Conditions · Arthritis

Disability benefits when arthritis ends your working life.

Inflammatory arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and severe osteoarthritis can make sustained work impossible — gripping, standing, walking, typing. We turn what your joints can no longer do into the functional evidence the SSA requires. No fee unless we win.

Arthritis · SSA Listing 14.09

How the SSA evaluates arthritis claims

Inflammatory arthritis — including rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis — is evaluated under SSA Listing 14.09, which looks at persistent inflammation or deformity in major joints, the inability to ambulate or perform fine and gross movements effectively, and severe systemic involvement. Osteoarthritis is typically evaluated under the musculoskeletal listings based on the joints involved.

Most arthritis claims are not won on the diagnosis — nearly everyone over 50 has some arthritis on an X-ray. They are won on function: how long you can stand, what you can grip, how often flares put you down, and what your treating rheumatologist documents about your limitations. That is the record we build.

SSA Evaluation

What the SSA looks for

SSA Listing (inflammatory arthritis)
14.09

SSA evaluates the functional impact of your condition — how it limits your ability to sustain full-time work — not the diagnosis alone.

14.09
the listing we build your case around
Common Limitations

Arthritis-related limitations SSA evaluates.

These are the functional limitations that most often determine whether a arthritis claim is approved.

Joint function

Persistent swelling, deformity, or pain in weight-bearing or hand joints that prevents effective walking or fine movements.

Flares and systemic effects

Documented flare frequency, fatigue, fever, or weight loss showing the disease process beyond a single joint.

Treatment response

What your records show after methotrexate, biologics, injections, or replacement surgery — and what still doesn’t work.

How We Help

Winning disability for arthritis: what we do.

Disability law is all we do. Here’s how we build a arthritis claim that wins.

01

Build the record

We gather rheumatology records, imaging, and lab work (RF, anti-CCP, inflammatory markers) into one coherent medical file.

02

Functional opinion

We obtain a functional capacity opinion from your treating physician that speaks the SSA’s language: sit/stand limits, handling and fingering restrictions, expected absences.

03

Hearing-ready

We prepare you for the exact questions the judge will ask about flares, medication side effects, and a typical bad day.

FAQs

Arthritis SSDI questions.

Is arthritis a disability?
It can be. The SSA evaluates inflammatory arthritis under Listing 14.09 and osteoarthritis under the musculoskeletal listings. Approval turns on documented functional limits — not the diagnosis alone.
Can I get disability for rheumatoid arthritis?
Yes — RA is one of the conditions specifically contemplated by Listing 14.09. Strong claims show persistent joint involvement, flare frequency, and limits that rule out sustained work despite treatment.
Can I get disability for osteoarthritis?
Yes, when it is severe. Claims succeed on imaging plus function: inability to walk effectively, stand through a workday, or use your hands for sustained tasks.
What if I can still do some things on good days?
The SSA standard is sustained full-time work, week after week. We document the frequency of bad days and flares — because a job you can only do three days a week is not a job you can hold.
What does it cost to hire you?
Nothing up front — 25% of back pay, capped at $9,200 by the SSA, and only if we win.

Arthritis keeping you from working? Let’s review.

Free case review. No obligation. We respond within 2 business hours.

Call NowFree Case Review