Chronic Venous Insufficiency and Social Security Disability Benefits

What Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency?

CVI happens when the veins in your legs can’t properly return blood to your heart. Blood pools, pressure builds, and over time you develop:

• Severe swelling (edema)

• Constant aching, heaviness, or burning pain

• Varicose veins

• Brownish skin discoloration (stasis dermatitis)

• Open, slow-healing ulcers on the lower legs

  
  

For many, we represent — nurses, teachers, oil-field workers, warehouse employees, truck drivers, and retail workers — jobs that require standing, walking, or even prolonged sitting become impossible once CVI becomes severe.

Can You Get SSDI or SSI for Chronic Venous Insufficiency?

Yes. Social Security recognizes severe CVI under Listing 4.11 – Chronic venous insufficiency of a lower extremity.

To meet the listing automatically, you must show:

A. Extensive brawny edema (hard, non-pitting swelling) affecting at least two-thirds of the leg below the knee or the lower third of the entire lower extremity, AND B. Either superficial varicosities, stasis dermatitis, OR ulcers that have failed to heal after at least 3 months of prescribed medical treatment.

When the medical records, Doppler studies, wound-care notes, and photos clearly document these findings, Social Security has to approve the claim — no questions about age, education, or past work.

CVI Clients Can Still Win — Even If They Don’t “Meet” the Listing

The majority of people we get approved do not technically meet Listing 4.11, but they are still found disabled because:

• They must elevate their legs above heart level for hours every day to control swelling and pain

• They cannot sit for a full 8-hour workday without frequent breaks or elevation

• Treating doctors document they can stand/walk less than 2 hours total and miss too many days due to flare-ups and wound care

• Venous ulcers keep recurring despite compression therapy, wound clinics, and vascular treatments

  
  

We know exactly how to present this evidence to the Disability Determination Services (DDS) examiners and to Administrative Law Judges.

Tips to Build a Strong CVI Disability Claim in Texas

1. Get regular treatment from a vascular surgeon or wound care center (Baylor Scott & White, Methodist, Memorial Hermann, UT Southwestern, etc.). Consistent records are everything.

2. Keep a daily log of pain, swelling, and how many hours you have to elevate your legs.

3. Take dated photos of ulcers, skin changes, and swelling.

4. Ask your doctor to fill out a detailed Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) form or write a strong “leg elevation” letter.

5. Save all prescriptions for compression stockings (30–40 mmHg or higher), Unna boots, and wound supplies.

   
   

Why Clients Choose the Law Offices of Christopher Le

We have won hundreds of Social Security Disability cases with chronic venous insufficiency — from the initial application all the way through federal court when necessary. We know the local judges, the Texas DDS quirks, and exactly what medical evidence turns a denial into an approval.

If CVI has taken away your ability to work and support your family, you don’t have to battle Social Security alone.

Contact the Law Offices of Christopher Le today for a free case evaluation.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship.