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Tips on Applying for Disability Benefits with a Traumatic Brain Injury
Written by Ram Meyyappan
If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you may be able to receive disability benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The following tips will help you better your chances of being approved for benefits.
Make sure you meet the financial eligibility criteria for SSDI/SSI benefits
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has set financial limitations for both SSDI and SSI. SSDI is a program available to disabled workers that earn less than $1,040 per month (for 2013), which is what the SSA considers substantial gainful activity or gainful employment.
For SSI on the other hand, the financial eligibility rules are stricter. You must have very limited income and other financial resources at your disposal to pay for your everyday needs.
It is also important to understand that to qualify for SSDI, you must have sufficient work credits that are built up from your previous employment.
Learn more about the SSDI and SSI program here.
Find out if your TBI matches a blue book condition
When the SSA reviews disability claims, they look at whether or not the condition matches one that appears in the Blue Book, which is a manual of common disabling conditions. Your TBI will be considered under one of the following listings, dependent upon the symptoms you experience and the complications your TBI causes:
- Section 11.02 – convulsive epilepsy
- Section 11.03 – non-convulsive epilepsy
- Section 11.04 – stroke or stroke-like complications
- Section 12.02 – organic mental disorders
It is also important to understand that the SSA will take all of your symptoms and complications under consideration. That means they may consult multiple listings in the Blue Book when reviewing your application for benefits.
You can learn more about medically qualifying with TBI here.
Learn how to qualify for benefits without a meeting a blue book listing
You can still potentially qualify for disability benefits through SSDI and/or SSI even if you do not meet a listing in the Blue Book. To do so, you must prove that your TBI has caused such severe limitations that it prevents you from working. The SSA will need to review your activities of daily living and determine if your “residual functional capacity” (RFC) is so limited that you are unable to maintain employment.
You can get a better idea of what information the SSA reviews by looking at the Function Report Form.
File an application
Even if you are unsure if you qualify for benefits, you should still file an application. Doing so is the only way to know for sure if you can receive SSD benefits. You can have someone help you file online, like a friend, family member, or advocate. You can also file your application in person at your local SSA office and have another person accompany you to the appointment and assist in providing the necessary information.
It is crucial you thoroughly complete the application, leaving no information blank or details scarce. It is also important that you provide the SSA copies of as many of your medical records as possible at the time you file or shortly after.
File a timely appeal if necessary
If you are denied benefits after the initial review of your application that does not mean you cannot eventually be found eligible. In order to continue trying for SSD however, you must file a timely appeal. You will have just 60 days from the date of the denial letter you receive to submit your request for a reconsideration of your claim or for an appeal hearing.
Hi, my name is Jon. In 2009 I was diagnosed with having a brain tumor. It was located inside the third ventricle in my brain near the pineal gland and brain stem. An endoscopic biopsy was performed causing the tumor to swell and block the flow of the fluid in my brain. My brain swelled (hydrocephalus) and a shunt was put in to divert some of the fluid off my brain into my abdomen. When I woke up most of my short term memory was gone. My wife was visiting me in the ICU holding our two month old daughter. I asked her if she was my baby. People would come to visit me for hours and would step out briefly to use the restroom and upon their return I would say, “Hey! When did you get here?”. I would wake up in the middle of the night and call my wife and ask, “Why am I here? What’s going on?”. Long story short I had surgery and radiation. About 5 months after all of that I asked my surgeon to release me to go back to work. Reluctantly he did. I still struggle with my memory every day. It resulted in a demotion. It continues to annoy and frustrate my co-workers. I’ve been sat down and talked to on multiple occasions about these issues and I am at my whits end. Do you know if my case would qualify for help?
If I have been diagnosed as having a “closed head injury” and a “short term memory disability” which has in turn prevented me from maintaining employment, then why am I being denied for social security disability benefits?
They seem to deny everyone until it gets to the judge, even if you were a
Quadrapelegic they would probably deny you initially. Get an Attny
And just go through their process, took me about 18 months to get approved. Good luck!
It took me 6 weeks to be approved by DDS. Maybe I was lucky, but I had all of my information together and my doctor was on board.
[…] Tips on Applying for Disability Benefits with a Traumatic Brain Injury […]
I have a longstanding TBI; and I was no longer able to work because I did not receive the proper treatment (cognitive rehabilitation therapy), and my condition became worse due to interpersonal trouble, increased anxiety, and depression. I was denied after appearing before a judge (ALJ) at the hearing.
HI adrew im going through the same thing i no how you feel ,the saying is you look fine therefore you are fine ,let them live in our heads ,get a lawyer
My niece who is now 52 years old was thrown from a horse when she was 19 years old, suffered and nearly died from a brain injury. She now lives in Nebraska and has just written to me stating she can not make it on the money she received from either SSI, that she only received something like 800 or 900 a month. And she has asked me if I can help her.
My question to you, is should she be receiving more as she cannot work.
