One Call To Our Law Firm Does It All
The relationship between the VA and SSA, and the types of disability benefits they provide can become complex. At Marc Whitehead & Associates, we take care of everything for you.
Our experienced disability attorneys will help you fill out forms and paperwork, supplement your claims with additional key records and supporting evidence, coordinate with doctors and more, to successfully present your claim and obtain the maximum appropriate benefits that are rightfully yours.
Come to us when you need help:
- developing and proving your veterans claim for PTSD,
- improving your VA rating,
- applying for possible Social Security Disability Insurance in addition to or as an alternative to your veterans disability,
- qualifying for a medical vocational allowance, or
- appealing a VA or SSDI claim denial.
Do not wait any longer. Call us toll free at or request a Free Consultation to find out how we can help. PTSD is a serious disability, and we are prepared to assist you wherever you live.
Marc Whitehead & Associates are Accredited Veterans Claim Attorneys as required to practice law before the VA. We represent veterans at all levels within the VA disability system including claims before the VA Regional Office, the Board of Veterans Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
About Marc Whitehead
Can You Get Disability For Ptsd And Bipolar
There are complex and not entirely understandable relations between the two situations. However, if you undergo bipolar disorder and stay with the condition and develop C-PTSD, it is possible that the outcomes are harsher signs of bipolar condition.
C-PTSD induces mood-impacting symptoms. This can intensify your bipolar moods and cycles, especially if left untreated. Many of the C-PTSD-specific symptoms are close to those of bipolar disorder relative to PTSD.
For instance, you can feel edgy, nervous, close, and even angry or irritable during manic episodes. Related stimuli and responses cause C-PTSD. These symptoms can become additive during the mania, making you feel worse and more harmful.
Both conditions can also cause psychotic symptoms like dissociation or delusion. If you both have psychiatric problems, these serious and distressing signs could be more likely to be encountered.
Mk Disability Lawyers Can Help Prove Disability Due To Ptsd
Applying for LTD for a condition stemming from PTSD is a difficult task, at the best of times, and even more so when you are struggling with the symptoms of PTSD. It is important that you get help where you can to ensure that your application is complete, accurate and most of all, persuasive to your insurance company to increase the likelihood that your claim will be approved and to avoid the stress of appealing or litigating a denial.
From for PTSD from both sides , we know that PTSD LTD claims are one of the most common types of claims that are denied or later, terminated. We understand why these claims were not successful and how to persuade insurance companies of their legitimacy and resolve these disputes for our disabled clients.
Together, our three law partners have over 50 years of LTD litigation experience representing professionals, self-employed individuals, teachers and other employees with PTSD and similar invisible conditions. It is our hope that our suggestions will increase the likelihood of these claims being approved early on so that you can focus on your recovery without the added anxiety over possibly losing your income and other health-related benefits and possibly, losing your job or business.
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Qualifying For Disability Benefits With Ptsd
The Social Security Administration has a guide that lists the requirements for particular impairments to qualify for disability benefits known as the Blue Book or the Disability Evaluation Under Social Security. Chapter 12 of the Blue Book is related to mental conditions and section 12.06 Anxiety-related Disorders describes the requirements needed for an individual to qualify with PTSD. An applicant with PTSD filing for disability benefits must satisfy the severity levels for requirements A and B or requirements A and C.
Applicant must have documentation of one of the following:
- Persistent severe anxiety with various symptoms
- Reoccurring, intrusive, stressful memories of a traumatic event
- Consistent irrational fear of a particular object or situation
- Reoccurring severe panic attacks happening on average once a week
- Consistent compulsions or obsessions that causes distress
Applicant must have documentation of at least two of the following:
- Difficulty with maintaining social functioning
- Difficulty with maintaining concentration, persistence or pace
- Repeated episodes of decompensation of extended length
Requirement C
Applicant must have medical evidence that proves they are completely unable to function independently anywhere outside the area of his or her home.
Ready To Make A Claim 3 Steps To Presenting A Strong Va Ptsd Claim
Now that you know how the VA rates PTSD, its important to understand some best practices for making a claim. Keep in mind that PTSD claims can complicate the already confusing and murky claims process. Even with the new regulations passed in 2010 that make it easier for veterans with PTSD to qualify for VA benefits, a veteran with a PTSD claim will face unique challenges.
There are three requirements that make up a claim for PTSD:
So, you can make a strong claim by presenting these three requirements.
