Social Security Disability SSI and stroke

As a disability examiner working on social security disability and SSI cases, I came across a fair number of cases for which stroke was the major allegation listed on a claimant's application.

I recently came across some interesting "factoid" information regarding the incidence of stroke. According to wikipedia, strokes are the third leading cause of disability and even death in the industrialized world. And as we all know, certain risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and cigarette use can increase the risk of stroke. However, I was surprised to learn that deaths from stroke are more likely to occur in women versus men.

Strokes, from the standpoint of the social security administration, must be evaluated for their residual effects. In the SSA system, of course, all physical and mental impairments must be evaluated as to how they limit an individual's ability to work. However, when it comes to strokes, as well as myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), the residuals of a stroke must be evaluated at least three months out from the time of a stroke. The reasoning behind this is that it is simply not possible to ascertain how well and to what extent an individual may recover from a stroke, a.k.a. a CVA, or cerebrovascular accident.




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