Fight for Your rights with an Ataxia Disability Lawyer
If your insurance provider denied your long term disability claim for ataxia, Marc Whitehead & Associates can help. We have represented claimants all over the U.S. who were denied LTD insurance benefits for ataxia and other neurological disabilities.
People dealing with ataxia disability often face overwhelming life challenges.
Ataxia is a neurological condition that impairs balance and physical movements. Victims can experience an increasing failure of muscle coordination and erratic muscular action, and much more.
Even activities that require only the simplest of motor skills – including grasping objects, walking, reaching, gesturing, bending and speaking – become difficult or impossible for persons suffering from ataxia. Holding down a job is out of the question.
Yet ataxia, and the serious disabilities it causes, is little understood by those who do not suffer from it.
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What Is Ataxia?
Ataxia is caused by problems with the cerebellum, the region of the brain that regulates muscle coordination. The condition can develop over time or come on suddenly. Reaching a firm diagnosis can be a difficult, ongoing process, and many sufferers go a long time before learning that they actually have a progressive disease. Common symptoms of ataxia include:
- Loss of coordination and movement of the hands, fingers, arms and body
- Abnormal gait with a tendency to stumble
- Involuntary back-and-forth eye movements (nystagmus)
- Floppiness (hypotonia)
- Impaired balance and vertigo
- hearing impairments
- Difficulty swallowing
- Speech impairments/slurred speech
- Weakened immune system
- Respiratory problems
- Migraines, burning and tingling sensations.
Causes of Ataxia
Ataxia can be acute, developing rapidly following a brain injury, or it can develop progressively over a long period of time. The condition can have many causes including:
- Head Trauma – acute cerebellar ataxia can result from an injury to the head or spinal cord;
- Stroke — lack of oxygen to the brain can damage the cerebellum;
- Cerebral palsy — caused by damage to the cerebellum before, during or just after birth;
- Autoimmune diseases — multiple sclerosis, sarcoidosis, celiac disease and other autoimmune conditions can bring about ataxia;
- Infections – complications from chicken pox and other viral infections (this form of ataxia is usually temporary);
- Paraneoplastic syndromes — degenerative disorders triggered by the immune system’s response to a cancerous tumor;
- Tumors — damage caused by cancerous and non-cancerous growths in and around the cerebellum;
- Toxic reaction — side effects from certain types of medications, some forms of chemotherapy, drug and alcohol abuse, heavy metal poisoning and prolonged exposure to solvents such as paint thinner can cause ataxia;
- Vitamin deficiency — Vitamin E, B-12 or thiamine deficiencies can cause ataxia.
Ataxia can also be hereditary. Inherited ataxia can develops in individuals who have inherited a defective gene from either their father or mother, or both parents. Inherited forms of ataxia generally involve degenerative diseases of the central nervous system — meaning the condition grow progressively worse over time, impacting vision, balance, speech and other physical functions.
Examples of inherited ataxia are:
- Friedreich’s ataxia
- Spinocerebellar ataxia
- Ataxia telangiectasia (also called Louis-Bar syndrome)
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Has Your Claim for Ataxia Disability Benefits Been Denied?
Unfortunately, it’s a common practice for insurance companies to deny LTD disability claims for ataxia, no matter how severe the disability is.
In the case of ataxia disability claims, LTD insurers routinely dismiss the condition because of its subjective symptoms (symptoms that only the patient can feel, such as fatigue, lower back pain, anxiety, etc.) as opposed to objective symptoms (symptoms that can be observed and measured, such as fever, bleeding, bone fractures, etc.). Their denial is based on the grounds that sufficient objective medical evidence does not exist, and therefore you cannot prove that ataxia obstructs your ability to work.
No matter what tactics your insurance company has used to deny your claim, we’ve have seen it before, and we can fight back on your behalf.
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Get Help from an Ataxia Disability Lawyer
You should know that the specific cause of this condition is not the basis of your ataxia disability insurance claim. The fact that the condition has disabled you from working is the key. We can help you prove that.
Your chances for successfully obtaining disability benefits for ataxia and other neurological disorders greatly increase when your claim is represented by an experienced disability claims lawyer. Marc Whitehead & Associates have helped thousands of disabled individuals all over the country get the LTD benefits they deserve, even after their claims were initially denied.
If ataxia or another serious medical condition is preventing you from working, Marc Whitehead & Associates are here to help you get the disability benefits you are entitled to, whether they be from the Social Security Administration, Veterans Administration or a private insurance company. Contact the law offices of Marc Whitehead & Associates online or call us at 800-562-9830 to speak with one of our highly experienced ataxia disability lawyers.
Call or text 800-562-9830 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form