Qualifications for Social
What Social Security Looks for in a Fibromyalgia Disability Claim
When you submit a fibromyalgia disability claim, the SSA wants to see that your health problems are interfering with work, and they will continue to affect you for a long time.
Your disability claim needs to show:
- Your fibromyalgia prevents you from doing your current job.
- You cannot switch to another kind of work.
- Your health issues will prevent you from working for a year or more.
You also need to know how Social Security determines whether or not you can work with fibromyalgia. Questions you have to answer include:
- Can you stay on task?
- Does your fibromyalgia make it hard to concentrate and follow instructions?
- Are you able to sit or stand for long periods?
- How do your symptoms prevent you from performing job duties?
- Do your symptoms prevent you from finishing a work day without excessive breaks or rest?
All of this information needs to be in your medical records. Our disability lawyers have helped thousands of clients across Utah show the SSA how their health issues undercut their ability to work and earn a living.
How to Prove Your Fibromyalgia Meets Social Security Disability Eligibility
If you want to apply for Social Security Disability benefits because of your fibromyalgia symptoms, you’re going to need evidence.
The SSA won’t just take your word for it. Medical records, testimony from doctors, and statements from friends and family members who have seen you struggle can all help build your case.
You can make your claim stronger by showing:
- The pain from fibromyalgia is severe and widespread.
- Your symptoms cause sleep deprivation and fatigue.
- You suffer from cognitive issues as a result of your disease.
- You also suffer from mental health issues, like depression and anxiety.
- Different treatment methods, like medications and physical therapy, have all failed to treat your fibromyalgia.
- Your doctor has ruled out other, more treatable causes for your symptoms.
The goal is to show that you have done your best to treat your symptoms, but your illness still interferes with your ability to work. This isn’t a temporary health problem that will allow you to return to your job in a month or two.
Your focus needs to be on documenting the specific ways that fibromyalgia interferes with your ability to maintain employment over the long term.
In Lehi, Salt Lake City, St. George and anywhere you are in Utah, our disability lawyers can tell you more about what the SSA looks for in fibromyalgia cases and how you can ensure you have all of the medical evidence needed to back up your claim.
What Happens if My Fibromyalgia Disability Claim Gets Denied?
The SSA’s high standards ensure that applying for disability is almost always an uphill battle. Around two-thirds of initial applications in Utah are unsuccessful.
It can be especially difficult for applicants who have ailments that are harder to see and measure, like fibromyalgia.
You’re not alone if your Social Security Disability benefits application has been denied, and you’re not out of options.
A Utah disability lawyer can support your appeal and fight for the benefits you deserve.
There are four stages of the appeals process:
Reconsideration: After your initial denial, you can ask the SSA to reconsider your application. A new examiner will take a look and come to their own conclusion.
Disability hearing: A disability hearing gives you a chance to make your case to an administrative law judge (ALJ). This is often your best chance to win benefits.
Appeals Council: If your disability hearing isn’t successful, you can ask the Appeals Council at Social Security to review the judge’s decision.
Suing in federal court: If other appeals don’t succeed, your last option is filing a civil action in U.S. District Court.
Each stage of this process has tight deadlines. You must act within 60 days anytime your claim gets denied and you want to continue your appeal.
A Utah disability attorney can keep you aware of any deadlines, help you gather evidence, prep you for your hearing, and do more to strengthen your fibromyalgia disability claim.
If you have questions about how to qualify for benefits, how to apply for Social Security Disability, what to do if your claim gets denied—or most importantly how to claim financial resources for a more secure life, contact Barnes Disability Advocates.
Do You Want to Know More About Our Disability Lawyers in Utah?
Barnes Disability also helps with long-term disability claims when you have a private insurance policy to protect your finances if you lose the ability to work. Our disability attorneys have decades of experience and a mission to help everyday people find peace and dignity in difficult times.
