Collecting Cognitive Limitations Disability Benefits Is A Reality
The majority of individuals that seek long term disability benefits have some sort of cognitive limitation or cognitive difficulty that prevents the person from being able to work with reasonable continuity. Cognitive limitations are things like memory loss, difficult focusing, multi-tasking, impaired organizational skills and mental fatigue. These limitations can be caused by a brain injury, stroke, psychiatric condition, medication side effects or a secondary condition associated with another major medical condition that the claimant may be suffering from.
We have helped thousands of long term disability insurance claimants suffering with cognitive difficulties to obtain disability benefits. If you are experiencing any cognitive difficulties it is extremely important to treat with a psychologist, psychiatrist or neuropsychologist. Most disability insurance companies will require a claimant to undergo a neuropsychological test in order to evaluate a claimant’s cognitive difficulties. Please contact any of our disability insurance attorneys for a free consultation nationwide.
What is Neuropsychological testing?
Neuropsychological testing is highly specialized testing performed by a neuropsychologist to identify and provide objective medical evidence of cognitive dysfunction. It is a highly valuable tool in establishing a claim for disability that involves various cognitive problems such as memory, thought processing and executive functioning.
Neuropsychological testing is most often used in claims involving:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
- Psychological disorders for example depression, anxiety, bipolar
- Stroke
Neuropsychological testing can also be used in conjunction with other medical evidence to support disability claims stemming from physical medical conditions including:
- Chronic pain conditions
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Autoimmune conditions
- Effects of medications
Is a Neuropsychological test right for your Disability Claim?
It wouldn’t be necessary or appropriate to undergo neuropsychological testing in every claim for disability insurance benefits, but dependent on the specific facts of a case it may be a vital piece of information to assist in getting benefits approved.
How can a Disability Insurance Attorney help you?
The Disability Insurance Attorneys at Dell & Schaefer will identify if neuropsychological testing may be necessary or anticipate if the insurance carrier will want a neuropsychological test. In either case, our attorneys will recommend tests that should be performed to absolutely establish the extent of impairment. To help ensure the neuropsychologist has the complete background of our client; our attorneys will provide the neuropsychologist with medical records detailing our client’s condition and a historical record of our client’s symptoms. Our experienced attorneys will review the report and look for irregularities that may require further action. Once all the necessary documents have been completed our attorneys will examine the comprehensive record for valuable results that will be included in your claim file identifying medical evidence of cognitive dysfunction. If there are critical results our attorneys will make recommendations.
For More Information on Neurological Testing
Neuropsychological Evaluation FAQ – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Neuropsychological Tests – WebMD
NAB – Neuropsychological Assessment Battery
