Short and Long Term Disability Due to Hashimoto’s Disease
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
Hashimoto’s disease is a chronic autoimmune condition that can significantly impact your ability to work. Symptoms such as persistent fatigue, brain fog, and physical limitations may prevent you from meeting the demands of your job. For those with severe symptoms, short term and long term disability benefits can offer essential financial relief.
However, the claims process for Hashimoto’s disease can be challenging due to the condition’s fluctuating symptoms. This article explores how Hashimoto’s disease can affect your work, the evidence needed to support your claim, and how The Maddox Firm can help you secure the benefits you deserve.
How Can Hashimoto’s Disease Affect My Ability to Work?
Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects your thyroid, leading to an underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism. This condition occurs when your immune system attacks the thyroid gland, reducing its ability to produce hormones that regulate metabolism, energy levels, and other critical functions. Over time, Hashimoto’s disease can cause a range of symptoms that may significantly impact your ability to work, particularly if your job requires physical stamina, mental clarity, or consistent attendance.
Common disabling symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease include:
Persistent Fatigue: This can go beyond normal tiredness, leaving you feeling physically and mentally drained even after rest. You may struggle to complete tasks or maintain productivity throughout the workday.
Cognitive Difficulties (“Brain Fog”): Hashimoto’s often causes memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, and slower processing of information, which can severely impact roles requiring problem-solving, strategic planning, or multitasking.
Depression or Anxiety: The hormonal imbalances caused by the disease can lead to significant mental health challenges, affecting your mood, motivation, and ability to work collaboratively with colleagues or clients.
Muscle Weakness or Joint Pain: These physical symptoms can make repetitive movements, standing for long periods, or lifting objects difficult, limiting your ability to perform physically demanding tasks.
Weight Changes: Hashimoto’s can lead to significant weight gain, which may exacerbate other symptoms like fatigue and joint pain, further limiting mobility and stamina.
Hair Loss or Skin Changes: Thinning hair or brittle skin may not seem disabling on their own but can contribute to discomfort and reduced confidence in professional settings.
Sensitivity to Cold: Even moderately cool environments can feel intolerable, making it difficult to work in certain conditions or focus on tasks in shared workspaces with varying temperatures.
These symptoms can interfere with your work in various ways. For example, if your job involves detailed analytical work, cognitive challenges like brain fog can prevent you from meeting deadlines or performing effectively. If your role requires physical exertion, muscle weakness and fatigue could make even routine tasks unmanageable. Desk jobs might also become difficult if you experience persistent fatigue, joint pain, or difficulty focusing for extended periods. Chronic and unpredictable symptoms can lead to frequent absences, complicating your ability to maintain consistent performance or meet your employer’s expectations.
Can I Qualify for Short or Long Term Disability Due to Hashimoto’s Disease?
Yes, you can qualify for short or long term disability benefits due to Hashimoto’s disease if your symptoms are severe enough to prevent you from performing the duties of your job. Most long term disability insurance policies include specific definitions of disability, which play a crucial role in determining eligibility. Understanding these definitions can help you assess whether your condition meets the criteria for benefits.
Common definitions of disability in long term disability policies include:
Own Occupation: You may qualify for benefits if your Hashimoto’s disease prevents you from performing the specific duties of your job. For example, if brain fog and fatigue impair your ability to focus or meet deadlines, and these functions are central to your role, you may meet the definition of disability under this standard.
Any Occupation: Some policies require you to prove that your condition prevents you from performing not only your current job but any job for which you are reasonably qualified based on your education, training, and experience. Under this stricter definition, you must demonstrate that your symptoms, such as persistent fatigue or cognitive impairment, make it impossible to perform even less demanding roles.
Hashimoto’s disease can cause disabling symptoms that may meet these definitions, such as:
Persistent Fatigue: This symptom can make it impossible to sustain the energy needed to complete tasks or work full days, especially in demanding or fast-paced jobs.
Cognitive Impairment: Brain fog, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating can prevent you from performing tasks that require problem-solving, multitasking, or attention to detail.
Physical Limitations: Muscle weakness, joint pain, and stiffness may prevent you from completing physical tasks, even in jobs that are not traditionally labor-intensive.
Mental Health Symptoms: Depression and anxiety, common in Hashimoto’s disease, can impair your ability to interact with others, handle workplace stress, or maintain focus.
Unpredictable Symptoms: The fluctuating nature of Hashimoto’s may cause frequent absences or an inability to maintain consistent work performance.
To qualify for benefits, you will need strong medical evidence, including:
A confirmed diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease, supported by lab results showing abnormal thyroid hormone levels.
Detailed documentation of your symptoms and their severity.
Records from your healthcare provider explaining how your symptoms affect your ability to work and meet the specific definitions of disability in your policy.
Statements from your employer or vocational experts, if available, describing how your condition has impacted your job performance.
