Your life will never be the same after a serious brain injury, whether from a motor vehicle accident, a stroke or cancer. You will likely suffer cognitive disorders that affect your daily activities, and physical disabilities that will impact your muscles and nerves. Cognitive disorders that can result from traumatic brain injury may include Parkinson’s disease, Peripheral Neuropathy, MS, Radiculopathy or cerebral palsy. An experienced lawyer can help you prepare for the long term and make sure you have access to the benefits you deserve. At The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur in New Jersey, we help individuals who have suffered from brain injuries and cognitive disorders get the full extent of Social Security disability benefits they deserve. With over three decades of experience handling SSD claims, we can help you today. Contact us for help.
SSD Benefits For Brain Injuries (TBI) & Cognitive Disorders in New Jersey
Social Security disability benefits are awarded to people who are no longer able to work because of the severity of their brain injury or neurological impairments, including due to loss of physical or cognitive function or due to pain. We will help you to document the criteria for Social Security Disability based on the Commissioner’s Regulations. Taking a look at your diagnosis and the way in which your condition impacts your daily life, the Social Security Administration will determine whether you qualify for disability benefits.
Organic Brain Injuries
Organic brain injuries or organic mental disorders are a loss of prior mental state or prior learned knowledge, skills, functions or abilities caused by trauma or illness. An individual with an organic brain disorder may have psychological or behavioral changes, which they may or may not understand or recognize. An individual may have had a head injury, a stroke, residuals of medications or chemotherapy or dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. This condition may be evaluated by a neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, psychologist or neuropsychologist.
Tests such as MRIs, psychological or neuropsychological testing may demonstrate changes in the brain or losses of measured intellectual ability. Personality or behavior changes may include short-term or long-term memory loss, disorientation to time or place, problems with word finding, reading, perceptual or thinking disturbances or personality or mood changes.
Traumatic brain injury may involve the central nervous system and result in neurological and mental impairments with many posttraumatic symptoms.
Social Security will review whether an individual’s impairment affects his ability to perform work activities, function in and out of the household, perform tasks and get along with others.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
A traumatic brain injury may involve the central nervous system and result in neurological and mental impairments, with many post-traumatic symptoms. Resulting from head injuries, strokes, residuals of medications and Alzheimer’s disease, organic brain disorders may have psychological or behavioral changes that may or may not be recognizable.
Parkinson’s Disease
This disorder causes trouble with muscle control and movement. Symptoms include: trembling, stiffness of limbs, slow movement, poor coordination and balance. Social Security will evaluate how the condition affects movement in the arms or legs and will review how the condition and secondary symptoms impact an individual’s ability to function on a daily basis.
Peripheral Neuropathy and Other Nerve Disorders
Peripheral nerves are those not contained in the brain or spinal cord. Peripheral neuropathy involves damage to these nerves and disrupts communication with the brain and the rest of the body. It can be caused by injury, systemic diseases (such as kidney disease or hormone imbalances, alcoholism, blood diseases or connective tissue disorders). Disorders involving these nerves include diabetes mellitus, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet or complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
Multiple Sclerosis
MS is a disease that affects the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle weakness, coordination and balance issues, visual and cognitive problems, and physical sensations such as numbness, tingling, or prickling. MS is most likely to occur in women aged 20 to 40, but also occurs in men and can cause loss of ability or limitations in ability to speak, see, and/or walk. In order to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, an individual must show severe limitations in motor function, vision, or in mental or cognitive functioning. Also, documentation of significant reproducible fatigue in the muscle groups related to neurological dysfunction may be utilized to prove disability.
Helping Those With Brain Injuries (TBI) & Cognitive Disorders | Contact Us Today
Our disability law firm represents individuals at every stage of the process in obtaining SSD benefits. Whether you’re just now filing for SSD benefits or you’ve been denied your rightful benefits, you can turn to us for help. Contact The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
