Marc Whitehead & Associates

Denied Claims for Stroke Disability

Stroke Disability Attorneys Provide Help for Stroke Victims

As disability lawyers, we review hundreds of claims from stroke victims that have been denied disability benefits by long term disability insurance providers or government benefit programs.

If your claim for post-stroke disability was unfairly denied, do not give up. That same claim, with proper legal representation, can be appealed and won.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in the U.S., and the fourth leading cause of death. Also known as Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA), stroke is a sudden disruption of the central nervous system in which the flow of blood to the brain is stopped due to a blood clot (ischemic stroke) or bleeding (hemorrhagic stroke). A TIA (transient ischemic attack) – also referred to as a “mini stroke” – is caused by a temporary clot.

Four million survivors of CVA live with stroke disability. Risk factors associated with stroke include hypertension, coronary artery disease, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and excess of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine.

The effects of a stroke are severe neurological disorders, and depend on several factors including the location of the obstruction, and the brain tissue that is affected.

When the right brain is affected, the results can include

• Paralysis on the left side of the body
• Quick, inquisitive behavior
• Loss of memory
• Vision impairment

When stroke occurs in the left side of the brain, the results can include

• Paralysis on the right side of the body
• Slow, cautious behavior
• Loss of memory
• Speech & language impairment

If stroke attacks the brain stem, both sides of the body can be affected, and the person may be disabled from speaking or moving their body below the neck.

Stroke Disability Claims for Social Security Disability Benefits

Social Security evaluates stroke disability claims according to the SSA Listing of Impairments under Neurological Listing § 11.04 - Central Nervous System Vascular Accident.

How stroke has affected your ability to function is of great importance to your Social Security disability claim. You may be found disabled in two ways by SSA:

• One way is based on meeting or equaling a medical listing for the area that is impaired. Since stroke is neurological (affecting the brain) there may be more than one medical listing that we can argue that you meet or equal.
   
• If there is no SSA medical listing which you meet or equal, disability can also be proved by showing that the effects of the stroke have caused limitations that are severe enough that full-time work is impossible to sustain (including your past job or other work.)

Obtaining medical evidence from your doctor about the specific limitations the stroke has caused is critical in proving disability to the Social Security decision maker. The severity of the limitations required to prove disability can depend on other factors such as age, education and past work experience.

As Board Certified Social Security Attorneys backed by many years of experience, we know how to construct successful claims for stroke disability, and win claims on appeal for stroke victims who have been denied benefits by the SSA.

VA Compensation for Stroke Disability

If you have been denied veteran’s disability compensation for stroke, or need help applying for benefits from the VA, Marc Whitehead & Associates offers reliable, accomplished veterans representation. We have successfully represented disabled veterans across the U.S. at all levels within the VA disability system in their fight to obtain benefits.

If your stroke occurred due to injury or illness received or aggravated during active service, you are eligible for service-connected disability benefits. The VA uses a schedule for rating disabilities when determining the level of a veteran’s service-connected disability. Stroke disability claims are reviewed under the section for Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders. VA raters will evaluate stroke victims according to loss of function and the effect of the stroke on their ability to work.

Veterans who were former prisoners of war also have presumptive conditions, which includes stroke. If you, as a former POW, have suffered a stroke - regardless of the amount of time you were held in captivity - the VA will presume that the stroke and its complications, and residuals of stroke, were caused by your captivity.

In addition, many times a non-service connected disability can be linked to a service connected disability. An example might be when a veteran who is service connected for cardiovascular disease (a heart condition) later has a stroke (a neurological condition).

To learn more about the legal assistance we provide for disabled veterans, we welcome your call at (800) 562-9830.

Winning Stroke Disability Benefits on a Disability Insurance Policy

Our attorneys understand that it is not easy to have a group or private disability insurance claim approved. We have been helping clients obtain disability insurance benefits for stroke and other neurological disabilities for 2 decades, and know what insurance companies look for. We regularly take on the "Big Deniers" of benefits such as Unum, MetLife, Aetna, Prudential and the rest, with favorable results.

If you or a loved one has endured a situation in which an insurer denied long-term benefits unfairly, they may have acted in bad faith. You deserve the support of accomplished disability attorneys.

We will work closely with your doctors and vocational professionals to help you prove that your stroke has caused difficulty in communicating or loss of motor function that disables you from working. Our attorneys understand insurance companies’ thinking; we have significant knowledge of insurance law, and excel in appealing wrongly denied insurance claims.

If you have been denied LTD benefits for a post-stroke disability claim, you should not sign anything from the insurance company without first consulting with us. We will provide you with a thorough evaluation of your claim at no cost to you, and advise you of your legal options so you can move forward to get the benefits you deserve.

Was Your Claim for Stroke Disability Benefits Denied?

A denial does not automatically mean your claim is defeated. Success for stroke victims and their families is often achieved by fighting back with knowledgeable attorneys at your side.

To learn more, call our disability lawyers toll free at 800-562-9830 or contact us here to discuss your stroke disability claim.

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