Each policy’s definition of disability varies, and insurance companies often interpret these definitions narrowly. Working with a disability insurance attorney with experience in ERISA can help you build a comprehensive claim that addresses the specific terms of your policy and strengthens your chances of approval.
What Evidence Should I Submit With My Hashimoto’s Disease Disability Claim?
To support your disability claim for Hashimoto’s disease, you’ll need to submit comprehensive evidence that demonstrates how your condition prevents you from working. The stronger and more detailed your evidence, the more likely your claim will succeed. This includes medical records, evaluations, and statements from professionals and others who can attest to the impact of your symptoms.
Key evidence to include in your claim:
Medical Diagnosis: A confirmed diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease from your healthcare provider, based on clinical symptoms and diagnostic criteria. This is the foundation of your claim.
Lab Results: Include blood tests showing abnormal thyroid hormone levels (such as TSH, T3, and T4) and thyroid antibodies (anti-TPO or thyroglobulin antibodies), which confirm the autoimmune nature of your condition.
Imaging Studies: If performed, thyroid ultrasounds or other imaging results that show abnormalities in the thyroid gland can strengthen your claim.
Functional Capacity Evaluation (“FCE”): An FCE assesses your physical limitations, such as how fatigue, muscle weakness, or joint pain affects your ability to perform work-related tasks like sitting, standing, or lifting. This objective evaluation is especially helpful for physical job requirements.
Neuropsychological Evaluation: If cognitive symptoms like brain fog, memory problems, or difficulty concentrating are disabling, a neuropsychological evaluation can provide objective evidence of these impairments and their impact on your work performance.
Vocational Assessment: A vocational expert can explain how your specific job duties are impacted by your symptoms and how they prevent you from meeting the expectations of your role or other similar roles.
Personal Statement: Your personal account of how Hashimoto’s disease affects your daily life and work capacity can provide valuable insight into the real-world limitations you experience. Be specific about how your symptoms interfere with your job duties.
Witness Statements: Statements from colleagues, supervisors, family members, or friends who have observed the impact of your symptoms can support your claim. For example, a coworker might describe how you’ve struggled to complete tasks or missed work due to flare-ups.
Treatment Records: Include documentation of all treatments you’ve tried, such as hormone replacement therapy, dietary changes, or medications, as well as their effectiveness (or lack thereof). This demonstrates your efforts to manage your condition.
When submitting this evidence, it’s important to organize it in a way that clearly links your symptoms and limitations to your inability to perform your job. This connection is critical in showing how your condition meets the definition of disability under your policy. An attorney experienced in handling disability claims can help ensure your evidence is complete, compelling, and well-presented.
Can I Qualify for Disability Benefits If My Hashimoto’s Disease Symptoms Are Intermittent?
Yes, you can qualify for disability benefits if your Hashimoto’s disease symptoms are intermittent, as long as you can demonstrate that the severity and unpredictability of your symptoms prevent you from maintaining consistent work performance. Many disability insurance policies recognize that chronic illnesses like Hashimoto’s disease can cause fluctuating symptoms, but you must provide thorough documentation to substantiate your claim.
To support your case, you should combine objective medical evidence with detailed records of how your symptoms impact your ability to work. A symptom diary can play a crucial role in bridging this gap.
Here’s how to substantiate your claim for intermittent symptoms:
Objective Medical Evidence: Submit medical records, lab results, and diagnostic tests that confirm your Hashimoto’s disease. Lab reports showing abnormal thyroid hormone levels or elevated thyroid antibodies provide a foundation for your claim, even if your symptoms vary day-to-day. Additionally, assessments such as Functional Capacity Evaluations or neuropsychological evaluations can provide further objective evidence of your functional and cognitive limitations due to Hashimoto’s.
Symptom Diary: A well-maintained symptom diary allows you to track the frequency, severity, and duration of your symptoms. Include details such as days you experience extreme fatigue, brain fog, or other disabling symptoms, how these symptoms affect your ability to perform specific work tasks, and any activities or situations that exacerbate your symptoms. This diary can demonstrate patterns of unpredictability, showing how intermittent symptoms interfere with your reliability and work capacity.
Attending Physician’s Statement: Your doctor can explain how Hashimoto’s disease causes fluctuating symptoms and why this unpredictability makes it difficult for you to sustain reliable work attendance or performance.
Personal and Witness Statements: Your personal statement, along with observations from coworkers, supervisors, or family members, can describe how your symptoms affect your daily life and job duties, emphasizing the inconsistent nature of your condition.
Insurance companies often focus on periods when you feel better to argue that you are not truly disabled. A symptom diary, combined with objective evidence, can counter this argument by demonstrating the overall pattern of your Hashimoto’s disease and its cumulative impact on your ability to work. This evidence makes it clear that even if your symptoms are not constant, their unpredictability and severity still prevent you from maintaining gainful employment.
