Can I get monetary help via Social Safety incapacity or Supplemental Safety Insurance coverage if I’m affected by the consequences of imaginative and prescient impairment?
Writer: Legal professional Lonnie Roach
Up to date: 9/27/2024
Abstract: Can I qualify for incapacity advantages if I’m blind?
First you will need to meet the SSA’s monetary requirement: You need to even have labored lengthy sufficient, just lately sufficient, and never remodeled a predetermined stage of revenue.
Second you will need to meet the medical necessities:
Social Safety defines blindness as a “central visible acuity of 20/200 or much less within the higher eye with finest correction, or a limitation within the visual field within the higher eye in order that the widest diameter of the visible area subtends an angle of 20 levels or much less.” To qualify for Social Safety advantages imaginative and prescient loss have to be important. If an applicant’s imaginative and prescient in each eyes is 20/200 or worse, they are going to qualify for incapacity beneath itemizing 2.02; if their imaginative and prescient in just one eye is dangerous, they won’t be accredited for advantages. Underneath SSDI, the situation should have lasted or be anticipated to final at the least 12 months whereas there isn’t a length requirement beneath SSI.
Though know-how has improved the lives of blind and visually impaired individuals, day by day duties can nonetheless be troublesome and a few people could also be unable to proceed working. As a consequence of a lack of revenue and medical insurance coverage, they might search help from Social Safety. Social Safety pays advantages to people who find themselves blind beneath Social Safety Incapacity Insurance coverage and Supplemental Safety Earnings. Although the SSA’s definition of blindness applies for each SSDI and SSI, some guidelines governing every program are completely different and there are guidelines that apply to legally or completely blind candidates that don’t apply to nonblind disabled candidates.
Sure impairments, resembling blindness, mechanically qualify a person for Social Safety advantages. To qualify for Social Safety advantages imaginative and prescient loss have to be important. If an applicant’s imaginative and prescient in each eyes is 20/200 or worse, they are going to qualify for incapacity beneath itemizing 2.02.
Sure impairments, resembling blindness, mechanically qualify a person for Social Safety advantages.
Social Safety defines blindness as a “central visible acuity of 20/200 or much less within the higher eye with finest correction, or a limitation within the visual field within the higher eye in order that the widest diameter of the visible area subtends an angle of 20 levels or much less.” To qualify for Social Safety advantages imaginative and prescient loss have to be important. If an applicant’s imaginative and prescient in each eyes is 20/200 or worse, they are going to qualify for incapacity beneath itemizing 2.02; if their imaginative and prescient in just one eye is dangerous, they won’t be accredited for advantages. Underneath SSDI, the situation should have lasted or be anticipated to final at the least 12 months whereas there isn’t a length requirement beneath SSI.
Contact a Social Safety incapacity lawyer at 512-454-4000 for a free session and see if you will get incapacity advantages whereas affected by imaginative and prescient impairment. You probably have been denied incapacity don’t hand over!
Social Safety describes the way it evaluates visible impairment very particularly beneath Part 2.00 of its Blue E book
A. How will we consider visible issues?
1. What are visible issues?
Visible issues are abnormalities of the attention, the optic nerve, the optic tracts, or the mind that will trigger a lack of visible acuity or visible fields. A lack of visible acuity limits your skill to tell apart element, learn, or do high quality work. A lack of visible fields limits your skill to understand visible stimuli within the peripheral extent of imaginative and prescient.
4. What proof do we have to consider visible issues, together with people who lead to statutory blindness beneath title II?
To judge your visible dysfunction, we normally want a report of a watch examination that features measurements of your best-corrected central visible acuity (see 2.00A5) or the extent of your visible fields (see 2.00A6), as acceptable. You probably have visible acuity or visible area loss, we want documentation of the reason for the loss. A normal eye examination will normally point out the reason for any visible acuity loss. A normal eye examination can even point out the reason for some kinds of visible area deficits. Some issues, resembling cortical visible issues, could lead to abnormalities that don’t seem on a regular eye examination. If the usual eye examination doesn’t point out the reason for your imaginative and prescient loss, we are going to request the data used to determine the presence of your visible dysfunction. In case your visible dysfunction doesn’t fulfill the standards in 2.02, 2.03, or 2.04, we are going to request an outline of how your visible dysfunction impacts your skill to operate.
