Is Alcoholism a Disability? Here’s What the ADA and SSA Say

16 out Is Alcoholism a Disability? Here’s What the ADA and SSA Say

However, alcohol misuse can interfere with pain medications making them less effective, or resulting in a dangerous combination. PTSD in veterans can result from experiences in combat or non-combat events, such as military sexual trauma (MST) or training accidents. Typically, most disability policies have either an “own occupation” or “any occupation” definition of disability. Under an “own occupation” definition, your alcoholism must impair you from performing the duties of your present job. An “any occupation” definition is broader, requiring you to prove you cannot perform any reasonable job for your level of education, training, and experience. South Dakota has an elevated rate of alcohol-related deaths per capita and a high rate of under-21 deaths.

North Carolina Alcohol Abuse Statistics

Utah has the second-highest rate of female alcohol-related deaths and has the highest percentage of deaths due to acute causes. South Carolina has more alcohol-related deaths per capita than the average state, and those deaths are 18.1% more likely to involve underage drinkers. Pennsylvania’s alcohol-related deaths are less likely to be due to chronic causes. New York has the third-lowest number of alcohol-related deaths per capita among all U.S. states.

• This deficiency can cause pain, weakness, and numbness in your extremities (hands and feet).
• Most liver conditions are rated using diagnostic code 7312 for cirrhosis or 7345 for chronic liver diseases without cirrhosis.
• These can include physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and mental health disorders.
• For example, some people may view alcoholism as a disability because it can prevent someone from being able to hold down a job or function in society.
• Under the current rules, if you have another disability and you’re addicted to alcohol, your addiction will affect the way Social Security handles your disability claim.

Long Term Disability for Alcoholism

If this is the basis of your entire case, the SSA will reject your disability claim. However, if alcoholism contributes to other functional limitations that meets Social Security’s definition of disability, you may be eligible for benefits. Substance addiction disorders can profoundly affect an individual’s ability to function in everyday life.

The agency doesn’t request documentation from support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous, but if you’ve been through any formal rehabilitation services, you should let the agency know so they can—with your permission—review those records. Social Security generally won’t hold substance abuse or drug addiction against you if you can show that you’re disabled from another condition. But if the agency determines that your drug addiction is material to your disability—meaning that if you stopped using drugs your health would improve to the point where you could work—you won’t be paid disability benefits. Imagine a veteran with service-connected diabetes whose diabetes led to the amputation of his foot.

Submitting Your Disability Claim

For example, if you are in an inpatient treatment program for alcohol addiction, you would likely not be able to maintain employment and would therefore qualify for benefits. Drug addiction and alcoholism are serious problems that can profoundly affect every aspect of your life. If alcoholism treatment you or someone you care about is struggling with an addiction, it’s essential to get help as soon as possible.

However, many veterans with service-connected mental health issues are routinely denied service-connection to disabilities secondary to substance abuse. Not only has substance abuse been clinically and scientifically seen as a symptom of mental illness for many years, but when the VA rejects these claims, they are breaking their own rules. However, it is possible for veterans to receive benefits for conditions related to their alcohol use. Below are a few ways in which alcoholism may be connected to military service and qualify for disability benefits. Navigating these challenges requires careful preparation, including gathering robust medical evidence, demonstrating your functional limitations caused by your alcoholism, and understanding your policy provisions. We always recommend consulting with an attorney experienced in disability claims.

• However, this estimate can vary depending on how quickly you gather the documents needed for your application.
• AUD can severely impair an individual’s health, including liver function, cardiovascular health, and mental well-being, thereby limiting their ability to perform daily tasks and engage in work or social activities.
• This distinction is crucial in ensuring that individuals seeking recovery or who seek treatment are protected under the law and have access to necessary treatments, services, and accommodations.

Prolonged, heavy alcohol abuse will cause chronic pancreatitis—inflammation of the pancreas (permanent damage). But you won’t meet the listing requirements for pancreatitis unless you can show that your symptoms, like abdominal pain and weight loss, are prolonged and severe. Among veterans, 1 out of every 10 soldiers who deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan develop alcoholism.

Alcohol Use Disorder and alcoholism have damaged some groups or demographics more than others. Alcohol abuse statistics indicate some inequalities may be due to social conditioning. Economists as well as healthcare and addiction specialists agree the pandemic and quarantines of 2020 had a significant impact on nationwide alcohol consumption. Here’s what you need to know about how the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers alcoholism in making a disability determination, and alcoholism statistics how being dependent on alcohol can affect your benefits. However, this estimate can vary depending on how quickly you gather the documents needed for your application.

Instead, you’ll need to show that you have another medically https://ikosglobal.com/2021/01/25/the-risks-of-drinking-outside-of-work-hours/ determinable severe impairment that keeps you from working. Severe impairments are any health issues you’re receiving treatment for that have a significant impact on your daily activities. Many people who struggle with substance abuse have other severe impairments, such as liver damage, depression, or bipolar disorder. You may qualify for Social Security disability benefits based on those impairments as long as they would still keep you from working even if you stopped using drugs.

For example, a policy might state that benefits for substance abuse-related disabilities will be provided for a maximum duration of 24 months or 36 months. This means that if you become disabled due to alcohol abuse, you will be eligible to receive benefits for alcoholism for only up to the specified period, regardless of your ongoing disability. Before submitting a disability claim, gathering comprehensive information and documentation is essential. This includes detailed medical records from all healthcare providers, such as doctor’s notes, hospitalization records, laboratory results, and imaging scans.

Step 2: Severe Impairment

It’s important to consult with an experienced attorney who can ensure that your vocational evidence aligns with the specific requirements of your alcoholism disability claim. The benefit duration limitation aims to set a finite period for which the insurance company will assume the risk and financial responsibility for substance abuse-related disabilities. After the specified benefit duration has elapsed, the policy will typically cease providing benefits specifically for substance abuse-related disabilities. However, it’s important to note that if the policy covers other disabling conditions, benefits for those unrelated conditions may continue to be provided, depending on the terms of the policy. If you have disabling physical or mental problems not related to alcohol, and the problems would exist even if you stopped drinking, you can qualify for SSDI or SSI disability benefits.

While a current illegal user of drugs is not protected by the ADA if an employer acts on the basis of such use, a person who currently uses alcohol is not automatically denied protection. Alcohol use disorder is an impairment, and if it substantially limits a major life activity (e.g., learning, concentrating, interacting with others, caring for oneself) it will constitute a disability. A person with alcohol use disorder may be person with a disability and protected by the ADA if they are qualified to perform the essential functions of the job. An employer may be required to provide an accommodation to a person with alcohol use disorder (e.g. a flexible schedule to enable the employee to attend counseling appointments).