When the SSA reviews your initial disability claim, it obtains your medical records, and determines your residual functional capacity after analyzing those records. The problem with this approach is that the SSA does not obtain your doctor's opinion about your limitations. Rather, the SSA reviews your medical records and makes its own determination.
However, a…
When Social Security receives your disability claim, it reviews your medical records, and makes a determination on your claim. The SSA rarely obtains your doctor's opinion about your work-related functional limitations.
Rather, the SSA makes its own determination of your functional limitations. An in-house doctor infers your limitations from your medical records and the disability claim file, and…
In a recent blog post entitled “Get It Written Down!” Chicago disability attorney Aaron Rifkind tells the story of a claim that was granted quickly due to the completeness of his client’s medical records.
I told her that it was because of her thorough medical records that we were able to win so
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I send a medical source statement to the claimant's doctor in pretty much every case, because it is the most powerful evidence available of the claimant's functional limitations. Social Security's rules put the opinions of treating physicians at the top of the hierarchy of medical evidence. See 20 CFR 404.1527(d) and Social Security Ruling…
In a recent post entitled Treatment Records, New York disability attorney Jeffrey Delott stated:
Treatment notes basically serve as a way to remind the physician of things she or he may need to remember at a follow up visit. Many relevant physical exam findings are not included either because, for example, they may have
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I recently came across this website for two Florida chiropractors who are holding themselves out as Social Security disability specialists representing Social Security disability claimants nationwide.
The site repeats this statement several times: The Social Security Administration requires that, "You must prove the MEDICAL condition, NOT the legal reason why you cannot work." The clear…
A medical source statement is an important piece of evidence in a Social Security disability claim. The opinion of your treating doctor regarding your functional limitations should be given controlling weight by the SSA, if the opinion is not inconsistent with the other substantial evidence in the case record. 20 C.F.R. 404.1527(d)(2).
Social Security has…
Colorado Springs disability lawyer Tomasz Satasiuk has published an article on his Colorado Social Security Law blog entitled Should I see a specialist when applying for Social Security Disability?
Tomasz and I agree that the answer is: YES!
Depending upon your impairment, a specialist's opinion can be very important both for your medical care and…
This question brought a recent visitor to this blog: Does a medical statement from my doctor help with social security disability?
The short answer is YES! A medical source statement from your treating physician regarding your functional limitations is usually the most powerful evidence available for a Social Security disability claim.
It is not just…
A medical source statement from your treating doctor is a crucial piece of evidence for your Social Security disability claim.
Veterans applying for Social Security disability often receive all their medical care through the VA. It has been a challenge (to say the least) to get VA health care providers to complete Social Security assessment forms.
As…
