Q: Will the coronavirus pandemic increase the number of disabled people?
Tempe disability benefits attorneys have witnessed the devastating effects the coronavirus has had on many clients.
In general, many of the physical and mental conditions an applicant needs to suffer from in order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits are the same conditions that make those recipients fall into the “more vulnerable” category. The most vulnerable victims—with underlying chronic medical conditions like diabetes and others– are more likely to die from complications of the virus than COVID-19 victims without those conditions.
Long-term COVID-19 disabilities
Medical experts are now seeing that even those who do survive the novel coronavirus may not return completely to their former state of good health. In fact, many COVID-19 survivors have “long-standing lung injury, cardiovascular injury, heart injury, and neurologic injury” and those disabilities are expected to drive up the numbers of people who are unable to work and will be seeking long-term Social Security disability benefits as a result. Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine characterized the gravity of the potential fall-out as “producing a generation of disabled individuals”.
With an anticipated uptick in claimants, it is likely that initial application denials rate—already at about two-thirds of applications–will remain high or go higher. Also, the time to appeal the denial of benefits will likely take longer than the two-year average it already takes in many areas—all the while the applicant may be without benefits or other income sources. Rapidly spending down a nest egg that may have taken a lifetime to save—or having no savings to dip into because you live paycheck-to-paycheck– would add additional stress to an already tense situation.
Could you survive for two years without your paycheck?
If you have been rendered unable to work as a result of COVID-19 or any other physical or mental condition, the disability attorneys of Arizona at Roeschke Law can help you. Contact us today for a free consultation.
From our offices in Tempe, Phoenix, and Tucson, we represent disabled people and their families throughout Arizona in all aspects of disability law. No fee unless you win and, even then, the fee basically is set by statute.