If you have an attorney, this is something your attorney can provide to the doctor. Your goal is to secure your doctor’s promise to complete a form that documents her opinion of your ability to perform work-related activity. Leave it to your social security disability attorney as to what that form will be.
Full Answer
If you wait until after you apply for benefits, and then have to wait for an appointment with doctor, Social Security may make a disability decision before you get that appointment. When you do get an appointment, you need to be prepared, since doctors are busy and are almost always in a hurry.
How to Get Your Doctor to Help With Your Social Security Disability Case. Understand where your doctor is coming from and then ask for help in a way that will support your claim. If you believe you might qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you need your doctor to support your claim for disability.
What Happens When I First Call a Disability Attorney? When you first contact an attorney or law firm for representation, either the attorney or a firm staff member will conduct an initial interview with you to gather the basic facts of the case. These facts are used to help determine if the firm will take your case.
An experienced disability attorney is trained to identify what type of information you need to win and will look over your case to determine what further evidence you need. Consult an experienced disability attorney in your area. Need a lawyer? Start here.
Making Statements That Can Hurt Your Claim – Unless you are specifically asked pertinent questions, do not talk about alcohol or drug use, criminal history, family members getting disability or unemployment, or similar topics. However, if you are asked directly about any of those topics, answer them truthfully.
Morton III, M.D. If you believe you might qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you need your doctor to support your claim for disability. You'll need your doctor to send your medical records to Social Security as well as a statement about any limitations you have that prevent you from doing work tasks.
1. Arthritis. Arthritis and other musculoskeletal disabilities are the most commonly approved conditions for disability benefits. If you are unable to walk due to arthritis, or unable to perform dexterous movements like typing or writing, you will qualify.
How to Ask Your Doctor for Disability: 7 Steps to Winning Doctor...STEP 1: Start with reality. ... STEP 2: Adjust your attitude. ... STEP 3: Make the “space” for a conversation with your doctor about your ability to work. ... STEP 4: Have a real doctor-patient conversation about your condition and ability to work.More items...•
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the average acceptance rate of initial applications is 22 percent, and approximately 63 percent of SSDI applications are denied.
What Conditions Automatically Qualify You For Social Security Disability?Cancers (advanced stages)Cardiovascular system disorders (chronic heart failure)Neurological disorders (ALS, multiple sclerosis)Early-onset Alzheimer's disease.Musculoskeletal system (spinal disorders)Organ transplantation.Parkinson's.More items...
OklahomaOklahoma is the hardest state to get for Social Security disability. This state has an SSDI approval rate of only 33.4% in 2020 and also had the worst approval rate in 2019 with 34.6% of SSDI applications approved. Alaska had the second-worst approval rate, with 35.3% of applications approved in 2020 and 36.2% in 2019.
While you wait for disability benefits to be approved, consider seeking assistance through other local, state, and federal support programs. These may include: Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
No, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not deny everyone the first time they apply. However, it does initially deny nearly two-thirds of all Social Security disability applications.
Defining Your Limitations Your doctor's statement supporting your claim for disability benefits should include very specific information about how well you're able to: Sit, stand, stoop, crouch, walk, balance and kneel. Use your hands and arms, including reaching, grasping and lifting.
What Are the Top 10 Disabilities?Nervous System and Sense Organs. ... Intellectual Disabilities. ... Circulatory System. ... Schizophrenic and Other Psychotic Disorders. ... Other Mental Disorders. ... Injuries. ... Organic Mental Disorders. ... Neoplasms. Finally, the 10th top disability comes from neoplasms.More items...
Be unable to do your regular or customary work for at least eight days. Have lost wages because of your disability. Be employed or actively looking for work at the time your disability begins. Have earned at least $300 from which State Disability Insurance (SDI) deductions were withheld during your base period.
When you first contact an attorney for representation, either the attorney or a firm staff member will conduct an initial interview with you to gat...
Your attorney, or a staff member in the law firm, will request the medical records needed to win your claim and submit them to the Social Security...
It is not unusual for attorneys to wait until a month or two before a disability hearing to first speak to a client. Up to that point, your only co...
The SSA allows you to bring a witness to testify about your disability, but because witnesses can be harmful or helpful, your attorney will decide...
Your disability lawyer will determine the best way to win your case. First, your lawyer will review your denial letter from Social Security to get...
You need to provide medical records only from the doctors who have treated you for your disabling condition. If you have multiple disabilities, you...
The exact information you need to get from your doctor(s) depends on the basis of your claim. Here are some examples.Back pain. A claimant who file...
The SSA outlines a number of conditions that, if all the criteria are met, are eligible for automatic approval. These conditions are known as “list...
An RFC (which stands for residual functional capacity) is a detailed assessment of your ability to perform certain work-related activities in light...
Because the medical evidence and doctors' opinions you provide to the SSA in support of your claim will be determinative in whether you win or lose...
