If you have a disability claim pending with the Social Security Administration, please make the following New Year's resolution:
I will appeal my claim immediately if it is denied.
Although you have 60 days to appeal a denied claim, there is no reason to wait. I speak with people almost every week who did…
Social Security has an odd, two-tiered system for disability claims. The initial and reconsideration claims are decided by Disability Determination Services (DDS), a state agency. For denied claims that are appealed to the hearing level (and you should always appeal your denial), the claim goes to a Social Security hearing office, which is…
A recent article in the Buffalo News interviews two Social Security administrative law judges regarding the backlog of disability claims. The article cites several problems contributing to the backlog. For me, the most meaningful problem discussed by the judges is that the DDS agencies are denying most claims, often for no logical reason.
While there has…
The response to the first month of the Blog Roundup has been terrific, and many have been able to discover a disability blog not previously seen. This week's roundup is the most varied one yet in terms of format, with traditional blog posts, a video blog post and a podcast.
Here are the most notable…
I filed an "on the record" request yesterday for a client with severe Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Charcot-Marie-Tooth (named after the three doctors that first identified the disease) is a hereditary neurological disease that affects the peripheral nerves. The resulting peripheral neuropathies cause loss of function and, in the case of my claimant, chronic pain.
The unusual…
Disability Determination Services (DDS) makes the medical-vocational determinations for Social Security claims at the initial and reconsideration levels.
I have noticed that claims are moving slower lately at the Maine DDS. I checked yesterday on a claim on Reconsideration. The Reconsideration request was received by the Maine DDS on May 12. That's 6 weeks ago. The claim…
Reconsideration is an intermediate step in the Social Security disability claim process. If DDS denies your initial claim and you appeal, the claim goes right back to DDS for Reconsideration. In 5 out of 6 claims, DDS just denies the claim again. For these claimants, Reconsideration is an unnecessary detour on the way to…
Disability Determination Services (DDS) is the state agency that makes disability determinations at the initial and reconsideration levels for Social Security disability and SSI claims.
A medical source statement is an opinion from a treating doctor regarding a patient's functional limitations. A medical source statement must be considered when determining the Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) for a…
Disability Determination Services (DDS) is the state agency that makes the initial and reconsideration determinations on Social Security disability claims.
I saw three different claims denied at the reconsideration level this month. All involved chronic pain. All were productive people prior to developing debilitating medical conditions. All had terrific medical source statements from the treating physician, which were ignored by DDS. I just don’t understand these denials. I expect all three of these claims to be granted at the hearing level.
There seems to be a real disconnect at DDS when evaluating disability claims that involve chronic pain. For some claimants, such as those with back problems or those with fibromyalgia, it is the chronic pain that prevents that person from working.
Maybe there is an empathy gap at DDS, or perhaps better training is needed. I don’t know. There certainly seems to be a disregard (or a skewed interpretation) of Social Security regulation 20 C.F.R. 404.1527(d)(2) and related Social Security Ruling 96-02p, which require that controlling weight be given to a treating physician’s opinion, if that opinion is not inconsistent with the case record. Continue Reading DDS and Claims Involving Chronic Pain
What weighs 50 pounds? This has been on my mind lately, because I have been working on a Social Security disability claim for a client who was given a medium exertional residual functional capacity by a physician at Disability Determination Services (DDS). A medium RFC requires (among other things) the ability to lift and carry 50 pounds for up to one-third of a workday.
I am often puzzled when I see a medium RFC, particularly for a claimant who is 55+ years old and has worked steadily for 35 years. Do they think that this person stopped work for no reason? Did they not look at the sterling work history? Do they understand that when someone complains repeatedly about back pain to the doctor, and has xrays and MRIs, that there is a genuine impairment? It is perplexing that a DDS physician or examiner would consider these things and still assess an RFC at the medium exertional level.
