Your Traumatic Brain Injury Disability Claim

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury and can no longer work, you will likely qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Since there are so many different types of traumatic brain injuries, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will review the extent of your injury. Specifically, they will look at the severity of the injury, how long you’ve had it, and how debilitating the injury is.

The SSA uses an impairment manual called a Blue Book to assess disability claims. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) doesn’t have its own listing in the Blue Book. Instead, TBI is assessed as part of other conditions like seizures, stroke, and head and brain trauma. Basically, TBI is listed under other neurological and mental disorders. The reason TBI is assessed under other disorders is that SSA looks at not only your diagnosis but also something called residual functional capacity (RFC) to assess your ability to perform job tasks. Whether your claim is approved or denied largely depends on SSA’s measurement of your functional ability that remains after your TBI.

Detailed medical evidence is always needed when filing a claim for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), and the same goes for disability benefits for brain injuries. There are several types of evidence required for brain injury: your doctor’s diagnosis, detailed notes about tests performed and medications prescribed, and reports from your doctor about your functional limitations and the impacts of those limitations on your ability to adequately perform a job.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is also referred to as intracranial injury and results when an external force causes brain trauma. The term “head injury” is often generally used, but refers to a much broader range of injuries that include structural defects and congenital disorders. Types and severity of TBI can really vary.

Immediately after the initial injury, the patient might be unconscious or have headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, blurry vision or problems with motor coordination. When you seek medical treatment, a doctor will make a TBI diagnosis based on clinical evidence of these signs which the doctor tests using a neurological examination. The pupils in your eyes are checked for a normal response to light, for example, and motor coordination tests are done.

The doctor will use imaging such as an x-ray, CT scan, or MRI to look for evidence of a brain lesion caused by the injury. The doctor may also perform cognitive tests to determine if the TBI has had any long-term effects on memory or the ability to process information. If the TBI is severe, you may need physical and cognitive rehabilitation therapy.

All of this medical evidence is important when submitting your claim for disability benefits for brain injuries. If you haven’t hired a disability representative, consider calling London Disability today. We will provide you with a qualified legal representative to gather the evidence required for brain injury and help you submit your SSDI application.