There are three main possible "theories" an attorney can use to do this. Your lawyer can: prove that your condition meets a disability "listing". prove that you "grid" out of all work (including not being able to do your past work) prove that your non-exertional limitations prevent you from working, or.
Because Social Security frequently dictates the type of exam needed to win a claim for disability, a legal professional will review your medical records to determine whether you need to undergo additional testing. The legal professional may ask the SSA to schedule a consultative examination (CE) with one of their doctors or ask that you get the required testing done on your own, if need be.
At the disability hearing, your lawyer will ask you ask you a series of questions called "hypotheticals." These hypotheticals are designed to rule out the possibility that you can work any type of job due to the limitations imposed by your condition. For more information, see our article on how an attorney uses hypotheticals at a disability hearing. (Also, you may want to learn more in general about what to expect at your disability hearing .)
It is not unusual for attorneys to wait until a month before a disability hearing to first speak to a client. Up to that point, your only contact with the law firm may be with paralegals or staff members. Nonattorney staff members are generally responsible for making sure request for hearing deadlines are met and medical records are requested and received, and for communication with clients about pre-hearing matters.
If your attorney thinks additional testing is needed to meet the listing, he or she may request that an SSA doctor examine you or that you schedule the necessary tests with your physician. If your condition does not seem likely to meet the listing, the attorney will look to other possible theories.
To prove you are not capable of sedentary work, your attorney will use the documented symptoms of your illness, the opinions of your treating doctors, your testimony, and any other objective medical evidence in your file to show why you can't do various sit-down jobs. For example, if your doctor has said that you can't lift more than 10 pounds or sit more than two hours per day, this will help prove that you are capable of "less than sedentary work," meaning that Social Security will have to find you disabled. (For more information, see our article on "less than sedentary" status.
First, your lawyer will review your denial letter from Social Security to get the agency's reasons it denied your claim so that these issues can be resolved in your favor. (For more information, see our article on denial notices .)
A claimant who files for disability based on type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and depression needs to provide the following types of information in support of her claim: a detailed description of the claimant's medications and documented side effects.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) relies on doctor's records and medical evidence to determine whether you are disabled. Although the SSA will request records from the list of providers you have given them, it is your responsibility to ensure that the agency has received all of your pertinent medical records, ...
A biopsy revealed that the claimant's cancer had spread. To prove she met the listing requirements for sarcoma of the skin, the claimant provided the following information from her doctor. The pathology report that initially diagnosed the claimant with sarcoma of the skin.
The SSA outlines a number of conditions that, if all the criteria are met, are eligible for automatic approval. These conditions are known as "listings." If your doctor thinks that your condition qualifies for automatic approval under a listing, the doctor should complete a listing form that explains his or her opinion and provide the appropriate medical documentation. Here is an example.
Remember, though, that RFCs must be supported by objective medical evidence for the SSA to give them consideration; otherwise the SSA can disregard them.
You need to provide medical records only from the doctors who have treated you for your disabling condition. If you have multiple disabilities, you will need to provide the SSA with medical records from all of the different doctors who have treated you. Make sure that you don't provide the SSA with irrelevant medical records.
The claimant was diagnosed with skin cancer, specifically sarcoma. Sarcoma of the skin is eligible for automatic approval for benefits under the disability listing for cancers if the cancer has spread (metastasized) to, or beyond, the regional lymph nodes. A biopsy revealed that the claimant's cancer had spread. To prove she met the listing requirements for sarcoma of the skin, the claimant provided the following information from her doctor.
In general, doctors don't like lawyers because their experience with lawyers is frequently adversarial, such as a medical malpractice claim or a divorce proceeding. On the other hand, lawyers don't particularly like doctors either, because they frequently see doctors as arrogant, impatient, and annoyed with the workings of the legal process.
Frustrated by a less than flattering review by William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway suggested to him that “writers should stick together like doctors and lawyers and wolves”. Hemingway later explained that he didn't mean to imply anything nefarious about wolves, for which he had great admiration. Id.
Doctors must support the documentation they put into the medical records with objective evidence . For example, if a doctor documents that a patient is suffering from severe back pain, 8 out of 10 on a pain scale, then that finding of severe back pain must be supported with objective findings on physical examination of, for instance, decreased range of motion of the lumbar spine, a positive straight-leg raise (seated and lying) sign, x-ray or imaging evidence of degenerative disc disease, with bulging or prolapsed discs, spinal or neuroforaminal stenosis ("pinched nerves"), and other relevant abnormalities (e.g., electromyographic findings).
Doctors know what medical information to put in the chart. However, they often don't know the medico-legal documentation that disability insurers and judges require.
A disability hearing can be one of the most stressful events that a person can experience, which is why you need to let an attorney at The Law Offices of Dr. Bill LaTour handle your case. One of your professionals can guide you through the hearing process so that it is simple and stress-free.
If the doctor selected by Social Security reaches an unfavorable conclusion about your disability, your own doctor’s opinion can be used as counterevidence. Without your own doctor’s opinion, you will have to rely on the Social Security examination, which may end up working against you during your hearing.
