How to Find the Best Arthritis and Disability Lawyers in New York

Dealing with chronic, painful conditions day in and day out can be incredibly exhausting and frustrating. It’s incredibly challenging to work—and be effective—while you’re suffering from pain. If you are looking for arthritis and disability lawyers in New York, Morgan & Morgan can help. We’ve been assisting clients with their disability claims for decades, and we’d be honored to help you. We understand how difficult it is to deal with chronic pain while also worrying about working a full-time job in order to help take care of your family. While many people might hear the word arthritis and assume it isn’t severe enough for a disability claim, that’s not always true. If your arthritis is so severe that you’re unable to work or function properly, you could be entitled to disability benefits. Contact Morgan & Morgan today for a free and confidential case evaluation. 

Arthritis Can Be Severe Enough to Prevent You From Working

Many people don’t understand that arthritis can often be severe enough and painful enough that a person cannot work or function adequately. Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints in your body. The most common symptoms include pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, and decreased range of motion. Rheumatoid arthritis, when severe, can cause even more significant problems for a person. Some of the severe consequences of rheumatoid arthritis include the following:

• Chest pain & difficulty breathing. In some cases, rheumatoid arthritis can cause lung damage due to extended inflammation. This often causes chest pain. The damaged lungs, along with the inflammation and chest pain, can make it difficult to breathe as well. It’s also not uncommon to experience wheezing and coughing. 
• Shoulder pain. Shoulder pain is also a common side effect of rheumatoid arthritis. You may hear crackling noises and experience a significant decrease in your range of motion. This sometimes even extends up into the neck area. 
• Dry eyes & mouth. Rheumatoid arthritis often causes dry eyes, which can be quite painful, as it sometimes makes your eyes feel as though they are filled with little particles of sand. It also increases the risk of infection. Dry mouth is common as well, which can make it difficult to eat and swallow. You may also experience gum disease, cavities, and teeth infections.
• Numbness in the wrist. If you experience rheumatoid arthritis pain in your wrist, it can cause tingling and numbness. You would also likely have very stiff joints in your hands, making it difficult to move them at times and decreasing their range of motion. 
• Finger pain and redness. It’s common for rheumatoid arthritis to cause your fingers to feel warm and painful when you try to move them. They can also feel very stiff at times.
• Knee weakness. Knee weakness is a typical result of the inflammation and swelling in your knees. It’s usually worse in the morning or when you’ve been sitting for a while and trying to stand up.
• Issues with your toes. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause serious problems in your toes, such as bunions and claw toes. These conditions can be incredibly painful and can make it almost impossible to wear close-toed shoes, and just normal walking can be hampered by the pain. 

As you can see from the list above, certain forms of arthritis are severe and can cause significant pain and make it very difficult for a person to work or function daily without serious debilitating pain. In some cases, the joints can be so stiff and painful that movement may not even be possible on some days. 

Finding the Best Arthritis and Disability Lawyers in New York

Now that you know that arthritis can be grounds for disability, it’s time to determine how to find the best lawyer for you. Consider taking the following actions to find the right lawyer:

Ask friends and family. The first step you should take is to ask friends and family if they know a lawyer who can help you. Have they dealt with this issue before? Do they know someone who has needed to get disability and used a lawyer that they liked? Ask anyone you know and trust well. It can feel much more comfortable to work with a lawyer that came personally recommended to you by someone you have faith in. 

Search online. If you don’t have any friends or family members who know disability lawyers, your next step should be to begin searching online. You can start by Googling arthritis disability lawyers in your area and make a list of attorneys that seem like a good fit. Go through their websites and resumes, read the recent reviews from clients, and try to determine who you think you’d like to hire. 

Set up free consultations. Once you have created a shortlist of possible lawyers, you should set up multiple consultations. Most attorneys will offer a free consultation, so you should use this to your advantage. Ask questions at the consultation so you can get a feel for their philosophy on how they practice law. At worst, you waste a little bit of time going to these meetings, but at least you won’t have to spend any money.

Hire a lawyer with experience in your type of claim. When you’re deciding which lawyer to hire, it’s wise to speak with them about their previous experience handling disability claims and even disability claims that specifically focus on arthritis. It doesn’t matter how long someone has been a lawyer. If they don’t know anything about your specific type of case, their experience won’t do you any good. Ask the hard questions during any consultation you have – think of it as a job interview, and you’re the boss. You want to make sure you’re hiring the right lawyer for your circumstances.