Disability for Parkinson’s Disease. Tremor, slowness, balance, and “off” time.

How Social Security evaluates Parkinson’s disease

Social Security’s neurological listings include parkinsonian syndrome. In general terms, the listing looks at your condition despite following prescribed treatment for a period of months. It is met when the disease causes extreme difficulty using two limbs, such as standing up from a seat, balancing, or using the arms and hands. It can also be met with a marked limitation in physical functioning together with a marked limitation in one area of mental functioning.

When no listing is met

Most claims are decided on residual functional capacity: what you can still do in a work setting despite your symptoms. Social Security then asks whether any jobs fit those limits. For Parkinson’s, the limits that matter include hand use for writing, typing, and handling small objects, speed of movement, balance and falls, and how many hours of the day medication is working.

Evidence that matters

• Neurologist records describing tremor, rigidity, slowness, and gait.
• Medication history, dose changes, and side effects.
• A record of “off” periods and how long they last.
• Falls, and any prescribed cane or walker.
• Speech, swallowing, and cognitive evaluations where relevant.

Ask your doctor to complete the Parkinson’s form in our free doctor forms. It records your limits in the terms Social Security uses.

Why these claims are denied

• Examined during “on” time, so the chart shows good function.
• Hand limitations not described, leaving sedentary work open.
• No record of how symptoms vary through the day.
• Early-stage diagnosis with little documentation of work limits.

Keep a daily log

Write down when medication takes effect, when it wears off, and what you cannot do in between. Bring the log to appointments and ask that it be noted. A judge deciding whether you can work eight hours needs to know what the whole day looks like.

If you are 50 or older

Under Social Security’s grid rules, a person limited to sedentary work at 50, or light work at 55, may be found disabled depending on education and past work.

Next steps

If you have been denied, you have 60 days to appeal. See what to do after a denial in Arizona, SSDI in Arizona, and SSI in Arizona. There is no fee unless benefits are awarded.

J Disability Law Firm, PLLC · Joseph J. Duerst, Attorney · 18444 N. 25th Ave, Suite 420, Phoenix, AZ 85023 · (602) 607-0000. This page is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. Past results do not predict the outcome of your case.