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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Will social security look at all my medical conditions when they evaluate my case? Yes, the social security administration via the disability examiner at disability determination services (or the judge at the office of hearings and appeals if the case is at the hearing level), will examine the "total picture" by giving consideration to all of your medical conditions/impairments. In fact, the examination of a claimant's various problems and limitations will include not only those impairments that a disability claimant lists on the application for ssd or ssi benefits, but any medical (including psychological or psychiatric) problems that are indicated even slightly in a claimant's medical records. This occurs simply because Disability Determination Services and the disability examiners who work there are required to fully evaluate all aspects of a claimant's medical condition. This is a requirement that is effectively enforced via an in-house, as well as an external, quality control process. For this very reason, if a claimant applies for disability due to crippling arthritis in one or more joints, but the medical records contain a mention of depression (which a primary care doctor may have noted simply as an observation during an office visit), there is at least a fair chance that the examiner will be required to develop the claimant's case for depression. In many instances, certainly, this will only equate with superficially addressing and acknowledging the "depression" treatment note (the examiner will do a writeup reflecting this and have the psychological consultant assigned to his or her unit sign off on a mental RFC to support this). In other cases, though, a claimant who has never been treated specifically for depression (but whose medical records indicate that the condition may exist at the level of being a severe impairment), may actually be sent to a psychological mental status exam, or even a full psychiatric consultative examination. Of course, many claimants who do not consider themselves "depressed" are often put off when they receive this sort of examination appointment letter. And such a reaction is understandable if the exam to which they are being sent regards a condition for which they have never formally sought treatment. But this practice in the evaluation of disability claims exists for a valid reason: many disability claimants are not entirely or fully aware of what is wrong with them. In general, the social security administration will make every attempt to secure all of a claimant's medical records and evaluate every medical condition a claimant has. Disability claimants, however, must bear in mind, that records cannot be requested from medical sources that are not indicated on the disability application (so be sure to fill your application out completely). Likewise, "new medical records" cannot be evaluated if a claimant does not act to notify the disability examiner working on a case that additional treatment has been obtained. Put simply, disability claimants should endeavor to keep the individuals working on their claims updated, by contacting them directly, or via an attorney or non-attorney representative. 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 5 ANSWERS TO YOUR SSD & SSI QUESTIONS PAGE 6 |
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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 Can you win disability if your doctor supports your claim ? |