For those who or a beloved one struggles with extreme narcolepsy, you understand how tough it may be to keep up a constant each day routine. Whereas medical therapies and different affordable lodging may help many individuals handle their daytime sleepiness and scale back the danger of harmful sleep assaults, generally even the very best care just isn’t sufficient to allow suffers to work safely.
For those who fall into this class, you might be able to obtain short-term or long-term incapacity advantages. Nonetheless, proving that your narcolepsy prevents you from working is not going to essentially be simple and should require important medical proof.
On this weblog publish, we are going to briefly cowl what narcolepsy is, how signs can affect your capacity to work, and the way an skilled incapacity lawyer may help you get the incapacity advantages you deserve.
What Is Narcolepsy and How Can It Influence My Capacity to Work?
Narcolepsy is a continual sleep problem that regularly leads to a number of of the next signs:
Extreme daytime sleepiness. Individuals with narcolepsy typically expertise extreme fatigue all through the day and have bother staying awake for prolonged durations of time.
Sleep assaults. As a consequence of maximum fatigue, individuals with narcolepsy might all of the sudden go to sleep. Whereas this may be preceded by a brief interval of great drowsiness, for some individuals sleep assaults include nearly no warning.
Sudden muscle weak spot. Some individuals with narcolepsy are susceptible to sudden lack of muscle tone and voluntary muscle management, for up to some minutes at a time. Also referred to as cataplexy, this will trigger the individual to droop, slur their speech, or in excessive instances even fall over.
Sleep paralysis. Often, individuals with narcolepsy could also be unable to maneuver or converse simply earlier than falling asleep, or for just a few seconds to some minutes after waking.
Narcolepsy signs could make sure varieties of labor harmful, significantly if it includes driving or working equipment. Nonetheless, extreme daytime sleepiness may make it tough to focus, be current and attentive throughout conferences and appointments, and carry out different important duties in a variety of job roles.
Getting Incapacity Advantages for Narcolepsy Accredited Can Be Difficult
Though it could be apparent to you that your narcolepsy signs make it not possible to carry out your important work duties and thus qualify you for incapacity advantages, you should still encounter important resistance from the insurance coverage firm. Under are just a few of the most important obstacles.
Skepticism About Self-Reported Signs
Narcolepsy is probably not as instantly obvious to an out of doors observer as a extra apparent bodily incapacity—for instance, a damaged leg in a solid. Due to this, the insurance coverage firm might accuse you of exaggerating your narcolepsy signs and their impact in your capacity to work.
To have any probability at having your incapacity declare accepted, you’ll need to again it up with a transparent prognosis and robust medical proof.
Personal Occupation vs. Any Occupation Incapacity Insurance coverage Insurance policies
An “personal occupation” incapacity coverage means you solely must show that you simply can’t carry out your present job with a view to be eligible for advantages. That is the best state of affairs for claimants, and makes it a lot simpler to get approval, significantly in case you work in a area the place excessive daytime sleepiness or sleep assaults would clearly be harmful for your self or others—like medical doctors, drivers, or individuals who work round unprotected heights or with heavy equipment.
Nonetheless, many long-term incapacity insurance policies use an “any occupation” definition, that means it’s worthwhile to show you might be unable to do any work to which you might be moderately suited, even exterior your present occupation. It’s a lot more durable to get advantages below these sorts of insurance policies.
Narcolepsy Is Not a Certified Dysfunction for Social Safety Incapacity Insurance coverage
Simply because a situation just isn’t acknowledged as a qualifying dysfunction by the Social Safety Administration (SSA) doesn’t imply you can not qualify below a separate short-term or long-term incapacity coverage. Nonetheless, some long-term incapacity insurance policies would require you to file for Social Safety incapacity earlier than submitting a non-public insurance coverage declare.
That mentioned, you should still have the ability to get Social Safety incapacity advantages too, though you’ll have to show that the signs impair your capacity to work and that they’re much like a situation that’s listed. (Individuals with narcolepsy who’re trying to get social safety advantages sometimes accomplish that below the epilepsy itemizing.)
