Rheumatoid Arthritis & Your Disability Claim
Speak with a Disability Lawyer About Your Options
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disorder that affects joints throughout your body, though joints you use more frequently are often more affected. This disease causes the body’s immune system to attack its own tissue, often including joint linings, causing painful swelling, redness, stiffness, difficulty moving, weakness, and other long-lasting effects. Also known as RA, rheumatoid arthritis has all sorts of causes, including environmental, occupational, and even possibly genetic factors.
Rheumatoid arthritis can be extremely painful, causing a severely limited ability to use the joint or joints that are affected. This often leads to a loss of mobility or ability to perform tasks related to your job or even your regular everyday life. However, those who suffer from this disease can apply for disability and obtain financial relief when they can no longer support themselves by working. Dabdoub Law Firm represents clients with all types of disabilities including those who suffer from RA and other movement and activity-limiting conditions. We have committed our entire practice to helping people with disability insurance cases, and can stand by your side through every step of the process to help you obtain the result you’re seeking. Whether you need help filing an initial claim or are on your last appeal, you can trust that we will fight for your best interests with an aggressive and relentless desire for justice.
To find out more about filing for disability benefits when you have diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, speak with an attorney from Dabdoub Law Firm now!
Call us by dialing (800) 969-0488 to request a free consultation.
Areas Impacted by RA
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition, meaning it develops slowly over time and usually through repeated stress on one or more joints. This means it can be difficult to pin down an exact date the condition was contracted as well as demonstrate what exactly the cause was. However, the unknown origin or cause of the disease should not prevent someone from receiving disability insurance benefits because even with these unknowns, you are still suffering from the debilitating symptoms of RA.
Those who suffer from this condition frequently can’t stand or sit for long periods of time without severe pain in places including:
- Knees
- Back
- Ankles
- Toes
- Feet
- Hips
- Other pivotal joints
Work Limitations of RA
This also means those who suffer from this condition also can’t work at the capacity they once did, if they can even work at all. As RA develops, you’ll find you have to frequently reposition yourself, which can lower your ability to perform certain tasks. You’ll likely lose your ability to do once-simple tasks, such as lifting, carrying, or reaching things at height without immense pain. Those who suffer from RA in their hands also lose their ability to do fingering tasks, such as typing, meaning secretarial, data entry, or product inspection duties become nearly impossible.
Is RA Treatable?
One of the most devastating parts of rheumatoid arthritis is that there is no known cure: once developed you’ll have to live with the condition for the rest of your life. However, there are treatments that can help slow the spread of the condition and provide you with relief from the pain symptoms.
Physiotherapy and special medication are two of the most common methods of treatment for RA, including in the early stages in order to prevent the tissue from becoming any more worn out and inflamed through bodily attacks. Special anti-rheumatic drugs are designed specifically to target the cause of rheumatoid arthritis, preventing your joints from falling into an even worse condition.
However, one of the keys to successfully managing rheumatoid arthritis can include physical activity. Thorough and frequent stretching as well as movement of the joints and muscles can help keep the pain in check and keep muscle and joint tissue strengthened. In more serious cases, rheumatoid arthritis may require surgery to reconstruct a worn out joint or even replace one to prevent tremendously painful bone-on-bone grinding.
Each of these things can make it nearly impossible to work and even perform normal daily tasks, which means you may be eligible for disability insurance benefits.
Contact a skilled attorney from Dabdoub Law Firm and speak with a skilled member of our team about your case to start reviewing the options available to you.