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Qualifying For Ptsd Disability
To qualify for disability benefits for PTSD or other trauma disorders, you will need to provide sufficient medical documentation of the following symptoms:
- Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or violence
- Subsequent involuntary re-experiencing of the traumatic event
- Avoidance of external reminders of the event
- Mood and behavior disturbances
- Increases in arousal and reactivity
In addition to medical documentation of the aforementioned symptoms, you must also suffer from extreme limitation of one, or marked limitation of two, of the following areas of mental functioning:
- The ability to understand, remember, and apply information
- The ability to interact with others
- The ability to concentrate, persist, or maintain a pace
- The ability to adapt or manage oneself
Alternatively, you may also qualify for SSDI benefits due to PTSD if your mental disorder is considered serious and persistent. The SSA defines this as a medically documented history of the disorder for at least two years in conjunction with evidence of both of the following:
- You have received medical treatment, mental health therapy, psychosocial support, or have been in an ongoing, highly-structured setting designed to manage and diminish the symptoms of your disorder
- You are capable of only marginal adjustmenti.e., you have minimal capacity to adapt to changes in your environment or to demands that are not already part of your daily life
Five Questions Asked By The Ssa
In general, the Social Security Administration has a five-part questionnaire that helps determine or establish a veteran with PTSDs ability to qualify for SSD benefits. The following questions are taken directly from SSA literature and you should expect the same discovery process with your own case if you are submitting an application for SSD.
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The Social Security Administration Added A New Impairment Listing In 2017 Under Which A Person With Ptsd May Qualify For Social Security Benefits
12.15 Trauma and stressor-related disorders , satisfied by A and B, or A and C:
AND
OR
To qualify for Social Security Disability Income, a person with PTSD must satisfy the requirements of the above listing.
Social Security will request your medical treatment records for the previous year, but its best to provide all records from the past several years. It is very important to include your doctors opinion regarding your mental state.
Documenting Your Ptsd For Social Security
It is important to make sure that Social Security has all the medical evidence related to your PTSD and all your other impairments, including records of inpatient or outpatient psychiatric treatment and clinic notes from counseling and therapy. While Social Security will usually request your treatment records from the previous year when you file your disability application, you should provide Social Security with all relevant records from the last several years, if not more.
In addition, if your treating mental health provider is willing to complete an RFC form or write a letter on your behalf, this could give you a much better chance at being approved. The RFC form should ask for your diagnosis and symptoms, and it should address your ability to:
- sustain a routine without special supervision
- maintain attention and concentration
- understand, remember, and carry out simple and complex instructions
- avoid excessive absences from work
- make simple work-related decisions
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How Likely Is Ptsd For Veterans
The likelihood of a veteran being diagnosed with PTSD is difficult to pin down, but studies do show the severity of PTSD is at least higher for veterans than it is for non-veterans.
One study by Miriam Reisman states the percentage of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering from PTSD can range anywhere from 13.5% to 30%, depending on where the statistics are gathered.
Similarly, another study found at least half a million veterans of those wars were diagnosed with PTSD. Combat veterans are naturally in situations that are more likely to produce trauma than non-veterans, but that still doesnt give us an accurate likelihood of developing PTSD.
Its too difficult to say due to how differently each person reacts to trauma. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, however, 37% of people diagnosed with PTSD are said to have severe symptoms, and women are specifically more likely to be affected than men.
What Are The Symptoms Of Post
PTSD symptoms differ widely, but the presence of symptoms in each of the following categories is needed in the clinical diagnosis. Symptoms must continue for one month or longer if an acute trauma reaction becomes clinical PTSD.
Intrusive symptoms:
Such as hallucinations and/or nightmares:
- You can have traumatic memory or have traumatic nightmares.
Symptoms of avoidance:
- You may avoid thoughts or interactions that will remind you of trauma.
Symptoms related to detrimental changes in perception and mood, including one of the following:
- Permanent swings of rage, depression, or mood
- Hard relaxation and serious anxieties
- Feelings of culpability or guilt and probably a feeling that the trauma is your fault somehow
- Emotional stupidity or energy loss
Some may have physical signs such as headaches, stomach disorders, and/or changes in diet and sleeping behavior.
Now well discuss a little about disability and then we will talk about can you get disability for PTSD?
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Ptsd And The Ssa Blue Book
The SSA Blue Book includes a list of qualifying medical and mental illness impairments. This listing contains medical criteria that applies to how they evaluate impairments when determining disability benefits.
In the SSA Blue Book, there are 11 categories listed for mental disorders. Within this portion, Section 12.15 includes trauma and stressor-related disorders, which includes PTSD.
