This information may help claimants with representation, as well as those 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 ssd and ssi benefits and backpay to which a person is entitled. |
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For a Social Security disability (or ssi) case, medical evidence takes many forms, including physician treatment notes, mental health records, bloodwork panels, and reports of imaging studies (MRI, CAT scan, and XRAY).
The records that carry the most weight, however, are those from a personal doctor, or Treating Physician. This is because a Treating Physician will generally know a Claimant's medical condition better than any other source. Consequently, evidence statements from a Treating Physician can be very helpful to a Social Security Disability or ssi benefit claim and are considered by SSA to be authoritative in nature. However, it should be noted that statements from a personal doctor similar to "patient is completely disabled and unable to work" possess little practical value at any step in the evaluation process. In fact, such evidence is typically disregarded by a disability Examiner and hardly helps when presented to an Administrative Law Judge at the hearing level. To provide assistance and help on a Social Security Disability or ssi benefit case, a doctor's evidence statement should:
But please note: A chiropractor's records are not considered evidence by the Social Security Disability program since chiropractors are not medical doctors. However, the XRAYS taken by a chiropractor are admissable as evidence. Disability Advocates Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation |
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SOCIAL SECURITY LAWYER - SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY LAWYER REFERRAL ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 1 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 2 |
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