"The Breath Of The Dead"

    I am always distressed to see how brutally Social Security treats disability claimants with severe liver disease. One feature of dealing with clients with failing livers is officially called fetor hepaticus. It's sometimes called "breath of the dead." It's an extremely disturbing smell on the breath of some people with failing livers. I wonder whether any of those who make Social Security's standards for liver disease cases have ever smelled fetor hepaticus. The idea that anyone whose liver disease has progressed to this point can work seems preposterous once you smell it yet such patients are often denied Social Security disability benefits. It's not the smell that disables them. It's just obvious that anyone with that smell isn't long for this world. I can't emphasize too much just how viscerally disturbing fetor hepaticus is. It smells as if the person has already started dying on the inside. Why are patients in this condition being denied? 

 

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-844-425-5347