According to the SSA, the disorder is characterized by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event and the psychological aftermath of clinically significant effects on functioning. Examples of symptoms and signs of PTSD may include:
- Distressing memories
- Dreams and flashbacks related to the trauma or stressor
- Avoidant behavior
- Diminished interest or participation in significant activities
- Persistent negative emotional states
- Persistent inability to experience positive emotions
- Anxiety or irritability
- Aggression or exaggerated startle response
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sleep disturbance
If your PTSD is severe enough that prevents you from working, you may be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits. Do you need help applying for disability?Contact us today.
Can You Get Social Security Disability For Ptsd
What do you need to do to get social security disability for PTSD? PTSD is a condition that can make it impossible for you to deal with working so it is something that disability will cover. But, you have to meet the right conditions for social security to work with you.
First of all, you have to be able to prove that you have PTSD if you want to get disability payments that help you cover your bills and anything you need to purchase. This is why youre going to want to go see a psychiatrist and a therapist so you have a record of what youre going through. You cant just decide one day that you think that you have this condition. A professional is going to have to diagnose you so that way theres proof that you are disabled and need the help of social security to live your life.
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Social Security Disability For Veterans With Ptsd
To qualify for SSA disability benefits in this area, the veteran must be unable to perform substantial gainful activity because of a disability expected to last a year or expected to end in death. There are income limits in place that help determine whether the veteran meets SSA financial need requirements.
But before you can be evaluated for your ability to qualify based on financial need, veterans are required to submit a claim to the SSA that includes providing medical evidence from an acceptable medical source to assess the nature and severity of the condition.
This is true of both mental and physical issues. Your PTSD diagnosis alone will not be enough to qualify for SSD-evidence is required.
The Social Security Administration requires each case to be assessed and much like submitting a claim the Department of Veterans Affairs for disability compensation, the veteran must submit medical evidence including:
- Information or evidence of the disorder from your physician
- Evidence provided by a psychologist
- Evidence from other health care providers including but not limited to physician assistants, psychiatric nurse practitioners, licensed clinical social workers, etc.
What kind of documentation does the SSA need? As much detail as possible related to:
Symptoms Of Ptsd Disability
VA focuses on the behavioral symptoms that accompany PTSD. There are four distinct diagnostic symptom clusters the number of symptoms that must be identified depends on the cluster. A disturbance should continue for more than a month.
Re-experiencing
Spontaneous, unwanted memories of the traumatic event, recurring dreams related to it, flashbacks, panic attacks, or other intense or prolonged emotional distress.
Avoidance
Extreme avoidance of distressing memories, people, thoughts, feelings or external reminders that you associate with the traumatic event.
Negative cognitions and mood
Adverse changes to mood encompass all sorts of negative feelings, from constant and distorted assumptions of survivors guilt, blame of self or others, to feeling isolated, or a markedly reduced interest in everyday activities, to failure to remember key features of the traumatic event.
Arousal
These symptoms include aggressive, reckless or self-destructive behavior, violent outbursts, sleep disturbances, trouble concentrating, hypervigilance and jumpiness, and related problems.
Symptoms also account for the fight reaction often seen in PTSD patients.
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Waiting For Benefits Payments After Approval
If you got a letter from the Social Security Administration notifying you that your application for SSD was approved, you may be wondering when your first benefits check will arrive.
According to the SSA, once your application is approved, it can take six months from the approval date for you to receive your first payment. However, in our experience, the SSA usually processes your benefits much faster than that. Delays can occasionally occur, however. For example, if you received Workers Compensation for an injury, you will need to submit your documentation to the SSA for review, which can delay the arrival of your first SSD payment.
Am I Eligible For Disability Benefits From Va
You may be eligible for disability benefits if you have symptoms related to a traumatic event or your experience with the stressor is related to the PTSD symptoms, and you meet all of the requirements listed below.
All of these must be true:
- The stressor happened during your service, and
- You cant function as well as you once could because of your symptoms, and
- A doctor has diagnosed you with PTSD
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Social Security Disability For Post
When a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, this can have a lasting impact on his or her life. For some people, this manifests as post-traumatic stress disorder . According to the American Psychiatric Association, about 3.5% of adults living in the U.S. are affected by PTSD. Its estimated that about 11% of Americans will be diagnosed with PTSD.
If you have a severe case of PTSD and have been living with it for at least 12 months, or your doctor believes it will last for at least 12 months, you may be entitled toSocial Security Disability benefits.
Our team atHandler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC can talk to you about your case and what youre experiencing to help you determine whether you qualify. We can help you file your application and seek the benefits you need. With our decades of experience in handling Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income applications andappeals, we know how these federal benefit programs work and can help you overcome any obstacles you face.Contact us today to learn more!