Applying For Children’s Disability With Brachial Plexus Injury
By Chris Sharry on February 10th, 2017 in Disability Children
The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that sends signals from your spine to your shoulder, arm and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched, compressed, or in the most serious cases, ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord.
There are two ways that children can get an injury to the brachial plexus:
- During birth: A brachial plexus injury occurs in 1.5 of every 1,000 live births. It is often caused when an infant’s neck is stretched to the side during a difficult delivery. This injury results in partial loss of sensory and/or motor function of the involved arm.
- Trauma: Traumatic brachial plexus injuries may occur due to accidents. Nerve injuries vary in severity from a mild stretch to the nerve root tearing away from the spinal cord.
To qualify for SSI or SSDI benefits claimants must either meet or equal a listing in the SSA listing of impairments. The SSA listing of impairments is a listing of conditions and symptoms considered automatically disabling by the SSA. Listing 101.08 covers brachial plexus injury in children with unilateral injuries.
101.08 Soft tissue injury (e.g., burns) of an upper or lower extremity, trunk, or face and head, under continuing surgical management, as defined in 101.00M, directed toward the salvage or restoration of major function, and such major function was not restored or expected to be restored within 12 months of onset. Major function of the face and head is described in 101.00O. For bilateral injuires, listings 111.08, spinal cord disorders and 111.14, peripheral neuropathy must involve two extremities.
In children’s disability cases, if the child’s impairment is not severe enough to meet a Social Security “listing”, meaning an approval for disability benefits, then an assessment must be done to determine if the impairment functionally equals a listing. For functional equivalence, the child must have one “extreme” or two “marked” limitations in the six domains of functioning.
The six domains of functioning are:
- Acquiring and using information
- Attending and completing tasks
- Interacting and relating with others
- Moving about and manipulating objects
- Caring for oneself, and
- Health and physical well-being.
The evaluation of how functioning is affected will be done during all of the child’s activities; meaning activities done at home, at school, and in the community. First, Social Security will identify which of the child’s activities are limited, and which domains are involved in those activities. They will then determine whether the child’s impairment(s) could affect those domains and account for the limitations. Second, Social Security will then rate the severity of the limitations in each affected domain(s). If SSA finds one extreme limitation, or two marked limitations, the child will be approved for disability benefits.
