What is Peripheral Neuropathy?
Peripheral Neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord, often causing severe weakness, numbness or burning pain in the hands and feet. It can also affect other areas of the body.
What causes Peripheral Neuropathy?
The most common cause of Peripheral Neuropathy is diabetes. It can also be caused by exposure to toxins, traumatic injuries, infections, alcoholism and other conditions.
How does the Social Security Administration determine disability for those with Peripheral Neuropathy?
Social Security will look closely at people diagnosed with Peripheral Neuropathy. The diagnosis alone, does not automatically qualify you for benefits. Rather, Social Security will focus on your ability to function in a workplace. Specifically, it will examine how your nerve damage affects your motor functioning in your ability to stand up from a seated position, your ability to balance while standing and walking or your use of your upper arm strength and range of motion. In addition, Social Security will look at how your neuropathy affects your ability to understand and remember things, interact with others, concentrate and persist at tasks and how you adapt and manage yourself.
In order to determine how badly damaged your nerves are, Social Security will look at the results of your full medical history, neurological examinations, nerve biopsies, and nerve function tests such as Electromyography (EMG) records. The EMG records electrical activity in your muscles to detect nerve damage.
How can Balin Law help?
If you suffer from Peripheral Neuropathy, Balin Law will strongly encourage you to get an EMG and any other diagnostic tests available to you to determine the extent of your nerve damage. Once your nerve damage has been assessed, Balin Law can work with you and your treating doctors to determine how seriously this disease impacts your ability to function in the workplace. We can help ease your stress in dealing with Social Security.