Burns and Social Security Disability

Burns- Condition and Symptoms

Burns are injuries to skin tissue that are caused by fire, chemicals, radiation, electricity, hot objects, hot fluids, the sun, or a number of other possible means. Most burns are relatively minor medical problems, but severe burns can be seriously debilitating or even life threatening.

The symptoms of burns range from mild skin irritation and redness to extremely painful skin lesions, blistering and scarring. Treatment depends on the type, location, and severity. Many small or minor burns can be treated with aloe vera or similar anesthetic creams or gels. More severe burns need to be tended to by a medical professional.

Medical attention should be sought for second degree burns or worse; or any burn that covers large portions of the body; especially the feet, hands, face, joints, buttocks, and groin areas. Second degree burns are recognized by a moist or wet appearance on the skin in most cases. Generally, the affected area will also be red and swollen and the burned person will have some lasting pain. In most cases, blisters will develop, eventually leading to scarring.

In more serious (third and fourth degree) burns, the skin will be red or (in the worst cases) blackened and charred. The surrounding area will often take on a waxy, tan appearance. Numbness is frequently experienced. Because of this, if you have been burned and don’t feel pain, you should seek medical attention, as you may have a serious burn.

Additionally, burns require medical attention if they are accompanied by illness, fatigue, high fever, increasing pain or swelling, or any affect on breathing or the airway, especially if you have inhaled smoke.

Severe burns can cause a complete inability to perform day to day functions. What exactly a burn will hinder you from doing depends largely on the part of the body which was affected. Some find that they are no longer capable of performing meaningful work for a significant period of time after they have suffered a burn. If you find yourself in this situation, you should consider filing for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income.

Filing for Disability Benefits with your Burns Diagnosis

Burns are generally judged for disability purposes as skin disorders. The pertinent information regarding qualifying for disability with burns is found in Section 8.00 and 8.08 of the Social Security Administrations Listing of Impairments Manual (the Blue Book). In some cases, burns may also be considered based on the parts of the body that they affect, particularly if they cause blindness, loss of ambulation (ability to move from one place to another) or loss of usage of major limbs or joints.

In general, to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits with burns, there are two things which you must be able to demonstrate to the Social Security Administration. These are:

• That the skin lesions caused by your burns cause you to be unable to perform meaningful work.
• That the effect on your skin and/or body parts and functions which hinders you from being able to work can be expected to last more than twelve months.

When filing, you will want to make sure to include your doctor’s assessment of your burns. Ideally, this will go beyond a medical description of the burns and will list in detail what activities your burns hinder you from being able to do. It should also include all treatments you have undergone and your body’s response to these treatments. It should certainly also include your doctor’s assessment that the effects of your burns are expected to be serious enough to prevent you from meaningful work for at least one year.

Your Burns Disability Case

Burns are not an automatic qualifier for disability benefits, by any means. The SSA considers the sum total of symptoms you are suffering from, including pain, to determine whether your disability is severe enough to warrant Social Security Disability benefits. Unfortunately, things like pain are impossible to definitively measure and much of the decision regarding whether or not to grant you benefits comes down to a judgment call on the part of SSA adjudicators.

More than two thirds of all disability claims are denied. This leaves claimants in the painful situation of dropping their claim or going through an often lengthy (and sometimes fruitless) appeals process. The best way to improve your chances of having your claim or appeal approved is to enlist the aid of a professional Social Security Disability attorney or advocate.

It doesn’t cost anything to have a disability attorney evaluate your claim, and your disability lawyer won’t charge you anything at all unless your disability benefits are approved. Social Security Disability attorneys are paid from a percentage (never more than 25%) of the back pay to which you are entitled. This is generally paid to them directly by the SSA, so you don’t need to be concerned about paying your lawyer from your ongoing benefits. To have a Social Security Disability attorney and advocate review your case today, fill out the request for a free case evaluation.