Pursuing Heart Attack Disability Claims for Disabled Workers, Veterans and Insurance Policy Holders
Heart attacks affect over 1 million people in the United States every year. Of those who survive a heart attack, many are able to get back to work and live a normal lifestyle. For many others, life after a heart attack means living with permanent disabilities that seriously limit physical activities and mental performance.
Victims of heart attacks can be eligible for Social Security Disability (SSD) and Veterans benefits, as well as long-term disability insurance coverage. For those living with heart attack disability, there is no time for legitimate benefits to be withheld.
If you have been wrongly denied disability payments, get in touch with our firm. We will fight to get your benefits secured. Social Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and insurance companies all have their regimented ways of determining whether you qualify. Many times, they get it wrong. When they do, we can help.
If you have questions about a claim, please call 800-562-9830, or contact us for a Free Consultation with a lawyer about getting disability benefits.
For a free legal consultation, call 800-562-9830
Facts about Heart Attack Disability
The medical name for a heart attack is myocardial infarction, or MI.
- myo – muscle
- cardial – heart
- infarction – death of tissue from lack of oxygen-rich blood
Most heart attacks are caused by coronary artery disease (CAD), which is the hardening or restricting of the coronary arteries. CAD is responsible for other forms of heart disease including congestive heart failure.
A heart attack happens when the flow of blood to the heart is totally blocked. This reduced blood supply to the heart is also known as ischemia, or ischemic heart disease.
When the heart muscle is deprived of blood and oxygen, the heart tissue dies. Scar tissue replaces the healthy tissue–yet the scar tissue is unable to contract. For those who survive a heart attack, the heart’s ability to pump is reduced. The result is heart damage that is permanent and often severe.
Those that suffer from heart attack disability also carry a high risk for subsequent heart attacks, kidney disease or other cardiovascular disorder.
Denial of Long Term Disability Insurance after a Heart Attack
When your doctor confirms you suffered a heart attack and says you should not return to work, you assume your disability plan will kick in. Yet many times, the insurance company will do what they can to avoid paying, or pay short-term disability only to discontinue it.
Your heart attack was not disabling – you are able to return to work.
This type of decision is voiced by many insurance companies when faced with awarding a disability claim for heart attack. The reality is your condition does prevent you from resuming full time work. Fatigue, discomfort, depression, medication side effects, further stress from trying to return to work, recurring hospital stays, and many other complications of heart disease are all factors that insurance companies tend to disregard when considering a claim for a heart attack.
Disability insurance companies know it can be an overwhelming feat for you to prove these limitations caused by your heart condition. Many take full advantage that fact, hoping that you will give up.
Fighting big insurance is hard to do on your own. Hiring a reputable disability insurance lawyer with the resources and knowledge of the law to fight back on your behalf can make all the difference. If you need help getting long-term disability insurance benefits from your insurance provider or your employer’s insurance plan, do not give up – get in touch with us now.
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Social Security and Heart Attack Disability Benefits
The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes heart attacks in their Listing of Impairments Manual under Cardiovascular System Listing 4.04, Ischemic Heart Disease.
To see if you will be awarded disability, Social Security follows a 5-step process to evaluate your condition. The process involves a complex series of regulations that can quickly overwhelm disabled claimants who have little experience with Social Security Disability.
With heart attack disability claims, the SSA may wait three months to evaluate your condition. They will consider many factors including your age, past work experience, stamina, medical records and doctors’ statements, your ability to ambulate, plus medical evaluations such as stress tests and angiography.
If your claim was denied, do not be discouraged. Over half of the initial claims for Social Security Disability are turned down, and the reasons can range from “not sufficient medical evidence” to “you are able to do some type of work.”
Our firm has represented hundreds of clients suffering from heart attack related disabilities in their fight to get the benefits they need from Social Security. Our job is to make certain your claim exhaustively covers all aspects of SSD requirements and firmly establishes your eligibility for disability benefits.
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Helping Veterans Win Heart Attack Disability Claims
Veterans who suffer disabilities due to heart attack may be entitled to service-connected disability compensation from the VA. The truth is, the VA is severely backlogged, the process is frustrating, and many claims are unfairly denied or underrated. Appealing a denied veteran’s disability claim for heart attack can be a complicated process.
At Marc Whitehead & Associates, we represent disabled veterans throughout the United States. We are accredited Veteran’s attorneys, fully qualified and deeply committed to helping you get the disability benefits and fair disability ratings you deserve.
The VA uses the schedule for rating disabilities to determine the level of a veteran’s disability. Heart attack and other diseases of the heart are listed in the Schedule under the Disability Ratings for the Cardiovascular System.
Following a heart attack, disabilities often worsen over time. A previously awarded VA rating may need to be re-evaluated. A veteran’s heart attack disability benefits may also come from a secondary impairment, where the service-connected condition directly or indirectly causes another, new disability, or aggravates a pre-existing, non-service connected disability.
For instance, if you are disabled for diabetes and after several years, your diabetes causes you to have a heart attack; you may be eligible for secondary service-connection of heart disease. Often the secondary disability can become more serious than the direct service-connected disability.
In 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that Ischemic Heart Disease is considered to be one of several illnesses associated with exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, which was widely used during the Vietnam War. The VA presumes that all Veterans who served in Vietnam were exposed to the chemical. Military personnel who served in Vietnam and are diagnosed with ischemic heart disease may be eligible for disability benefits.
Also, heart attack disability claims of Vietnam veterans that were previously denied should be re-evaluated, and approved claims may need to be re-evaluated for higher ratings of a worsened condition.
Contact Our Disability Law Firm
If you are struggling to keep your life on track due to the after effects of a heart attack, please call our attorneys toll free at 800-562-9830 and ask a lawyer a question about your case.
Call or text 800-562-9830 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form