A claimant will likely be required to endure an examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist to measure their central visible acuity, i.e. how clearly they will see straight forward.
They might even have their visible area effectivity or peripheral imaginative and prescient examined. The applicant will likely be required to learn letters from a chart at a sure distance away. If a person’s imaginative and prescient is suspected to be higher than said, they might be required to endure testing which measures brainwave responses to visible stimuli.
If a person doesn’t qualify for advantages as a result of poor visible acuity, a lower in peripheral imaginative and prescient, or a mix of the 2, they might be eligible if their imaginative and prescient impairment mixed with different well being issues reduces their skill to carry out day by day duties or their job.
If a person is unable to work of their common place, the Social Safety Administration will contemplate different jobs they are able to carry out.
Along with the medical necessities for eligibility, in an effort to qualify for SSDI, an individual should have sufficient work credit or labored lengthy sufficient in a job and paid Social Safety taxes.
An individual earns work credit any time throughout their working years. If an individual turns into blind however doesn’t have sufficient work credit, they will earn credit to qualify for SSDI in the event that they proceed to work after they change into blind, or they might obtain advantages based mostly on the earnings of a mother or father or partner. In distinction, SSI funds are based mostly on monetary want and restricted by the quantity of the applicant’s revenue and belongings. Basically(for 2024), the revenue stage for a person is $943 and $1,415 for a pair; belongings are capped at $2,000 for people and $3,000 for {couples}.
Social Safety applies particular guidelines for people who find themselves blind or visually impaired to make it simpler for them to work or return to work.
Typically, if an individual is working and incomes greater than $1,550 monthly, they won’t be thought of disabled. This is named Substantial Gainful Exercise or SGA. Social Safety applies the next SGA if an individual is blind. A person who’s blind and receiving SSDI can earn as a lot as $2,590 monthly. When a blind particular person reaches age 55, if they’re incomes SGA or above, however their work requires a decrease stage of talent than the work the person carried out earlier than age 55 or after they turned blind, SSDI advantages will likely be suspended, however not terminated. Eligibility for SSDI advantages continues indefinitely, and SSA pays advantages for any month earnings fall under SGA. SGA doesn’t apply to people who find themselves blind and receiving SSI. SSI continues till the incapacity ends or terminates as a result of a non-disability problem, resembling incomes the next revenue.
Social Safety calculates incapacity and retirement advantages based mostly on an individual’s common lifetime earnings.
If an individual is blind and dealing, however their revenue has declined due to their visible impairment, Social Safety can exclude or “freeze” the years of low-income earnings leading to the next profit cost. As well as, when figuring out a blind particular person’s earned revenue, any bills a blind particular person incurs to earn that revenue isn’t included within the calculation. These bills are referred to as Blind Work Bills (BWE) and don’t have to be associated to blindness.
They embrace bills and revenue resembling:
- Attendant care
- Transportation to and from work
- Service animal bills
- Translation supplies to Braille
- Federal, state, and native taxes
- Social Safety Taxes
- Visible and sensory aids
- Union dues {and professional} affiliation charges
You probably have a visible impairment and are uncertain whether or not you might be eligible for SSDI or SSI, it’s best to apply for each.
You may apply for Social Safety Incapacity Insurance coverage (SSDI) on-line or in particular person at your native SSA workplace. For those who apply for SSI, you will need to achieve this at a neighborhood Social Safety workplace with an SSA consultant. Normally it takes a number of months for Social Safety to achieve a dedication, however if you’re completely blind, chances are you’ll qualify for six months of “presumptive blindness” advantages whereas ready for a choice. Having a professional lawyer to help chances are you’ll pace the method and be sure that you obtain the profit you deserve.
Bemis, Roach & Reed Imaginative and prescient Impairment Case Instance
We had a consumer who was a area gross sales consultant dwelling in Paige, Texas.
He suffered a department retinal arterial occlusion (stroke) in his proper eye, completely impairing his area of view. Each his treating doctor and Aetna’s reviewing doctor agreed that he shouldn’t be employed ready that required driving. As a result of his occupation required in depth driving, the consumer was pressured to cease working and apply for long run incapacity advantages.
Aetna, however denied his declare. We filed a federal lawsuit and efficiently overturned Aetna’s denial.
