Living with muscular dystrophy and HIV made it a struggle for our Camden county client to keep up with the demands of his job. He loved his job as mental health case manager, and pushed himself to show up for work every day. When he lost his job to lay-offs, he was unable to find another that he could manage with his physical limitations. Reluctantly, he applied for Social Security disability benefits but was denied. Our client became increasingly depressed without the job he loved and without the ability to contribute to his family’s well-being.
Feeling overwhelmed, he knew he needed help and turned to us. In reviewing his medical records we found no evidence to support the neurologist’s assessment that the client was disabled. We quickly realized we needed to know more about muscular dystrophy.
We learned that a battery of neurological and functional tests were necessary to evaluate the acuity of his condition. We shared our findings with the neurologist, who agreed to reexamine the client and do the necessary testing.
With new medical records in hand, we represented our client at an Administrative Law Judge Hearing, where the judge granted him benefits on the spot.
It is cases like these that remind us of the words of teacher and philosopher Confucius, who writes, “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” We are proud that our legal team does not hesitate to research, learn and share our education in service of our clients.