The Marasco & Nesselbush Social Security disability team recently obtained a favorable decision after a hearing with the Social Security Administration for a client who was suffering from cancer.
Our client was a hardworking restaurant employee who had a 20-year work history in the industry. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and everything changed. She consulted with her doctors to develop the best course of action to treat her cancer which included surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
Her treatments left her too fatigued to lift heavy objects and too nauseous to get back to a normal work schedule. She turned to the Social Security Administration for help and filed for Social Security Disability Benefits. After paying into the Social Security system for 20 years, her application was denied.
She was referred to Marasco & Nesselbush by a community organization and we began working on her case. Attorney Noah Zimmerman, Legal Assistant Sheena Meloni and our Social Security disability team requested a hearing and built an extensive case file consisting of medical documents, work history details, and written statements from her doctors supporting her disability application.
“Cases like this one should be approved on the initial application. I believe, at times, the SSA has difficulty accurately evaluating pain and fatigue-based restrictions in functioning caused by chemotherapy and radiation”, says attorney Zimmerman. “Unfortunately, in the first two application stages, the fate of a case is based on treatment notes alone.”
Attorney Zimmerman added, “We were successful at the hearing despite the earlier denials. This is because the hearing was our team’s first opportunity to present a compelling case backed by medical evidence and testimony demonstrating just how debilitating the effects of cancer treatments can be.”
The Marasco & Nesselbush team is proud and grateful to have achieved a favorable decision on behalf of such a deserving client.