Meeting a Social Security Listing

According to the National Kidney Foundation, dialysis is needed when your kidneys are only functioning at 10-15% of capacity. Dialysis removes the waste, excess fluid, and toxins from the blood, which the kidneys can no longer do. Side effects from dialysis include: nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, itching, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, anemia and fatigue, and dizziness. 

One way to establish entitlement to Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits when you are on dialysis is by showing you meet the “listing” criteria for chronic kidney disease. I represent a former police detective who had contacted me when he was looking for a Social Security Disability attorney. His SSD application was approved less than a month after we filed it. The application emphasized that besides meeting the listing, the claimant’s vocational factors also favored a finding of disability. 

Especially now that the SSA requires reconsideration in New York, the trend over recent years has been for an increased amount of time to obtain a decision. Tailoring the application to the claimant’s unique medical and vocational attributes avoided that protracted process.