SSDI Lawyers for Traumatic Brain Injuries

The Pekas Smith Disability Attorneys are SSDI lawyers for traumatic brain injury. When you can’t work because of a TBI, you may qualify to receive Social Security Disability Insurance payments. Our attorneys help people succeed in the benefits application process.

Our disability law firm represents people with TBI seeking SSDI benefits. Call or message us today to talk about your case.

Legal Representation for SSDI for TBI

According to the CDC, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year in the United States for traumatic brain injury. Many of these people will sustain injuries that prevent them from working.

TBI can be a basis for claiming Social Security Disability benefits. However, the application process is technical and demanding. An applicant must meet detailed criteria. Their application must be complete.

Our SSDI lawyers for traumatic brain injury are an experienced team of professionals. We understand the requirements for claiming SSDI based on brain injury. We represent people in SSDI applications, reconsideration, hearings, and appeals based on traumatic brain injury. To see how we may assist you in getting or maintaining the benefits that you deserve, contact us for your free consultation.

SSDI for Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury causes disruption of the normal functioning of the brain due to trauma. It may result in a variety of symptoms that make working difficult, including:

• Motor skill and movement deficits
• Headaches, sensitivity to light and sound
• Confusion, memory loss
• Mood regulation deficits, including impulse control
• Vision, speech, and hearing impairment
• Sleep disturbances
• Aggression, PTSD, depression, anxiety
• Executive function, task planning, and personal regulation challenges

When a person can’t work because of a TBI, SSDI payments can help them and their family. Our lawyers can help you through the application process and represent your interests.

Does a TBI qualify for disability?

Yes, a TBI may qualify for disability. If the person’s injuries interfere with their ability to maintain employment, and they are otherwise qualified for SSDI, they may receive disability payments because of a TBI.

Qualifying for Compensation – the SSDI Listing of Impairments

Traumatic Brain Injury is covered in the SSDI Adult Listing of Impairments (Part A), section 11.18. When a person with a TBI satisfies the criteria of section 11.18, they are presumptively qualified to receive SSDI benefits.

Someone with a TBI may prove their inability to work, and qualification for SSDI benefits, in two ways:

Disorganization of motor function in two extremities

• Interference with two extremities may be upper, lower, or a combination of both. Examples are fingers, wrists, hands, arms, and shoulders
• Extreme limitation in standing up, balancing, or using the upper extremities
• Exists for at least three months in a row following injury

Marked limitation in physical functioning

• Marked limitation of physical functioning. Confinement to a bed is not required, but limitation must reach the fourth point on a five-point scale of none, mild, moderate, marked, or extreme limitation
• Physical functioning refers to specific motor functioning
• For at least 3 months after the injury
• Affecting one (or more) areas of mental functioning, including interacting with others, concentrating, maintaining pace, or personal management

If the person’s condition doesn’t directly meet the requirements of 11.18, it is still possible to qualify. There are other sections in the Listing of Impairments that may be applicable, including section 12.05, intellectual disorder, 12.08, personality and impulse control disorder, and category 2, covering various impairments of the senses and speech.

Perhaps a person’s TBI affects mental cognition, mood regulation, or personal management, but the motor function is intact. The person may reference the mental disorders in category 12 or the senses and speech impairments of category 2. Additionally, they may qualify based on a combination of impairments that are equivalent to a listed condition.

Proving Your Right to Compensation

Unfortunately, a doctor’s note that you’re unable to work isn’t enough. Examiners look for detailed evidence documenting your traumatic brain injury and its impact on your ability to work.

Evidence to file for SSDI based on TBI may include the following:

• Medical evidence: laboratory tests and imaging, including x-rays, computerized tomography scans (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electroencephalography (EEG). Imaging must be consistent with prevailing medical standards.
• Medical examinations and documentation: medical history and examination findings, descriptions of treatment, and records of the person’s response to treatment.
• Your own testimony: about your impairments, how they impact you, your daily activity, or efforts to work.
• Evidence from friends, family, coworkers, and associates: about your injury and how it limits your functioning.

In TBI filings, examiners are especially interested in evidence like imaging and testing. They will evaluate existing records. It is not standard practice for Social Security to purchase imaging or diagnostic testing that is complex, risky, expensive, hard to obtain, or invasive.

Does my traumatic brain injury have to have happened at work for SSDI?

Qualifying for SSDI doesn’t require having the injury or impairment occur on the job. If you were injured in a car accident, a fall, heavy equipment malfunction, or as the result of assault and battery, for example, you may qualify for SSDI even if the injury was not in the workplace.

However, you must have a qualifying work history to claim SSDI. In some cases, it is possible to claim on a relative’s earning record or have work requirements shortened because of your age.

Experienced Lawyers for TBI SSDI Claims

The Pekas Smith Disability Attorneys understand the law and how to claim SSDI for TBI. We are experienced in disability claims, having represented more than 10,000 satisfied clients.

If you or a loved one has sustained a traumatic brain injury, we invite you to contact us. See if you qualify for benefits, how to claim them, and how we can help. We’re taking new cases now.

Work with our experienced and compassionate team. Contact the team at Pekas Smith Disability Attorneys to speak to an SSDI lawyer for traumatic brain injury today.