In order to qualify for SSDI benefits, applicants must satisfy some very strict requirements. However, there are some conditions that are much more likely to be approved for disability than others.
For example, conditions related to the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, mood disorders, the nervous system and sensory organs, the circulatory system, intellectual disability, organic mental disorders, and others are more likely to be approved for disability benefits.
Keep reading below as we describe more conditions that are commonly approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
Are You Eligible For Social Security Disability Benefits?
The SSDI program is intended for people who are too disabled to retain employment. As such, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has strict requirements for who is eligible for this program. In fact, approximately 63% of applications are denied disability benefits. The following are some requirements of the SSDI program:
The applicant must not be able to engage in Substantial Gainful Activity (which means earning more than $1,470 per month for non-blind people).
The applicant must not be able to retain employment, including their previous work or any other work that they may be qualified for, due to their disability.
The applicant must have a disability that is either expected to last for more than 12 months or result in death.
Furthermore, applicants must have worked in a Social Security-covered job for a sufficient amount of time within the preceding 10 years. Another option is Supplemental Security Income (SSI); however, applicants for this program must have little income and few assets.
Both programs are open to applications, and the application, review, and approval processes are identical.
Top 10 Most Approved Disabilities
Following is a list of categories that include the disabilities that are most likely to be approved.
1. Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue
Disabilities that relate to this are likely to be approved as 30.5% of SSDI beneficiaries have these conditions. They include osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, spinal cord injury, carpal tunnel, degenerative disc disease, amputations, and more.
There appears to be a large variety of conditions in this category. Although the symptoms of carpal tunnel, fibromyalgia, and degenerative disc disease (DDD) sometimes coexist, these conditions are in fact quite different in their functional effects.
Listings would be considered for all of them under various headings. Listings 1.16 and/or 1.17 (which are extremely challenging to meet, but we won’t discuss that here) would take DDD into account.
A judge would decide if carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a form of compression neuropathy, qualifies as peripheral neuropathy under Listing 11.14. Social Security Ruling 12-2p suggests Listing 14.09D is the most relevant to take into account. There is no specific listing for fibromyalgia; a judge must determine if it equals another listing.
2. Mood Disorders
This is also an important category, as 14.9% of beneficiaries have disabilities that fall under this category. Conditions relating to it include bipolar disorder, depression, and more.
A mood disorder is far more common than the fraction of people for whom it is the predominant disability. Over half of all people who file for disability benefits are likely to have been diagnosed with a mood disorder, the most common of which is depression.
A diagnosis of depression, like a diagnosis of any other impairment, does not automatically entitle an individual to disability benefits; the severity of the impairment is what Social Security uses to make its disability assessment.
3. Nervous System and Sensory Organs
This category accounts for 9.3% of the total number of beneficiaries receiving SSDI benefits. It can include stroke, Meniere’s disease, and more.
Many different conditions fall under this category.
Stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, and peripheral neuropathy are all conditions that fall under Social Security’s 11.00 categories for the “nervous system” and are hence eligible for disability benefits. Blindness and deafness also appear to fall under this category.
4. Circulatory System
Approximately 8.3% of SSDI beneficiaries have a disability that is related to the circulatory system. This includes coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and others.
Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in the United States, it stands to reason that this demographic would represent a disproportionately large number of disabled people.
However, this disparity in numbers and statistics may indicate that individuals suffering from cardiovascular disease are subject to rigorous standards when applying.
The judicial system downplays the impact of occupational stress on the circulatory system, such as the challenges that a long-time laborer would have in mastering the technology necessary for a modern office job, or the inability of someone with heart problems to work full-time.
The fact that heart disease reduces one’s life expectancy is yet another way in which this difficulty is essentially unfair to claimants.
A person with a cardiac illness has a lower expected lifespan; hence, the total value of Social Security payments will be lower. This seems to suggest that perhaps lenient disability criteria should be used, compared to the stringent criteria that are applied.
5. Schizophrenia & Other Psychotic Disorders
Approximately 4.8% of SSDI beneficiaries belong to this category. It includes conditions like schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, catatonia, and others.
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders usually appear in those under the age of 30, while the start of most other disabilities occurs much later in life. If not for these reasons, the proportion of people affected would be much higher due to the prevalence of these conditions.
Mental illness can cause a person to act in ways that get them hospitalized or imprisoned, which cuts off their benefits and makes it harder to acquire them in the first place.
These people may also turn to illegal drugs as a kind of self-medication, and courts are often reluctant to hear cases containing an individual’s record of drug abuse.
Some may argue that the court’s reluctance to approve substance abuse cases for SSDI benefits is valid, but it is detrimental to those individuals whose substance abuse is merely a consequence of their underlying medical condition.