Hi, my name is Tony and my wife has TBI due to a head on collision with an 18 wheeler! Her frontal lobe damage is severe and has almost all the symptoms of TBI! She doesnt have enough credits to qualify for disability because she is unable to hold down a job due to her extreme mood changes! She has been denied disability numerous times and was told she didn’t have enough credits and attorneys have told us this is only reason holding that back! This seems to me as a inconceivable act of not helping someone who legitimately needs to be on disability but is ok for others to get it based on nothing more than playing the system! Can someone please help us!
Have you looked into her being able to draw social security off of you?
Tony you are so right. It is set up like a game. The system is not set up in reality, and facts. My son has had two Brain Trauma, at birth, and at fifteen years of age. You want find it in the USA a peerson with two brain trauma not being disable. SAD
Hello my name is Brian. I had a MVA on April 1994 on a motorcycle. I was in a coma for a few days and rehab a few years. I have filed for disability and told no what can I do?
I’ve been denied also. Suffered TBI from an accident as well as being a kid. Now I have short term memory problems and severe mood changes that I can’t control. I can’t focus. I was a diesel mechanic. I cant find a job cuz of there r no jobs. I live in a rural area and closest town is 150 mi away. I’m afraid to work cuz I might get someone killed or make a mistake. Depression and anxiety is killing me. What should I do? I have 4 kids and a wife that need income.
[…] Traumatic brain injuries are different. The different forms of brain injuries are based on the amount of force and the nature of force that impacts the head. Traumatic brain injuries could affect one area of the brain, certain functional areas, or even all areas of the brain. Types of Traumatic Brain Injury […]
Take it from a Vietnam veteran with two TBI injuries in 1972 & 1973.if your TBI was serious, then you my have Parkinson disease ans don’t know it. Please, please read up on PD. Maybe you can find some help before you reach stage five like i have. I may be alive, but i am no longer living. An extremely crule way to exist.
I’ve been living with TBI and total blindness in my right eye since April of 1981. Have struggled with employers ever since. Almost a year ago I felt I had to accept early retirement after being put on a performance warning. Now I’d like to see if I can qualify for SSI or SSDI(not sure which to apply for), after 11 months of unemployment. How does one go about finding an attorney who can be trusted and who won’t charge a fortune? An attorney who will work with me and do a good job.
I strugled with the same performance issues. It was discovered i had parkinson disease from 2 tbi in the swrvice
I was in a motorcycle accident almost 7 yrs ago 07/08/11 I was flown to Naperville Ill (Christ advocate) from Chesterton In.. were I was in and induced a coma for 2 months I dont remember the wreck or the following 2 months , I dont believe I seen a light or and thing like that – All I know is that when I came to , I had 2 memorable thoughts 1 was to get my daughter in Sunday school where she accepted Jesus and 2 was Hebrews 12:6-9 I dont know where I was or who gave me a Bible if anyone but the Scripture was very fitting at the time , I truly shouldNT be here , since then Ive had 2 more accidents that could have killed me I was electrocuted in 2 ft of liquid acid a yr almost to the day after my motorcycle accident and a yr and a half latter I was hit in the head w/ a 24 ft aluminum plank falling from the roof , Ive had 2 witnessed seizures , I have 5 peices of metal in my left elbow from the 1st accident and another in my left heal and now 2 tbi’s (traumatic brain injurys) Ive lost everything and everyone , my 20 yr gf/wife divorced me , my daughter hasn’t answered her phone in over a yr my parents have a restraining order on me which I was arrested for the day before christmas for sending my mother an email… Im still fighting for disability — Thru it all I drew close to Jesus , I got nothing else , I put down the bottle and picked up my Bible and I wont let go , Im thankful for the chastisement and the fact God hasn’t let me die <<<<<<<<<<
Hebrews 12:6-9 King James Version (KJV)
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Im getting no tru help I was thrown out of my doctors office this week Ive also been to the ER twice this week – they will not help me , Im on my 3rd lawyer I NEED HELP
Wow…..
I just want to mention and remind you how blessed you truly are… God Bless you.
I had a tbi in 1999, At 16 years old. I was have been fighting 4 my disability for 4 years… I have a lawyer and my God, our God, JESUS CHRIST is and will be with us all. He will not give us more than we can handle. Yes, it may seem harder each day but the light is at the end of the tunnel. Never give up… God Bless
Research Parkison disease. See if you fit the bill. I think you will find some understanding in your madness
It is good to know that the SSDI needs certain qualifications. That does seem like a good thing to be aware of when you need to have brain surgery. It seems like you should talk to a doctor about it.
Had a brain tumor removed (4th ventricle and brain stem) Seems my residual effects mirror TBI more than tumor affects. Does the removal cause a TBI?
I liked that you explained that there are several different types of the section that you can pick from when you are trying to apply for brain-related disabilities. It is good to now that they have a stroke or stroke-like complications on the list. That does seem like the one that would get picked the most.