When you attend your hearing , you want to make sure that your records are as complete as possible, which is why you need to make sure that you attend all of your doctor appointments. If you keep all of your appointments prior to your disability hearing, your medical records will be more complete and will paint a fuller picture of your disability.
If you’ve applied for Social Security disability and been denied, then you may be thinking about appealing the decision, which means you’ll need to attend a disability hearing. While there are several tasks you will need to complete in the lead-up to your hearing, the most important task is making sure to keep up with your doctor appointments.
In a disability hearing, one of the main factors under consideration will be the severity of your injury, and one of the ways Social Security determines severity is by examining the type of treatments you have received. If you skip doctor appointments and scheduled treatment, it can indicate to Social Security that your injury isn’t severe enough ...
If you skip doctor appointments and scheduled treatment, it can indicate to Social Security that your injury isn’t severe enough to warrant continuing payments. However, if you’re consistent about seeking treatments, this will demonstrate that you are taking your disability seriously.
Many disabilities are progressive in nature, and documenting this progression is an important part of receiving a favorable disability hearing decision. When you neglect to attend your doctor appointments, your treating physician will not be able to effectively track the progress of your disability, whether positive or negative.
Sometimes your doctor will not help with your disability claim because he or she does not have the expertise to assess the full effects of your condition on your ability to work. In this case, a CE with a specialist could be helpful. This may be true in cases of low I.Q., for example, where a general practitioner is aware ...
If your doctor will not help you with your claim, you can consider finding a new doctor. Note, however, that this can be helpful or harmful to your case. You need to be aware of and carefully weigh the pros and cons of finding a new provider.
Here are some possible pros to finding a new doctor. A new doctor may be more familiar with your particular condition and understand better how it affects you. A new doctor may be more familiar with the disability process. A new doctor may have a staff that is trained at responding to request for information from the SSA and your attorney.
By Melissa Linebaugh, Contributing Author. Having your doctor's support is critical to winning your disability claim. This is because the Social Security Administration (SSA) makes part of its decision based on what your doctor says about how your condition affects you. This means that if your doctor won't help you, ...
A consultative examination (CE) is an examination performed by a doctor who has been hired by the SSA. CEs are not always helpful to the claimant; however, if you don't have a doctor who will work with you, it may be helpful to request one.
If you get to the hearing level and still do not have a supportive statement from your doctor, the administrative law judge (ALJ) who hears your case will want to know why a doctor won't help you. Be ready to explain this honestly to the judge.
Know the Doctor's Reputation. Some doctors have a reputation of helping everyone and anyone with their disability claim. The SSA pays attention to doctors who work with claimants, and are aware that some doctors will support almost any claim. In these cases, the SSA may not give weight to the doctor's opinion about your condition.
If you are denied after the C.E. examination than it may be time to talk to a disability lawyer. The Disability lawyer will tell you what I am going to tell you: winning disability without being under the care of a doctor and without specific medical evidence that you cannot work is very difficult.
If the SSA has told you that you need to see a consultative examiner this is not good news. The SSA makes their SSDI or SSI disability determination almost exclusively based on your current medical records and the fact that they need you to see another doctor means they do not feel that they have sufficient medical evidence to make ...
Although the consultative examiner or C.E. does not work for the SSA (they are not a government worker but are contracted by the SSA) and is supposed to provide an unbiased medical evaluation, what most disability applicants observe is that the consultative examination is nothing more than a cursory, and I mean VERY cursory, evaluation.
There are a handful of SSDI or SSI disability applicants who will win benefits after a consultative examination but this will be the exception, not the rule. Relying on the consultative examiner is never a good idea.
If your claim is denied again after a disability hearing with the administrative law judge (ALJ), your lawyer can also help you appeal your case with the Appeals Council. The council will look at new medical evidence (if any) or any evidence that was not considered by the ALJ . Your lawyer can also help you gather that new medical evidence if necessary.
Though it’s hard to give an exact figure of how long it takes to get disability benefits with a lawyer, having legal assistance can shorten the claims processing time from 2 years to at least 3 months. Social security disability attorneys already know what the SSA wants to see and hear. Their experience and knowledge of the system can help you get approval during the initial application stage. This means you won’t have to go through a lengthy case review and even an appeals process. They may even get you qualified for quick disability determination.
Some factors that can affect the turnaround time include: whether you got approved at the initial application stage. the availability of your medical records. your medical condition. the state you live in. A disability lawyer knows what the SSA wants to see and hear.
If you got denied at the OTR decision stage, a hearing date will then be set for your case. During this stage, your lawyer can help you:
Surveys also show that 60% of those who had legal assistance was approved for benefits. While only 34% of claimants got approved without a lawyer. These statistics are backed by government data which shows that applicants represented by lawyers are 2.9 times more likely to get benefits.
They can also help you gather medical evidence and talk to medical professionals on how to properly present your condition to the SSA. If yours is a terminal illness, your lawyer can alert the SSA too so you’ll be eligible for expedited treatment.