6. Intellectual Disability
Intellectual disability is an umbrella term for many conditions and affects 4.1% of individuals currently receiving SSDI benefits. Once synonymous with mental retardation, the term “intellectual disability” now appears to encompass the spectrum of conditions known as autism.
People of working age will file the majority of these claims since they have ongoing medical issues that prevent them from working.
Do not put off assisting a person with one of these conditions in applying for disability benefits; not doing so will only make it more challenging for them to obtain benefits later in life. A judge will also likely ask why they didn’t request this earlier.
7. Injuries
Injuries are a common reason behind disabilities, and as such, they account for 4% of disabilities that are approved for SSDI. Injuries may include burns, fractures, etc.
Although injuries sometimes render people jobless, here the proportion is low as a result of the Social Security Administration’s twelve-month durational requirement.
In order to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, an individual must have been disabled for a year or more and be unable to conduct any gainful employment due to their condition.
If someone has an injury that is not expected to last 12 months or more, then they should investigate the availability of private disability benefits.
These programs are often accessible to employees through their employers and can be made available for people whose injuries have rendered them unable to work, regardless of how long the disability lasts or whether the person can engage in any other kinds of work.
8. Other Mental Disorders
Although disabilities related to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are more common, other mental disorders can be disabling as well, as indicated by the 3.9% of people who receive SSDI for such disabilities. These may be depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or others.
Generalized anxiety disorder is nearly as common as major depressive disorder and may be present in as many as half of all individuals who file for disability claims.
Individuals who suffer from agoraphobia or social anxiety also often seek financial help because they are unable to leave the house or function in a work environment with other people.
As can be seen, however, only a small fraction of people who receive disability benefits do so due to these other mental disorders. This demonstrates the difficulty that judges may have in deciding such a case. That’s why it’s crucial to have an experienced legal representative on your side if crippling anxiety prevents you from working.
9. Organic Mental Disorders
This is another kind of mental disorder that affects 3.4% of people who receive SSDI benefits. Conditions related to this category may include traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Korsakoff’s syndrome, or others.
Just as with anxiety and depression, a judge will look at how these “organic” mental problems affect the patient’s ability to follow directions, communicate with others, keep up with a fast pace of work, and handle day-to-day tasks.
However, these conditions can involve documentation concerns; therefore, it is always preferable to speak with an experienced disability attorney while pursuing benefits for this kind of problem.
10. Endocrine Disorders
Conditions like diabetes mellitus, diabetes insipidus, hyperthyroidism, or others can be disabling, as evidenced by the 3.3% of people who receive SSDI benefits for them.
Diabetes mellitus, which is more commonly referred to as “diabetes,” is a devastating condition. Diabetes causes dysfunction in other parts of the body (which include the eyes, kidneys, and neurological system), so the number of disabling symptoms it causes is very certainly underestimated in these statistics.
In addition to the injustice of a diminished lifetime value of Social Security payments due to shorter life expectancy, people with diabetes face unfair impediments to approval because the disease is not listed.
How to Expedite Your SSDI Claim
There are a few ways you can expedite an SSDI claim. These are discussed below.
Compassionate Allowances (CAL) Program
Through the Compassionate Allowances (CAL) program, individuals with diseases and other health problems that automatically qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on little objective medical data can have their claims processed faster.
Over two hundred disorders meet the criteria for the CAL program. The SSA claims that consultation with medical and scientific experts, collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and feedback from previous public outreach hearings all play a role in the development of CAL conditions.
Presumptive Disability
If a doctor or other collateral source says that the condition is predicted to result in death, or if the applicant is getting inpatient hospice treatment or home hospice care, a field office representative or a claims examiner at the DDS may file the claim into the TERI program on the claimant’s behalf.
Terminal Cases (TERI)
Cases of terminal illness, abbreviated as TERI, are those in which the applicant is diagnosed with a condition that is predicted to result in the applicant’s death in the near future. It is not necessary for the applicant to mention that the sickness is terminal on the application in order for it to be expedited in accordance with the TERI program.
If a doctor or other collateral source says that the condition is predicted to result in death, or if the applicant is getting inpatient hospice treatment or home hospice care, a field office representative or a claims examiner at the DDS may send the claim.
The following are examples of diagnoses that qualify for TERI; however, this is not an all-inclusive list; any terminal illness may be eligible for faster TERI processing.
- Metastatic, advanced, recurring, or incurable cancers
- Esophageal cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, gallbladder cancer, or brain cancer
- Requiring assistance from a cardiopulmonary life-supporting device
- Chronic respiratory or cardiovascular disease that requires round-the-clock care.
- In a coma for at least 30 days
- A baby born with a serious congenital or genetic problem
- Being placed on the transplant waiting list
Conclusion
Although there are many kinds of disabilities, there are some that the SSA approves more frequently. Nevertheless, if you have supportive medical documentation, and satisfy the SSDI criteria, then you should not hesitate to apply for benefits.
