Social Security Disability for COPD & Getting Financial Relief
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can qualify you for Social Security Disability if your condition will keep you from working for at least 12 months.
Social Security doesn’t approve benefits based on a COPD diagnosis alone. It looks at how COPD affects your stamina, movement, daily activities and ability to keep a job.
COPD can make work difficult in many ways.
Some people become short of breath after walking, standing, climbing stairs or carrying light objects. Others have chronic coughing, wheezing, fatigue or flare-ups that make it hard to finish a normal workday.
Workplaces with dust, fumes, smoke, heat, cold or chemicals may also make your COPD symptoms worse.
If a diagnosis isn’t enough, what do you need for a COPD disability benefits claim?
Your medical records need to show the severity of your lung condition. Social Security will review medical test results, medications, hospital visit records, and notes from your doctors.
Social Security also needs evidence showing the ways your breathing problems interfere with the functions you need to hold a job.
The Arizona disability lawyers at Slepian Ellexson help people with COPD and other medical conditions apply for benefits, appeal denials and prepare for disability hearings.
Slepian Ellexson has helped Arizonans since 1978, and our current disability attorneys have more than 50 years of combined experience.
You only pay a disability attorney fee when you win benefits.
How Do You Know If You Qualify for Disability for COPD in Arizona?
You qualify for disability for COPD in Arizona when your symptoms make it impossible to work.
To have a strong claim, you’ll document signs of your health struggle like how far you can walk, how long you can stand, whether you need to rest during the day, and whether your breathing problems affect your pace, attendance or safety at work.
You should talk about these limitations regularly with your doctors so Social Security knows what you’re really going through.
What medical evidence helps a COPD disability claim?
Helpful evidence includes pulmonary function test results, oxygen levels, chest imaging, arterial blood gas testing, inhaler or oxygen use, records from a pulmonologist, ER visits, hospitalization records, and notes about flare-ups or infections.
Medical testing is important in COPD disability claims. Pulmonary function tests, including FEV1, FVC or DLCO results, help show how well your lungs are working.
Your records may also include oxygen readings, chest imaging, arterial blood gas testing, emergency room visits, hospital stays, inhalers, nebulizers, steroids and oxygen use.
Your daily symptoms matter, too. COPD may limit your ability to climb stairs, lift objects, clean, shop, speak for long periods or work around irritants.
If you have frequent flare-ups, infections or bad days when you cannot leave the house, include those details in your claim.
Social Security should also consider other health problems that strain your ability to work.
These may include heart disease, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, obesity, chronic infections, or side effects from medications.
A strong claim should explain the full picture of your health, not just one diagnosis.
Slepian Ellexson can help you organize your evidence and explain how your breathing problems affect you.
We are a local Arizona disability firm, not a national company handling your case from far away. With Slepian Ellexson, you get direct attention from a disability attorney, not just support staff.
Get a FREE COPD disability claim consultation.
How Can You Increase Your Chances of Getting Benefits for COPD?
One of the best ways to strengthen a COPD disability claim is to connect your medical records to real work limits.
Helpful evidence may include:
- Pulmonary function test results
- Records from pulmonologists, primary care doctors and hospitals
- Notes about oxygen use, inhalers, nebulizers, steroids or other treatments
- Documentation of flare-ups, infections, ER visits or hospital stays
- Doctor statements about walking, standing, lifting and carrying limits
- Environmental restrictions, such as avoiding fumes, dust, smoke, chemicals, heat or cold
- Information about missed work, reduced pace, extra breaks or the need to rest during the day
It also helps to stay consistent with treatment. If you have gaps in care because of cost, transportation, side effects or another reason, provide an explanation.
Social Security may interpret treatment gaps as indications that your COPD doesn’t seriously hinder you.
The disability process can make you prove your need for benefits again and again.
The Phoenix disability lawyers at Slepian Ellexson know how to manage the Social Security Disability process.
If COPD is keeping you from working, Slepian Ellexson can help you seek the benefits you need for a more stable life.
