Tested on a good day
One set of readings, taken when you were stable, standing in for a condition that varies week to week. Repeat testing and the surrounding records are the answer.
Social Security Disability
Disability Benefits for COPD and Respiratory Conditions
These claims turn on a breathing test, which means they can be decided by what kind of day you were having when you took it.
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The one condition where a number can decide the whole claim.
Respiratory claims work differently from everything else on this site. Where most conditions are argued through descriptions of function, these are measured. Spirometry produces numbers, and where the numbers are severe enough the claim can be allowed on that basis.
That sounds straightforward and it creates a specific vulnerability. A test is a snapshot. Take it on a good morning, after medication, sitting still in a quiet room, and it may not describe the person who cannot cross a parking lot in February without stopping.
A great many refused respiratory claims are refused on a single set of readings. When and how the test was performed is therefore worth as much attention as the result.
Conditions this covers
COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis affecting the lungs, and chronic respiratory failure.
- Spirometry values Measured, and compared against thresholds.
- Exacerbation history Flare-ups needing treatment or admission.
- Oxygen requirement Continuous or intermittent, and since when.
- Environmental limits Dust, fumes, cold and humidity rule work out.
What matters besides the numbers
Where the test values fall short of a threshold, the claim is not over. It moves to the same functional analysis every other condition goes through, and respiratory conditions bring limitations that are easy to overlook.
Exertional tolerance
Not whether you can lift a weight once, but whether you can carry it across a warehouse and still breathe. Breathlessness on exertion is a real restriction on almost all physical work and it is rarely captured by a lifting figure.
The exacerbation pattern
Somebody with three chest infections a winter, each taking two weeks, is unemployable regardless of how they test in June. Hospital and urgent care records are what establish this and they need to be gathered from every provider, not just the respiratory clinic.
Environment
Dust, fumes, temperature extremes and humidity. These restrictions eliminate whole categories of work, which is exactly the sort of finding that decides a claim at the vocational stage.
Why respiratory claims get refused
Three of these four are about the test rather than the illness.
The testing was not done properly
Effort-dependent tests can under-record or over-record. Whether the study met the technical standard is a legitimate and frequently decisive question.
Continued smoking
Raised as failure to follow prescribed treatment. It is not automatically a bar, and it needs addressing directly rather than hoping it goes unmentioned.
Sedentary work is assumed
As with spine claims, they find a desk job. Breathlessness at rest, oxygen use and environmental restrictions are what defeat that.
Questions
COPD and respiratory claim questions
General information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. The only way to know where yours stands is to have someone look at it.
My breathing test was better than I expected.
That happens often and it does not end the claim. Testing captures one moment, and a claim can still succeed on the functional evidence: exacerbation frequency, exertional tolerance, oxygen use and environmental restrictions. It does mean the rest of the record has to do more work.
I still smoke. Will that defeat my claim?
Not automatically. It can be raised as a failure to follow prescribed treatment, and the response is evidence about whether stopping would restore your ability to work, which for advanced disease it frequently would not. It is better dealt with openly and early than left to surface at a hearing.
I use oxygen at home.
That is significant evidence. When it was prescribed, whether it is continuous or intermittent, and what happens without it all matter, so the prescribing records and any overnight or exertional studies are worth gathering.
My condition came from my job.
Occupational lung disease may support a workers compensation claim alongside the disability claim, and the two are handled together here. Tell us what the exposure was and over what period.
I have heart problems as well.
That combination matters and the two should be presented together. Cardiac and respiratory limitations compound each other, and considered separately each can look manageable while the pair is disabling.
What we charge
Our fees are set by federal statute, are contingency only, and are the lesser of 25% not to exceed the statutory maximum of $9,200.
There is nothing to pay up front and nothing to pay if the claim does not succeed. The fee comes out of past-due benefits when they are awarded, and it has to be approved.
If your condition is not one of these
The conditions we have written about are the ones we are asked about most often. They are not the only ones that qualify, and the list is not a test you have to appear on.
A disability claim is decided on what your conditions do to your ability to work, not on the name of the diagnosis. Several problems that are each manageable on their own can add up to something that is not, and that combination is frequently the strongest part of a claim.
If what you have is not on this site, that tells you nothing about your claim. Tell us what you have been diagnosed with and what it stops you doing, and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth pursuing.
Other Social Security Disability pages
The rest of this practice area, in case your situation fits one of them better.
All Social Security Disability
SSDI denials, appeals and hearings.
Initial Applications
We prepare and file the whole claim. Most clients start here.
SSDI vs SSI
Two different programs, two different sets of rules.
Disability Appeals
What to do when the claim comes back denied.
Disability Hearings
The hearing in front of the judge, and how we prepare you for it.
SSI Children's Cases
Benefits for a child whose disability affects how they function.
SSD Widow's Benefits
Drawing on a late spouse's record, from 60, or from 50 if disabled.
Back Injuries & Spine Conditions
Qualifying with a spine condition, where function decides it.
Neck Injuries & Conditions
Cervical claims turn on the hands and arms, not the back.
Cancer
Some diagnoses qualify outright. Others turn on what treatment left behind.
Depression & Anxiety Disorders
Assessed on functioning across a working week, not on a diagnosis.
PTSD
Reactivity and avoidance, and why the workplace itself is the barrier.
Multiple Sclerosis
A fluctuating illness, assessed on a single day. Closing that gap.
Heart Disease
Measured exertion, and the difference between stable and employable.
Stroke
What is left when recovery stops, and when to make the claim.
Bipolar Disorder
The cycle decides it. Well periods are read as capacity.
Arthritis
Which joints. Ones you stand on and ones you work with.
Amputations
The prosthesis, not the amputation, is what gets argued about.
The three areas we handle
One incident can open more than one claim, and they are handled together here.
Client Reviews
What our clients say
I had been denied two times for social security after life changing damages to my back, ankle and knee, had paid into social security all my life and I'm 60 years old now. Steven Casper was compassionate and thorough and walked me through the process without any money to pay him he was able to get my social security approved and every dime of back pay for those two years I had waited and has assured me that if anything comes up he's there for me.
Maggie Still
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After I spent two years in a frustrating battle with the SSA, I finally contacted Casper, Casper, & Casper, and Robin took my disability case. In about six months, Robin had won my case, along with back pay. The whole process of working with this firm was pleasant and painless. The staff was quick to respond to my many questions and also to update my changing medical information.
Kevin Weinand
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If you have been denied disability benefits, I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND this lawyers office!! Robin Partin and associates worked diligently on my case and fought for me! They were my voice and I won! 10/10
Janna Anderson
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I really cannot say enough about my attorney Steven Casper and his work ethic and professionalism. Also his legal assistant Ben, these two did a lot of prep work and fielding my many emails and answering my questions. Steven Casper prepped me personally for my appeal and court with an administrative law judge. This process is very slow dealing with Social Security but he kept me informed every step of the way with great detail and it played out exactly as he had described.
Michael Seagraves
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I can't thank Casper, Casper and Casper enough for what they did for me. From start to finish it took less than a year for them to help me get disability benefits. They did almost all of the groundwork and made it as painless for me as possible. I would highly recommend them to anyone.
Chester Thomas
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If I could give a MILLION PLUS stars I DEFINITELY would!! I contacted Mr. Steve Casper to handle my SSI case. I filed at first on my own and I was denied. He was VERY professional, honest and upfront about the clients he takes. He reassured me that I DID have a strong case. I got the news today that HE won my case for me!!!!
Kelly Bilbrey
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