Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease is an infection caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, which can lead to chronic encephalomyelitis. There are laboratory blood test findings that can provide objective support for the diagnosis. However, whether Lyme is considered disabling is a function of the severity of its symptoms.

I represent a 48 year old woman from Virginia with Lyme Disease that worked as an engineer, whose Social Security Disability (“SSD”) application was approved today without a hearing. The key was that the claimant was treating with the right specialist, dual board certified in Infectious Disease and Internal medicine, who prepared a very detailed narrative report, which explained why the treatment, objective and subjective medical evidence, precluded the claimant from functioning in a full time capacity. 

Many disability adjudicators are predisposed to reject disability claims based upon Lyme Disease, and frequently even question the validity of the disease itself. The narrative report was expensive, but still represented less than one month’s SSD benefits.