HIV / AIDS Disability Insurance Benefits Claim

View Disability Cases Involving HIV / AIDS Disability Insurance Benefits Claim

How Can Disability Insurance Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Assist You?

As disability attorneys, Dell & Schaefer have represented long term disability claimants that have been unable to work as a result of HIV/AIDS. Disability Attorneys Dell & Schaefer have an expansive understanding of the significant restrictions and limitations that a person suffering with HIV/AIDS must live with on a daily basis. We have worked closely with top physicians in order to sufficiently satisfy a disability carrier’s threshold of evidence necessary to prove that a client is disabled by HIV/AIDS.

Not everyone suffering from HIV/AIDS qualifies for long-term disability benefits, therefore the medical records of each client must be reviewed to determine the level of restrictions.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss your long-term disability claim.
You can contact us for a free initial consultation.

What is HIV/AIDS?

The statistics for this disease are staggering. An estimated 39.5 million people have HIV worldwide. More than 60 million people have been infected with HIV and an estimated 25 million people have died since the pandemic began in the early 1980’s. Every single day 5,500 people die due to AIDS. AIDS is now the fourth leading cause of death globally.

HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects women, with 15.7 million HIV-positive women worldwide. Approximately 97 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS live in low- and middle-income countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is the hardest-hit region and is home to 67 percent of all people living with HIV worldwide. Parts of Asia and Latin America are experiencing severe epidemics and Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the region with the fastest growing number of HIV/AIDS cases in the world.

AIDS is a chronic, fatal condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging your immune system, HIV interferes with your body’s ability to fight off viruses, bacteria and fungi that cause disease. The virus and the infection itself are known as HIV. “Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)” is the name given to the later stages of an HIV infection.

Normally, white blood cells and antibodies attack and destroy foreign organisms that enter your body. This response is coordinated by white blood cells known as CD4 lymphocytes. These lymphocytes are also the main targets of HIV, which attaches to the cells and then enters them. Once inside, the virus inserts its own genetic material into the lymphocytes and continually duplicates itself.

When the new copies of the virus break out of the host cells and enter the bloodstream, they search for other cells to attack. In the meantime, the old host cells and some uninfected CD4 cells die from the effects of the virus. The cycle repeats itself over and over. In the process, billions of new HIV particles are produced in the body every day.

Eventually, the number of CD4 cells in the body decreases, leading to severe immune deficiency, which means your body can no longer effectively fight off viruses and bacteria that cause disease.

How HIV is transmitted

You can become infected with HIV in several ways, including sexual transmission, transmission through infected blood, transmission through needle sharing, accidental needle sticks, and transmission from mother to child either during pregnancy, delivery or through breast feeding. In rare cases, the virus may be transmitted through organ or tissue transplants or unsterilized dental or surgical equipment.

To become infected with HIV, infected blood, semen or vaginal secretions must enter your body. You can’t become infected through ordinary contact such as hugging, kissing, dancing or shaking hands with someone who has HIV or AIDS.

The best hope for stemming the spread of HIV lies in prevention, treatment and education.

How the symptoms of HIV/AIDS can affect you

HIV infection weakens your body’s immune system, making you extremely susceptible to a large number of bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections. You may also be susceptible to certain types of illnesses including the following:

• Bacterial pneumonia can be caused by dozens of different types of bacteria, which may develop on its own or after you’ve had an upper respiratory infection such as a cold or the flu.
• Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is an infection caused by a group of mycobacteria referred to by a single name, MAC. The mycobacteria normally cause an infection of the respiratory tract. But if you have advanced HIV infection and your CD4 lymphocyte count is less than 50, you’re more likely to develop a systemic infection that can affect almost any internal organ, including your bone marrow, liver or spleen. MAC causes nonspecific symptoms such as fever, night sweats, weight loss, stomach pain and diarrhea.
• Tuberculosis (TB) is common in resource-poor nations, TB is the most common opportunistic infection associated with HIV and a leading cause of death among people living with AIDS. HIV/AIDS and TB have a symbiotic relationship, in which each disease fuels the development of the other. Having HIV makes you more susceptible to TB and far more likely to progress from dormant to an active HIV infection. At the same time, TB increases the rate at which the AIDS virus replicates. What’s more, TB often strikes people with HIV years before other problems associated with HIV develop. TB is more worrisome than many other opportunistic infections because it’s highly contagious and can be drug resistant.
• Salmonellosis is a bacterial infection contracted from contaminated food or water. Symptoms include severe diarrhea, fever, chills, abdominal pain and, occasionally, vomiting. Salmonellosis is common in people who are HIV-positive.
• Bacillary angiomatosis is an infection caused by Bartonella henselae bacteria, which first appears as purplish to bright red patches on the skin. It can cause disease in other parts of your body, including the liver and spleen.
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common herpes virus transmitted in body fluids such as saliva, blood, urine, semen and breast milk. Normally a healthy immune system inactivates the virus, and it remains dormant, however, if your immune system weakens, the virus will resuface, causing damage to your eyes, digestive tract, lungs or other organs. If left untreated, CMV retinitis can lead to blindness.
• Viral hepatitis is a viral infection of the liver. Symptoms include yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice), fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and diarrhea. There are several types of viral hepatitis, but the most common are hepatitis A, B and C. If you are HIV-positive and also have hepatitis, you may be more likely to develop liver toxicity from your medications.
• Herpes simplex virus (HSV), which usually causes genital herpes, may be transmitted during unprotected anal or vaginal sex. If you have HIV, your skin infection is likely to be more severe than it would be in people who don’t have HIV, and the sores may take longer to heal. While not life-threatening in adults, it may cause brain damage and blindness.
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common causes of sexually transmitted disease. Some types of this virus cause common warts, other types cause warts on the genitals. If you’re HIV-positive, you’re especially susceptible to infection with HPV and more prone to recurrent infections. HPV infection is especially serious because it significantly increases a woman’s risk of cervical cancer.
• Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an extremely serious brain infection caused by the human polyomavirus JC virus. Symptoms can vary and may include speech problems, weakness on one side of the body, loss of vision in one eye, or numbness in one arm or leg. PML usually occurs only when the body’s immune system has been severely damaged.
• Candidiasis is a common HIV-related infection. It causes inflammation and a thick white coating on the mucous membranes of the mouth, tongue, esophagus or vagina. Children may develop especially severe symptoms in the mouth or esophagus, which can make eating painful and difficult.
• Cryptococcal Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding your brain and spinal cord (meninges). Cryptococcal meningitis is a common central nervous system infection associated with HIV, caused by a fungus that is present in soil and may also be associated with bird or bat droppings. Symptoms include headache, high fever, a stiff neck and sensitivity to light. Once you’ve had cryptococcal meningitis, you’ll need to be on long-term medication to prevent a recurrence.
• Although Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) has largely been reduced through the use of anti-retroviral drugs, it remains one of the most common opportunistic infections affecting people with AIDS in the United States. PCP attacks the lungs, making breathing difficult. Symptoms also include a cough that doesn’t go away and fever.
• Toxoplasmosis is a potentially deadly infection is caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite spread primarily by cats. Infected cats pass the parasites in their stool, and the parasites may then spread to other animals and humans. People generally contract toxoplasmosis by touching their mouths with their hands after changing cat litter or by eating raw or undercooked meat. For many people with AIDS, toxoplasmosis leads to encephalitis, an infection of the brain. Signs and symptoms may include disorientation, seizures, and difficulty walking or speaking.
• Cryptosporidiosis is an infection caused by an intestinal parasite that’s commonly found in animals and is contracted through ingesting contaminated food or water. The parasite grows in the intestines and bile ducts, leading to severe, chronic diarrhea in people with AIDS.
• Kaposi’s sarcoma is a tumor of the blood vessel walls and it’s common in HIV-positive people. Kaposi’s sarcoma usually appears as pink, red or purple lesions on the skin and mouth. Kaposi’s sarcoma can also affect the internal organs, including the digestive tract and lungs.
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma originates in lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. Lymphocytes are concentrated in your bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, digestive tract and skin. The most common early sign is painless swelling of the lymph nodes in your neck, armpit or groin.
• Wasting syndrome is defined as a loss of at least 10 percent of body weight and is often accompanied by diarrhea, chronic weakness and fever.
• Although AIDS doesn’t appear to infect the nerve cells, it can still cause neurological symptoms such as confusion, forgetfulness, changes in behavior, depression, anxiety and trouble walking. One of the most common neurological complications is AIDS dementia complex, which leads to behavioral changes and diminished mental functioning.

When HIV was first identified in the early 1980s, there were few drugs to treat the virus and the opportunistic infections associated with it. Since 1989, anti-retroviral medications have provided HIV-positive people with years of extended life. But none of these drugs can cure HIV/AIDS.

Resources
There are many valuable sources of HIV/AIDS information available.
You can also access resources over the internet such as:
Centers For Disease Control & Prevention
National Institute For Allergies & Infectious Diseases
Aids.Gov

There are numerous charities dedicated to HIV/AIDS research, detection and treatment including:
National AIDS Fund
Elton John AIDS Foundation
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center

Not everyone suffering from HIV/AIDS qualifies for long-term disability benefits, therefore the medical records of each client must be reviewed to determine the level of restrictions.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss your long-term disability claim.
You can contact us for a free initial consultation.

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