For Missourians who are suffering from a lung condition or disease, it can be nearly impossible to complete most tasks and to function every day. For these individuals, if the disease reaches a certain point where there are no effective alternatives for treatment, a lung transplant might be necessary. Since the aftercare for a lung transplant is extensive and the person will require substantial monitoring, they will not be able to get back to work for an extended period, if they can at all. This will impact whether they meet the requirements for qualifying SSD benefits for illness.
Understanding how the Social Security Administration evaluates lung transplantation is critical to a claim before and after the surgery. If a person has a lung transplant either by itself or with other organs in the body, the SSA will view the person as being disabled for three years from the date the transplant took place. After those three years have elapsed, there will be an evaluation of their impairment or impairments by assessing how their lungs are functioning after the transplant, if there is bodily rejection, how frequently and severe they are, if there are complications in other areas of the body, and what side-effects there are with the treatment.
For those who are having an organ transplant of any kind, the SSA will generally consider them disabled prior to the procedure. With the SSA’s general assessment that a person is disabled for three years, it does not apply to the date at which the disability came about. It is only applicable for the date when the SSA will have a reevaluation as to the disability meeting a listing or the disability will otherwise be classified as disabling. The facts of the case will be the key factor in determining when the disability came about.
Those who have undergone a lung transplant have other concerns apart from their disability benefits. However, these can come to the forefront if the SSA decides that the person is not disabled or the three-year timeframe post-transplantation has elapsed. Having advice and assistance from a law firm that understands Social Security disability claims after a transplant is key to a case and maintaining or restarting SSD benefits.
