This information may help claimants with representation, as well as claimants who are not represented by an attorney or non attorney representative. Understanding how the Social Security Disability system works can make the difference between winning or not winning the continuing disability benefits and backpay to which a person is entitled. To win a claim for ongoing and past due benefits, claimants should learn about the disability process to improve their chances of winning. |
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How Do I get Social Security to look at new medical information and records? There are several ways to do this and the way you choose may depend on the level your ssi or social security disability case is at. If your disability claim is being processed at either the Initial or Reconsideration level (in some states, the recon step has been suspended), you can simply make the call to Disabilility Determination services and speak to the specialist, or disability examiner, who has been assigned your case. Once you notify the disability examiner that you have other medical records that should be considered (records of recent treatment from an existing treatment source, records from a new treatment source, or even records from a doctor's office or hospital that you've just now remembered), the examiner will, in most cases*, be expected to gather those records. If your case is pending a disability hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, you can make a similar call to the Office of Hearings and Appeals, or OHA, though you will have no guarantee whatsoever that the hearing office will gather any records on your behalf. Typically, "most" claimants who appear at hearings will have either attorney or non-attorney representation to assist them and, in those cases, claimants should report sources of medical treatment to the individual, agency, or firm providing representation on their disability claim. Though, it should be said, claimants whose cases have not progressed to the hearing request level (in other words, they are still awaiting a decision on an initial claim or reconsideration), but who have representation should still contact their representative's office---simply to keep them updated as to how their medical situation is developing, since this may significantly impact their disability case. What happens when you call your attorney or non-attorney representative and report that you have "Other" or new medical records to be considered on your case? Again, it depends on the level your case is at. Generally, if your claim is at either the Initial claim or reconsideration level, the attorney or non-attorney will be more likely to simply pass the information on to the disability examiner at DDS, since that individual is adjudicating the claim and is engaged in gathering medical record documentation anyway. If your claim is pending a hearing (a hearing was requested and you are waiting on a hearing date), your representative may choose to gather the medical evidence you mention to him or her...or not. In most cases, it will depend on timing. For example, if, in your area, it typically takes 14 months to get a hearing date, it will make no sense to gather records when you still have 10 months left to wait. In fact, if an attorney or nonattorney gathers records too soon, they will simply have to repeat the process again several weeks before the hearing is held simply because a claimant will most likely have gone back for additional medical treatment at some point. This, of course, is not productive. And, in fact, many doctor's offices and hospitals will complain if they see duplicate requests for records from the same requester. Generally, a representative, attorney or otherwise, will wait 6-8 weeks before a hearing is held to actually send out their requests for medical records to hospitals, clinics, and doctor's offices. This ensures that the processed requests will include newer documentation of treatment as well as whatever older medical records may have been requested. *Note: There are instances in which a claimant may report medical evidence to either a disability examiner or a representative that may not be gathered. For example, if a claimant reports medical evidence to a DDS examiner who is about to render a decision on a claim, that evidence may not be requested, simply because to do so would adds weeks of processing time to a case. And, occasionally, an attorney or nonattorney representative may choose not to send for records, particularly if those records are thought to be nonuseful. This sometimes happens when claimants report chiropractic treatment. Since the social security administration does not consider chiropractic records to be true medical records, records from a chiropractor's office will generally be of no, or little use, in a disability case. Disability Advocates Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation |
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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY ATTORNEY, REPRESENTATIVE LAWYER LIST ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 3 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 4 |
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If you suffer from a medical disability such as hip, neck, shoulder, ankle, wrist, back, or other joint problems, disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rsi or repetetive stress injury, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, dysthymia, depression or other mood disorders, congestive or chronic heart failure, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high blood pressure (hypertension), seizure disorder, stroke, copd, emphysema, hearing loss or poor hearing, statutory blindness, peripheral field problems or other vision loss, clinical obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity or, simply, adhd, bipolar disorder or manic depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, autism, head trauma, memory loss, low iq, mental retardation, learning disability, epilepsy, cancer, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, lupus, anxiety, inner ear problems, meniere's, vertigo or dizziness, kidney failure requiring dialysis or other renal problems, cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other liver disease, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, rsd or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, peripheral vascular disease, lyme disease, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, hiv, aids, anemia, sickle cell, thyroid problems including hypothyroidism, esrd or end stage renal disease, reflux, gerd (gastroesophageal reflux disease), cfids, muscular dystrophy, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, or tachycardia, bradycardia or other arrhythmia and have initiated or been denied on a social security disability, or ssi, claim for benefits, this site may assist you with your case. Social Security Disability benefits are often difficult to win; however many claims for social security disability are lost simply because a claimant did not know enough about the disability process to their social security or ssi claim. For information re: representation on a social security disability or ssi claim (attorney or non attorney representative), see the "questions" & "how" pages. |
| Social Security Disability How does the decision get made for a social security disability case ? |