers have special agreements with the SSA to assist applicants with not only their application but with their appeal once they have been turned down for benefits. Unfortunately, many applicants that really deserve benefits get turned down and have to appeal. Speak to a Social Security Disability lawyer to find out more.


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