Has a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa affected your ability to work? Fields Law can help you understand your options.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a rare group of eye disorders affecting the light-sensitive cells in the retina. It’s an inherited genetic disorder, and individuals can experience symptoms as early as childhood, or later in life.

It is generally a progressive disorder, meaning vision loss can worsen over time as retinal cells deteriorate.

The retina is the part of the eye responsible for detecting light and sending visual information back to the brain. As the retinal cells slowly break down, the disorder can eventually cause patients to lose different aspects of their vision.

The actual effects of retinitis pigmentosa can vary from person to person. Some are initially able to see quite normally, and only begin to experience symptoms later in life. The age at which symptoms start as well as the extent and pattern of vision loss can all differ.

These conditions can make it difficult to cope with everyday life, but because there is so much variation in the types of mental health conditions, a diagnosis of a specific disorder alone isn’t typically enough to qualify for work disability benefits.

A claimant must be able to demonstrate to their insurer through medical and other evidence that their condition prevents them from performing their work duties under the policy’s definition of disability.

Cervical radiculopathy refers to nerve issues affecting the neck, while lumbar radiculopathy affects the lower back. Cervical radiculopathy is often referred to as a pinched nerve in the neck, while lumbar radiculopathy commonly causes sciatica, a radiating pain down the leg.

These nerve issues can stem from a few different causes, including herniated spinal discs, bone spurs, and degenerative disc disease. Symptoms are often closely related to conditions like spinal stenosis or spondylolisthesis, or they can appear as a result of a physical injury or a post-surgical complication.

The most common symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa are loss of night vision and peripheral vision. As the disorder progresses, symptoms can increasingly restrict a person’s vision.

Individuals who experience RP may have difficulty seeing in low-light or dark environments, and have difficulty adjusting from light to dark conditions.

Peripheral vision can also be affected. The disorder often causes a person’s visual field to narrow, sometimes called “tunnel vision”.

As the disorder progresses, it can begin to affect a person’s central vision and ability to distinguish colors. In the most severe cases, RP can eventually cause significant vision loss or blindness.

The severity of the effects of retinitis pigmentosa can vary from person to person. A person may be able to read a book or document directly in front of them, but can struggle detecting people or objects to the side.

Retinitis pigmentosa can make it difficult for a person to see, but the actual effects on a person’s job can be far greater.

Someone who has retinitis pigmentosa may have difficulty navigating stairs or walking in a dimly lit area. They may have trouble detecting obstacles, moving through unfamiliar spaces, and even trouble working with detailed visual information.

They may also have trouble recognizing people or objects outside their field of vision, and performing tasks that require hand-eye coordination.

A person with retinitis pigmentosa may also be unable to drive, especially at night, and may be unable to safely use machinery or equipment.

However, not all diagnoses of retinitis pigmentosa will automatically qualify for work disability benefits. How severely RP affects a person’s job depends heavily on the specific degree of visual impairment they are experiencing, as well as their actual job duties.

For example, a forklift operator with RP experiencing tunnel vision may encounter more significant deficits in their ability to work than a person with the same degree of visual impairment working in an office setting.

If you’re unsure of how severely your retinitis pigmentosa affects your ability to work, consulting with a disability attorney can help you understand your options.