Thomas Stewart is both a Social Security Disability lawyer and a licensed physician assistant, with nearly two decades in neurology clinics. Parkinson’s disease is squarely within the progressive neurological conditions we focus on — and we know how to translate its symptoms into the specific work limitations Social Security has to credit.
The Parkinson’s symptoms that decide a claim — and what they mean for work
A Parkinson’s claim turns on connecting your symptoms to the concrete reasons you can no longer hold a full-time job. These are the connections we document:
- Slowness and rigidity (bradykinesia) → can’t keep pace. When routine tasks take far longer than they should, you can’t meet the productivity a job demands.
- Tremor and loss of fine motor control → even sit-down work is out. Difficulty typing, handling small parts, or using a phone undercuts sedentary jobs, which assume near-constant hand use.
- Freezing, balance problems, and falls → limited standing and walking. A fall risk and the need for an assistive device sharply narrow the jobs that remain.
- “Off” periods and fatigue → unreliable attendance. When medication wears off unpredictably, staying on task ~85% of the day and missing no more than one day a month becomes impossible.
- Slowed thinking, apathy, and depression → limited to simple work. Cognitive and mood changes can restrict you to simple, routine tasks and keep you off task.
How Social Security evaluates Parkinson’s
SSA reviews parkinsonian syndromes under listing 11.06. You can qualify by meeting the listing — significant movement problems in two limbs affecting standing, balance, or arm use, or a marked physical limitation plus a marked limitation in one area of mental functioning — or, far more often, by showing your real-world capacity cannot sustain full-time work. See how Social Security disability decisions work →
Why our medical background wins Parkinson’s claims
The claim is strongest when the record captures how you change through the day — “on” versus “off” periods, timed walking, documented falls, and any cognitive decline. Because Thomas is a physician assistant, he knows which of these Social Security weighs most and helps your neurologist put them in the chart.
Talk with a Parkinson’s disability lawyer
No fee unless you win — 25% of past-due benefits, capped at $9,200. We represent Parkinson’s clients nationwide, including private long-term disability (ERISA) claims managed alongside SSDI. Start your free case review → or call (720) 301-9708.
