Mr. Bothwell and his staff were not only knowledgeable and to the point, but took the time to answer all of my questions and kept in touch with me during the entire process.”
Is Your Life Harder Because of Lung Disease? Do You Need Some Relief?
Breathing problems can hinder what you do on a daily basis—and leave you unable to work.
But people who haven’t experienced serious lung disease can’t imagine all the areas it impacts—your strength, your energy, your ability to maintain a routine, your ability to concentrate, your whole mood and outlook on life.
Especially when you can’t work because of how much your lung disease gets in the way, this is a time when you need some additional support to stabilize yourself.
This support can come from Social Security Disability.
Social Security Disability provides these benefits:
- Monthly checks to help pay for your basic needs
- Access to Medicare or Medicaid health coverage so you can afford treatment for your lung condition
Maybe even more important than the financial assistance, Social Security Disability benefits help you feel more grounded and in control of your life when you’re dealing with troubling health problems.
First, though, you have to get through multiple tangled and confusing steps to be approved for benefits.
You can get help in this process from the disability lawyers at Bothwell & Hamill. Our disability law firm, with offices in the Tri-Cities and around Central Washington, serves people all over Washington State, and anyone who needs our help.
We’ve helped thousands of people in and around Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, Yakima, Sunnyside, Spokane, Ellensburg, Wenatchee, Walla Walla and elsewhere.
On this page, we’ll give you a preview of how to qualify for disability benefits with lung disease.
And you need to know this: You don’t pay any fee for a Social Security Disability lawyer until you win benefits.
Contact Us Today! »Get Help at Any Step in the Process
Lung Diseases Covered By Social Security Disability: Do I Qualify?
Unfortunately, you can’t just tell Social Security you have PTSD. You have to prove it.
You’ll have to show your symptoms through hospital records, doctor’s reports, supporting testimonials and more.
Some symptoms that could qualify you:
- You relive your traumatic experience through extreme flashbacks, nightmares or memories.
- You have mood and behavior disturbances.
- Your stress interferes with your daily life because of problems like hyper-alertness, avoiding situations that remind you of your trauma and sleep problems.
- Your PTSD makes it difficult or impossible for you to function at work because you have difficulty concentrating, processing information and interacting with others.
- PTSD has negatively impacted your social life.
If your symptoms don’t exactly line up with those, don’t lose hope. Here’s what you’ll have to prove to Social Security:
- Your PTSD makes working impossible.
- You’re unable to change your line of work.
- Your condition will force you to miss at least
a year of work or more.
We know it can be a confusing process. We can answer any questions you have, and we’ll even evaluate your case for free.
Learn More About Social Security Disability
Get all the information you need to make the best decisions about your health — and your future.
What Evidence Do I Need to Prove My Lung Disease Makes It Impossible to Work
Social Security has thousands of rules for deciding who gets disability benefits. This is partly to make sure people who receive monthly checks from the government truly need them.
The result, however, is much more legwork for you. A wide majority of people are denied by Social Security Disability as part of the process and must appeal the decision.
Appealing a Social Security Disability denial can include making your case to a disability judge.
Having your own disability attorney can be a huge help. Among many other tasks, your attorney can take care of is gathering and organizing your medical evidence.
Medical evidence is crucial to every Social Security Disability claim for lung disease or any other medical condition. And the experience of our disability lawyers is that you shouldn’t rely on the agency to gather the necessary records and medical opinions from your doctors in its own.
To get Social Security Disability for lung disease, the SSA says you can submit these forms of evidence:
- Medical imaging of your lungs, such as x-rays
- Breathing tests, such as spirometry, measuring how well you move air
- A DLCO test, measuring how gases move across the cells in your lungs
- Oximetry, measuring oxygen saturation in your blood
- An ABG test, measuring both oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood
Social Security has extensive details about how these tests should be performed and the types of information and results you need to show from these tests.
The disability benefits program will also look for your doctors’ reports on your lung disease symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, producing sputum, chest pain, and using muscles not normally part of breathing to help you breathe.
You can also submit non-medical evidence, such as statements from people you know about how your lung disease changes and limits your activities.
Your Social Security Disability lawyer can help with all of this, relieving the burden on you as you go through the system and seek benefits.
The Washington disability lawyers at Bothwell & Hamill are devoted to people who need help when health problems interfere with earning a living.
If you have the right support financially, you can focus on taking care of your lung condition and living a better life. Let us help you get there.
Call Us Now! »More Questions?
You might have a lot of questions. Bothwell & Hamill has answers.
Common Questions »
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