Philadelphia ALS Lawyers Assisting Medical Professionals in Their Pursuit of Disability Insurance

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a rare, debilitating disease that impacts the muscles, or more specifically, affects control of muscles. The disease is progressive, which means it will get worse over time, and unfortunately, there is no current cure. When faced with uncertainty and fear of ALS, discussing your claim for disability insurance benefits with Philadelphia ALS lawyers can alleviate some of your concerns and help you restore your financial security. Seltzer & Associates has nationwide experience seeking disability insurance benefits for healthcare professionals with ALS and has worked with insurance companies from all over the country.

How Symptoms of ALS Keep Physicians from Working

ALS has a number of progressive symptoms that over time become more and more debilitating. Symptoms vary from person to person in presentation and severity. Some common symptoms of ALS include:

• Muscle weakness affecting legs, hands, arms, and feet
• Difficulty walking, including tripping and falling
• Difficulty performing everyday activities
• Muscle cramps and muscle twitching
• Slurred speech 
• Difficulty swallowing
• Cognitive and behavioral changes

With this wide range of symptoms, doctors and surgeons reach a point when they can no longer perform their essential job duties. Sudden weakening of legs, arms, hands, and feet limits the mobility of a doctor in performing intensive patient examinations and prevents surgeons from performing precise surgical techniques. Muscle cramps and muscle twitching impair required stamina to complete lengthy procedures. 

As ALS progresses and begins to affect speech, as well as impact cognitive function and other behaviors, communicating to patients, staff, and researchers become very difficult. Ultimately, as an ALS patient is unable to care for their own basic needs, they are unable to provide medical care to others.

In addition to the progressive nature of this disease, men aged 55 to 75 seem to have a higher risk for developing ALS. After years in a successful medical career, a diagnosis of ALS and the symptoms that keep doctors out of work can be especially devastating. If you are diagnosed with ALS, our Philadelphia ALS lawyers can help secure your financial future through your disability insurance benefits.

Treatment for ALS

Unfortunately, there is not a cure for ALS, but treatments can help improve some symptoms. Treatment involves a variety of medications to help prolong life as well as reduce the severity of ALS symptoms in an effort to allow patients to live a more normal life as long as possible. However, medications can cause side effects severe enough to keep ALS patients out of work. Treatment may start out with medication and physical therapy, but as ALS progresses, supportive measures to address lack of ability to breathe and eat on one’s own may become necessary. 

Even with treatment, physicians are often not able to work due to the severity of symptoms as well as side effects of medication. As our Philadelphia ALS lawyers have sadly witnessed in our practice, the disease progresses and makes basic duties such as eating, swallowing, communicating, and maintaining cognitive and behavioral norms difficult, if not impossible. 

Contact Our Philadelphia ALS Lawyers About Your Disability Insurance Benefits 

ALS is a devastating and disabling disease, understandably met with grief when diagnosed. Do not let a denied disability claim for ALS bring any more turmoil. Contact Seltzer & Associates Philadelphia ALS lawyers to discuss your disability insurance claim.