How to Get Chronic Venous Insufficiency Disability Benefits

Important: We updated this article in October 2024 after fact checking against medical studies and Social Security Administration policy data. Up to 4% of us (or 1 in 25 people) develop chronic venous insufficiency, according to the book Cardiovascular Disability. It’s a thrombotic disorder that can affect you after a blood clot damages the blood vessels in your legs. CVI can cause elevated blood pressure because your veins struggle to get enough oxygen to and from your heart. And if this medical condition seriously limits your daily activities, you may qualify for venous insufficiency disability benefits.

We’ll explain what the Social Security Administration (SSA) looks for in CVI disability claims, pay amounts, and more helpful tips.

Getting Chronic Venous Insufficiency Disability Benefits: Key Takeaways

• Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is one of the approved disabling conditions listed in the SSA’s Blue Book.
• Your medical condition alone will not make you eligible for Social Security disability benefits. You must prove you cannot work for 12 months in addition to meeting SSA diagnostic criteria, along with other requirements.
• Working with an attorney increases your chances of making a successful claim and receiving your first payment faster.

Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency a Disability?

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a type of thrombotic disorder. Basically, a CVI diagnosis means the veins in your legs don’t work correctly. Rather than allowing blood to flow in one direction (to your heart), it pools in your veins instead.

Who’s Most at Risk for CVI

Venous disease in general affects about 1 in 3 people who suffer from varicose veins. Among those, about 1 in 50 will develop chronic venous insufficiency.

Most often, CVI affects people who:

• Are at least 50 years old
• Are overweight or obese
• Work in jobs that require periods of prolonged sitting or standing (i.e., bus drivers, restaurant hosts)

The most important factor is genetics; if your parents have venous disease, you are more likely to have it, too.

Deep Vein Thrombosis and Other Related Health Issues That Affect the Body’s Deep Venous System

While less serious deep venous system conditions (like varicose veins) don’t qualify for disability, they can cause other health problems. And in many cases, those related health issues and your combined symptoms will qualify for disability benefits.

For example, varicose veins can lead to skin ulcers, chronic pain, and fatigue, all of which do qualify for disability.

Spider Veins

Spider veins are damaged blood vessels visible just below the skin as blue, purple, or red lines that resemble spiderwebs. They are often harmless and don’t cause any medical issues that can interfere with your ability to work.

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are knotted, swollen, twisted veins that can occur anywhere, but most often in the legs. Depending on their severity, varicose veins can cause minor symptoms, like leg pain or itching. In some cases, you may experience more severe symptoms like edema, muscle cramps, and itching or burning.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

Deep vein thrombosis is when a blood clot forms in a deep vein in one of your lower extremities. This most often happens in your legs but can also happen in your pelvis or arms. The danger is that the clot could travel via your leg veins to your heart and then cause a blockage.

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

People who have CVI often also have PAD, or peripheral artery disease, which also qualifies for disability in certain cases.

Can You Work with Chronic Venous Insufficiency?

The short answer is yes, you can work when you have chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI. However, it’s usually only when your CVI symptoms become severe or you have other, commonly occurring related health conditions.

Common symptoms of CVI that can prevent you from working may include:

• Swollen legs
• Chronic pain, especially painful leg cramps
• Varicose veins
• Leg ulcers
• Skin changes, especially irritation or chronic infections

 When those symptoms become severe, they can lead to DVT or a pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism happens if a blood clot from another part of your body, then migrates into your lungs.

CVI can happen when any of your leg veins are damaged, including:

• Deep veins (veins deep into your body and through your muscle)
• Superficial veins (those closer to the skin’s surface)
• Perforating veins (veins that connect other blood vessels)

CVI can start with minor symptoms that pose no threat to your daily activities but worsen over time. When CVI symptoms worsen enough to prevent you from working for at least 12 months, you may qualify for disability.

Does Chronic Venous Insufficiency Qualify for Disability Benefits?

Qualifying for venous insufficiency disability benefits can be difficult, but not impossible. It is easiest – and you are far more likely to succeed – when you also have other qualifying disorders. Even so, the Social Security Administration recognizes that thrombotic disorders – or the fact that the veins in some people’s legs don’t work correctly – can be a disability.

To qualify for chronic venous insufficiency disability, you must meet one of two medical requirements:

• Extensive brawny edema, which means that you must have brawny edema in at least two-thirds of your leg, between the ankle and knee, or the distal one-third of the lower extremity between the ankle and hip; or
• Superficial varicosities, stasis dermatitis, and either recurrent ulceration or persistent ulceration that failed to heal after undergoing at least 90 days of prescribed treatment.

Brawny edema can cause your legs to swell in in an especially firm, dense way. This can cause the skin to discolor and/or change texture. Brawny edema is different from pitting edema. You know it’s pitting edema if you press on your skin in the swollen area and it makes a “pit” or a dimple. With pitting edema, for example, even though it’s swollen, you can still push some skin tissue in with your finger. But with brawny edema, your skin does not dimple or move when you place any pressure on it.

These are some serious diagnostic criteria to try and meet before you can get disability benefits for CVI. This is why having other conditions – or comorbidities – can be crucial for disability benefits approval.

Medical Evidence That Supports Your CVI Disability Claim

A doctor will begin with a thorough consultative exam to determine the extent of your CVI symptoms and functional limitations. They will look for swelling and changes to the color and texture of your skin.

Pro Tip: Learn how your SSA function report indicates whether you can still work or qualify for monthly disability benefits.

You’ll also likely need an ultrasound (i.e., a test that uses sound waves to create an image of your veins). An ultrasound determines if you have any deep blood clots the doctor cannot obviously see during your exam. it can also help the doctor determine if blood flows normally in both directions through your veins.

 If necessary, the doctor may perform other necessary tests to confirm your CVI diagnosis, like an MRI (medical resonant imaging scan).

 How to File Your Disability Claim and Benefit Amounts

You can apply for Social Security disability benefits in person at your closest field office location. Don’t have an easy way to travel there? You can also file your application over the phone by calling 1-800-772-1213 Monday through Friday, 8am to 7pm Eastern.

In 2024, most people currently on SSDI get $1,537 per month. The most anyone can receive is $3,822, but few people get that much money.

Your SSDI benefit amount depends entirely on your average monthly work wages earned over a 35-year work history. The SSA calculates your disability benefit amount the same way they do your retirement benefits. For most people, Social Security pays about 40% of your average paycheck during your highest-paid decade of work in monthly benefits.

Triple Your Chances for Securing Chronic Venous Insufficiency Disability Benefits

Working with a Social Security attorney can boost your chances for a successful disability claim 6 months after you apply. Less than 1 in 3 people who apply for disability ever receive benefits at all. And of those who do, most have attorneys helping them at some point.

You’re three times as likely to receive a positive outcome with legal assistance vs. filing without it, on your own. While 6 months might sound like a long time to wait for your first payment, it’s much faster than usual. People who apply without an attorney typically wait up to 3 years and file multiple appeals before securing benefits.

Disability lawyers charge $0 if they cannot help you get monthly benefits. And if you’re successful, then you only pay one small fee after your award comes through. So, you pay nothing for professional disability claim help today.

 Want to know whether you’re eligible before you start the application process? Click the button below to start your free online disability benefits quiz and see if you may qualify:  

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