Hepatitis C is a type of chronic viral liver disease that usually spreads through contact with infected blood, such as from a blood transfusion during a surgery, or sharing needles such as tattoos in unregulated environments. Hepatitis C can also be spread through unprotected sex with an infected person and can transmit from mother to baby during childbirth. Many people have Hepatitis C but are unaware for years because they have no symptoms. Sometimes it takes 10 to 20 years before symptoms or illness occurs. Specialized blood tests can confirm the presence of Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a lifelong disease and, untreated, can result in scarring of the liver and/or liver cancer. There are medications that can treat Hepatitis C but they are known to have side effects.
Hepatitis B can also have similar disabling symptoms.
Hepatitis C and the medications used to treat it have many side effects including flu-like symptoms, fever, fatigue, malaise, and problems with memory, attention and concentration. Social Security evaluates Hepatitis C as a chronic liver disease which needs to be documented by tests such as endoscopy, x-ray, biopsy and abnormalities in blood and laboratory studies. Social Security will also consider the impact of Hepatitis on the other bodily systems and the effect of the symptoms on a person's daily functioning.
In order to prove your disability to Social Security, you need to either document that your condition or conditions meet or equal in severity the criteria found in the Social Security Commissioner's regulations or, if you are an adult, that your condition and symptoms are so severe that you are unable to work. If you are a child under 18, you must similarly show that your condition or conditions meet or equal in severity the criteria in the Social Security Commissioner's regulations or that your condition or conditions functionally equals the Commissioner's regulations. The law firm of Sheryl Gandel Mazur has experienced disability attorneys and has been representing individuals in their Social Security disability appeals for over twenty five years. Let us help you receive your Social Security disability benefits.
Our disability law firm represents individuals:
- In filing their initial disability applications
- In handling cases at the initial level including appealing initial denials
- In handling cases at the reconsideration level including appealing reconsideration denials
- In handling cases at the hearings level
- In appealing and handling cases at the Appeals Council level
• In appealing and handling cases at the Federal Court level
This firm also handles SSI child's disability cases at all levels.
Organizations: Hepatitis Foundation International (http://www.hepfi.org/); resources in New Jersey: www.atdn.org
