Am I legally blind?

This brings up the most commonly or frequently asked question in all of vision “What is legally blind?”

The answer has often been misleading for many reasons.

“Legally Blind” implies that one is unable, with the best possible eyeglass prescription, to see adequately for economic purposes.

What that implies, is being gainfully employed, in that you can see sufficiently well to conduct yourself in job that requires usable everyday visual tasks.

There is often misleading confusion as to what constitutes the phrase “legally blind.”

legally blind

Legally Blind

This is perpetuated in the media when claims are made with someone having 20/200 or 20/400 vision and are considered to be legally blind.

In reality, many people without their eyeglass presciptions have 20/200 or worse for far away or distance vision.

The vast majority of them can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses to 20/20 vision or thereabouts!

However, an extremely small percentage of those people, mostly having severe eye disease or other eye conditions, cannot be improved beyond 20/200.

In that instance, the term “legally blind” is appropriate.

In essence, if you are able to perform in a job which requires you to see what you are doing, then you are most likely NOT legally blind.