At Bryant Authorized Group, we primarily signify individuals who have incapacity claims with a non-public insurer. Nonetheless, if we consider your situation additionally qualifies you for Social Safety incapacity advantages, we may help you with that as nicely. Our incapacity insurance coverage legal professionals don’t deal with stand-alone Social Safety claims.
Find out how to Strengthen Your Lengthy-Time period Incapacity Case
To win your incapacity case, you’ll need to convey as a lot medical proof and non-medical proof as you may to conclusively present how your situation impacts your life. Right here are some things you must deal with.
Set up a Clear Medical Analysis
Merely claiming to be consistently fatigued or susceptible to sleep assaults is not going to be enough. You’ll need a prognosis and supporting medical proof from a professional doctor, which would require taking part in a minimum of two important sleep research:
- Polysomnogram: You keep in a single day at a sleep heart whereas a machine data mind waves, eye actions, respiration, and different important indicators for nacolepsy and different sleep issues.
- A number of sleep latency check: You’re taking 5 scheduled naps all through the day, and a specialist measures how rapidly it takes you to go to sleep, whether or not or not REM sleep is achieved, and if that’s the case how rapidly REM sleep is achieved.
Fastidiously Observe the Remedy Plan From Your Treating Doctor
Though there isn’t any recognized treatment for narcolepsy, many individuals are in a position to efficiently handle their narcoleptic signs by taking sure medicines, in addition to way of life modifications (resembling common train and strict bedtimes, wake occasions, and a nap schedule).
Some individuals are in a position to management their narcolepsy nicely sufficient to work an everyday job, a minimum of with affordable lodging made by the employer. Nonetheless, this isn’t true for everybody, and regardless of your finest efforts it’s possible you’ll not have the ability to get by the workday with out important problem.
By following your physician’s therapy plan to the letter, you present the insurance coverage firm that you’re critical about your situation and making a very good religion effort to handle it, and your incapacity is out of your management.
Ask Your Physician to Write a Letter Supporting Your Analysis and Your Incapacity Declare
Once more, you will need to do not forget that a narcolepsy prognosis in and of itself just isn’t proof of a incapacity. You want to hyperlink your prognosis to particular signs that make it not possible so that you can work below the phrases of your incapacity insurance coverage coverage.
Self-reported signs will probably be handled with skepticism. A letter out of your physician outlining your prognosis, your signs, and the way these signs impair your capacity to work can, together with detailed medical data, present the proof it’s worthwhile to assist your declare.
Maintain a Cautious File of Your Situation
It’s a very sensible concept to maintain a journal of your expertise with narcolepsy. File any durations of intense drowsiness, the period of any naps (anticipated or sudden), cases the place you had been unable to pay attention or full a activity attributable to signs you can not management. Additionally document the medicines you take, way of life methods you might be utilizing to manage signs, and even any triggers you may determine.
This info might be very helpful to your treating physician as they assemble an applicable therapy plan, however it might additionally assist your incapacity case.
RELATED POST: Study How a Incapacity Journal Can Assist Your Incapacity Declare
Fastidiously Evaluation Your Incapacity Insurance coverage Coverage
Every insurance coverage coverage is totally different, and can include necessary details about how incapacity is outlined (“personal occupation” vs “any occupation”), what circumstances are and are usually not coated, how “self-reported” circumstances are coated, what requirements of proof should be met to qualify, and extra.
Fastidiously reviewing your coverage will assist you determine whether or not or not you’ve got a legit declare for incapacity insurance coverage advantages, and what proof and data you’ll need to offer to the insurance coverage firm with a view to obtain them.
Bryant Authorized Group: The Lengthy-Time period Incapacity Specialists
If narcolepsy is preserving you from working, chances are high you’ll need some assist getting your incapacity declare accepted. Whether or not you might be simply firstly of that course of, otherwise you simply acquired your first denial discover, our skilled incapacity legal professionals are prepared to help.
Bryant Authorized Group is acknowledged in Chicago and past for our aggressive authorized methods, compassionate consumer care, and nice outcomes. To request your free session with our crew, full our on-line kind or name us at 312-561-3010.
