SSDI Benefits for Neuropathy in Maryland

Neuropathy can be a devastating condition that affects every aspect of daily life — from walking across a room to holding a pen. When nerve damage becomes severe enough to prevent you from working, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) may provide critical financial relief. Maryland residents facing this challenge have a defined path through the federal disability system, but navigating it successfully requires understanding how the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates neuropathy claims.

What Is Neuropathy and How Does It Affect Work Capacity?

Peripheral neuropathy refers to damage to the peripheral nerves — those outside the brain and spinal cord — resulting in weakness, numbness, burning pain, and coordination problems. It can affect the hands, feet, legs, and arms, and in severe cases the autonomic nervous system, disrupting heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and bladder control.

Common underlying causes that the SSA recognizes include:

• Diabetic neuropathy (the most common form)
• Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
• Alcoholic neuropathy
• Autoimmune conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome or lupus
• Hereditary neuropathies including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
• Toxic exposure and certain medications

From a vocational standpoint, neuropathy can eliminate the ability to perform fine motor tasks, stand or walk for sustained periods, maintain balance, or concentrate through constant pain. When these functional losses are well-documented, they form the foundation of a strong disability claim.

How the SSA Evaluates Neuropathy Claims

The SSA does not award benefits based on a diagnosis alone. What matters is how your condition limits your ability to perform work-related activities. The SSA applies a five-step sequential evaluation process to every claim.

Neuropathy may qualify for benefits under Listing 11.14 — Peripheral Neuropathies in the SSA's Blue Book. To meet this listing, medical evidence must show disorganization of motor function in two extremities resulting in an extreme limitation in the ability to balance while standing or walking, or in the ability to use the upper extremities. Alternatively, marked limitation in physical functioning combined with marked limitation in one of four mental areas (understanding, interacting, concentrating, or adapting) can also satisfy the listing.

Many neuropathy claimants do not meet Listing 11.14 precisely but still qualify through a Medical-Vocational Allowance. In this analysis, the SSA assesses your Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) — what you can still do despite your limitations — and compares it against your age, education, and prior work history. For Maryland claimants over 50, the Medical-Vocational Grid Rules can work significantly in your favor, especially if your neuropathy restricts you to sedentary work and you lack transferable skills.

Medical Evidence That Wins Maryland Neuropathy Claims

The strength of your claim depends entirely on the quality and consistency of your medical records. Insurance adjudicators at Maryland's Disability Determination Services (DDS) office — which makes the initial and reconsideration decisions on behalf of the SSA — review records looking for objective clinical findings, not just subjective complaints of pain.

Persuasive medical evidence for neuropathy claims includes:

• Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS) — these are the gold standard for objectively documenting nerve damage
• Treating physician notes documenting decreased sensation, absent reflexes, or muscle atrophy
• Neurologist evaluations and specialist opinions
• Laboratory results confirming the underlying cause (e.g., HbA1c levels for diabetic neuropathy)
• Physical therapy records showing functional limitations
• Pharmacy records demonstrating ongoing medication management

Gaps in treatment are one of the most common reasons Maryland DDS denies neuropathy claims. If you have gone months without seeing a doctor due to cost or transportation, be prepared to explain this. The SSA is required to consider documented barriers to care, including financial hardship.

A Residual Functional Capacity assessment completed by your treating neurologist or primary care physician is often the single most valuable document in a neuropathy case. This form translates your clinical findings into work-related limitations — how long you can sit, stand, walk, how much you can lift, and whether you can use your hands reliably. Adjudicators give significant weight to a treating source who has monitored your condition over time.

The Maryland SSDI Appeals Process for Neuropathy

Approximately 65% of initial SSDI applications are denied nationally, and Maryland's denial rates track closely with that figure. A denial is not the end of the road — it is often just the beginning of the process.

The four levels of appeal are:

• Reconsideration — a second review by Maryland DDS, with a 60-day deadline to file
• Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Hearing — the most successful stage for claimants; held at the Office of Hearings Operations in Baltimore or Towson
• Appeals Council Review — federal review of the ALJ's decision
• Federal District Court — litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

ALJ hearings in Maryland are where the majority of approved neuropathy claims are won. At this stage, you appear before a judge, testimony is taken, and a vocational expert testifies about whether jobs exist that someone with your specific limitations could perform. Cross-examining the vocational expert effectively — particularly challenging overly optimistic job numbers or pointing to limitations the expert failed to account for — can be the difference between approval and denial.

Practical Steps to Strengthen Your Neuropathy Claim

If you are preparing to file or already in the appeals process, taking deliberate steps now can meaningfully improve your outcome.

Document your symptoms consistently. Keep a pain and symptom journal. Note on which days you cannot grip objects, when you fall due to balance problems, or when pain prevents sleep. This contemporaneous record fills gaps between medical appointments and gives your attorney concrete examples to present at a hearing.

Follow your prescribed treatment plan. Failing to take medications, attend appointments, or follow through on recommended therapies gives the SSA grounds to question the severity of your condition. If cost or side effects are barriers, tell your doctor and document those conversations.

Request a function report from your doctor. Ask your treating physician to complete a detailed medical source statement addressing your work-related limitations. Be specific about what you need documented: lifting restrictions, standing and walking limitations, hand and finger dexterity issues, and the effect of pain on concentration and attendance.

Do not miss deadlines. Every stage of the SSDI appeal process has strict deadlines. Missing the 60-day window to appeal a denial — with a 5-day mail grace period — typically requires starting over with a new application, potentially losing months of potential back pay.

Maryland claimants approved for SSDI receive benefits retroactive to their established onset date, minus a five-month waiting period. For those with long-standing neuropathy, this can represent a significant lump sum payment in addition to ongoing monthly benefits.

Need Help? If you have questions about your case, call or text 833-657-4812 for a free consultation with an experienced attorney.

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