This information is intended to shed some light on the SSD SSI disability evaluation process as it relates to claimants with chronic pain. Regardless of a claimant's condition, understanding how the Social Security Disability system works can make the difference between winning a disability claim or losing. |
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Chronic pain can be defined in a number of different ways: as pain that cannot be removed by standard medical treatment, as pain that persists beyond the point of injury or illness, and as pain for which no origin can be determined. SSA has two disability benefit programs (social security disability insurance, or SSD, and supplemental security income, commonly known as SSI) and in the administration of both programs the subject of "pain" receives very little consideration (despite the fact that social security has been sued in the past for failing to properly acknowledge the limitations brought on by pain). Part of the problem that a claimant with chronic pain may face when filing for disability benefits is the fact that disability examiners (examiners make decisions on initial claims) and administrative law judges look for objective signs of residual functional capacity ("residual functional capacity" is what you can still do even with your condition). Pain, of course, tends to be subjective and difficult to measure. Can you be approved for social security disability or SSI benefits if you have chronic pain? Yes, but probably not on the basis of having chronic pain alone. There is no listing in the blue book (this is the manual that lists the approval criteria for certain physical and mental conditions) for chronic pain. For this reason, a person with chronic pain would need to be approved on the basis of a medical vocational allowance. With a "med-voc" allowance, an applicant for benefits can be approved if it is found that their condition (or conditions) prevents them from returning to their past work or engaging in suitable forms of other work. As with most applicants for social security disability or SSI disability, an individual with chronic pain would probably have a number of conditions to list on a disability application. And each of these, of course, would add to the total picture of a claimant's infirmity and influence an examiner or judge's evaluation as to the physical or mental limitations a claimant has. 
An individual with chronic pain may have one or more physical impairments, the limitations of which would need to be considered. However, the effects of pain may also receive consideration by evaluating how pain may affect a disability applicant's ability to 1. work under supervision, 2. work alongside co-workers, 3. maintain attention and concentration, and 4. learn and retain new information. These, of course, are the kinds of factors that would receive consideration in a psychological evaluation. For those who aren't aware, disability examiners perform physical impairment and mental impairment write-ups when necessary. These writeups are reviewed by medical and psychological consultants (M.D.s and PH.D.s) who provide consultation and oversight for disability examiners. For any individual with a disabling impairment, medical record documentation will be of the utmost importance. However, an individual with chronic pain whose ability to work is impaired in the ways mentioned above may be sent to a psychological evaluation if: 1. A claimant alleges difficulty in one these areas (e.g. by indicating poor concentration on a disability application). 2. References to difficulty in one of these areas is found in a claimant's medical records (it's fairly common for a claimant to be sent to a psychological examination when it's been discovered that their family doctor has made mention of "depression" or "memory problems" in his or her notes). 3. There is no existing documentation (one's own medical records) to sufficiently indicate to what extent and severity these limitations actually exist. Disability Advocates Help with Claims Free Case Evaluation Social Security Disability and noting functional limitations in records Winning Social Security Disability or SSI benefits |
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SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY ATTORNEY, REPRESENTATIVE LAWYER LIST ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 5 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 6 |