What Are Common Reasons Disability Claims for Hashimoto’s Disease Are Denied?
Disability claims for Hashimoto’s disease are often denied because insurance companies argue that the condition is not severe enough or lacks sufficient documentation to meet their definition of disability. Understanding these common denial reasons can help you strengthen your claim and avoid pitfalls.
Common reasons for denial include:
Insufficient Medical Evidence: Insurance companies may claim that your medical records do not adequately prove a disabling condition. For example, they might argue that lab results, such as thyroid hormone levels, do not align with the severity of symptoms you report.
Failure to Link Symptoms to Work Limitations: A common tactic is to argue that while you may have Hashimoto’s disease, your symptoms do not directly prevent you from performing your job duties. Without clear evidence connecting your symptoms—such as fatigue or cognitive impairment—to specific work limitations, your claim may be denied.
Intermittent Symptoms: If your symptoms fluctuate, insurance companies may argue that you are capable of working during periods when you feel better, ignoring the cumulative impact of your condition or the unpredictability of your symptoms.
Subjective Symptoms: Symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, or depression are harder to quantify and often dismissed as subjective. Without supporting objective evidence, such as a functional capacity evaluation (“FCE”) or neuropsychological testing, your insurance company may downplay their severity.
Lack of Consistent Treatment: Insurance companies often review your treatment history. If there are gaps in care, missed appointments, or if you’ve declined certain treatments, they may argue that you are not doing enough to manage your condition and are therefore not disabled.
Own Occupation vs. Any Occupation Definitions: Insurers may interpret your policy’s definition of disability narrowly. For example, under an “own occupation” definition, they might argue you can still perform your specific job duties. Under the stricter “any occupation” definition, they may claim you can perform other jobs even if your condition prevents you from doing your own.
Surveillance or Social Media Evidence: Insurance companies may use surveillance footage or social media activity to argue that your daily activities contradict your claimed limitations.
Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions: Some policies exclude conditions diagnosed or treated before the policy's effective date. If your Hashimoto’s disease falls under this exclusion, your claim could be denied outright.
To avoid these common issues, ensure your claim includes comprehensive and detailed documentation, such as:
Thorough medical records, lab results, and imaging studies.
Objective evaluations, like an FCE or neuropsychological testing, to corroborate your symptoms.
Detailed statements from your treating physician explaining how your symptoms impact your ability to work.
A symptom diary and personal statement to document the frequency and severity of your symptoms.
An experienced disability attorney can help you navigate these challenges, compile the necessary evidence, and appeal any denial effectively.
How Can The Maddox Firm Prove My Short or Long Term Disability Claim?
The Maddox Firm understands the unique challenges of filing a disability claim for Hashimoto’s disease, particularly given the fluctuating nature of symptoms and the difficulty of proving their impact on your ability to work. We work closely with you to ensure your claim is presented as thoroughly and effectively as possible, giving you the best chance of securing the benefits you need.
Here are a few ways The Maddox Firm can help prove your short or long term disability claim for Hashimoto’s disease:
We Examine Your Policy and Assess Your Claim: We start by reviewing your disability policy in detail to understand the specific definitions of disability, such as “own occupation” or “any occupation,” and any exclusions or limitations that may apply to Hashimoto’s disease. This allows us to identify how your condition fits within your policy’s terms and tailor your claim accordingly.
We Handle All Communications with Your Insurance Company: Dealing with insurance companies can be stressful, especially when you’re managing a chronic illness like Hashimoto’s disease. We take over all correspondence to ensure your claim is presented accurately and consistently. This includes responding to requests for additional information and challenging any attempts to downplay your symptoms or dismiss your evidence.
We Help You Obtain Evidence to Support Your Claim: Hashimoto’s disease often requires detailed documentation to demonstrate its disabling effects. We work with your healthcare providers to secure critical evidence, such as lab results showing abnormal thyroid hormone levels, neuropsychological evaluations to prove cognitive impairments, and Functional Capacity Evaluations to document physical limitations. We also help you craft a symptom diary and personal statement to illustrate how your symptoms—like fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain—affect your daily life and job performance.
We Handle Appeals and Litigation: If your claim is denied, we guide you through the appeals process, building a strong case by addressing your insurance company’s reasons for denial. This might include providing additional medical evidence, clarifying your job requirements, or countering claims that your symptoms are intermittent or subjective. If necessary, we’re prepared to take your case to court to fight for your benefits.
A short term disability or long term disability claim can be a complicated process. If you need help during the claims process, with appealing a claim denial, or with litigating a final adverse short term or long term disability decision, The Maddox Firm can help. The experienced team at The Maddox Firm will examine your insurance policy, correspondence from your insurance company, medical records, and any other relevant documentation in order to give you personalized guidance on how we can help you win your short and/or long term disability claim. Our New Jersey and New York long term disability attorneys help clients nationwide.