Social Security Disability Claims for Physical Impairments
Qualifying Disabilities and Impairments for Social Security Benefits
We regularly get questions from people asking about how their many medical conditions may qualify them for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
This could include pain and limitations such as back pain, knee pain, carpal tunnel, problems with feet, legs, or mobility, etc.
Contact us now for a free no obligation consultation via email or call us directly on (866) 950-5116.
Let’s Break Down Social Security Disability Claims
The most important criteria to note is how the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates your disability.
Social Security is going to look at how your medical conditions, physical impairments, or functional limitations affect your ability to work.
Is your medical condition expected to last more than 12 months, and are your limitations severe enough to prevent you from engaging in any Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)?
In brief, to find you “disabled” means that Social Security must deem that you are unable to work and earn a set amount of money, as defined by SSA.
There are many different types of physical limitations that can affect your ability to work. When evaluating your claim for Social Security benefits, the good news is that Social Security does not have to look at just one physical impairment.
Rather, Social Security is going to take into consideration all your medical conditions, looking at the functional and physical limitations that inhibit your ability to do tasks.
To help prove your case, it is important to document the impairments that fall within the criteria that SSA uses to establish a disability benefit claim.
Our strategy is to pinpoint and highlight the key medical evidence that we know SSA weighs when considering disability, to help increase your chance of a positive outcome in your disability claim.
Our Strategy
Objective Medical Testing:
One key area to support or prove your case is through objective medical testing. These are tests ordered by your treating physicians, such as MRIs, X-rays, EKGs, nerve conduction studies, and a variety of other tests used to diagnose your condition. There are numerous medical tests, some of which you may have already had, that will show the severity of your medical condition and any physical limitations you may be experiencing.
Medical Source Statements:
At Lewis Disability Law, we have also developed additional documentation to help show the limitations caused by your disabilities. To help support your disability claim, we have put together Medical Provider Questionnaires that you can take to your doctors to complete. These questionnaires are customized for a variety of physical illnesses. Once completed by a medical professional, questionnaires can show your restrictions and how each diagnosis can affect your ability to perform daily tasks. These medical questions will help us show things like how long you can sit, stand, or walk; how much you can lift or carry; and can demonstrate other limitations you may have.
Compliance:
Whenever possible, it’s important to comply with your doctors when they request testing and treatment plans. Providers may ask for a variety of exams, procedures, and objective testing as mentioned above. A primary provider may send you to physical therapy or refer you to other specialists for further evaluation and treatment. Ultimately, following your doctor’s orders can help to establish your disability case.
Medication Compliance:
Another significant detail with respect to compliance is medication. You should attempt to follow your doctor’s orders by taking medications as prescribed, talk to your doctor about adjusting doses if needed, and take note of any side effects. If Social Security sees that you’re not complying with your doctor’s orders, they may assume that your condition is not very severe. It is critical to your claim to follow the recommendations from your physicians and therapists.
Social Security is doing the same thing when they are working to determine what your restrictions are and ultimately, evaluating your disability case.
A strong way we can influence the process is to proactively ask your providers what they think you can and cannot do through these Medical Provider Questionnaires.
Other Factors Considered in a Social Security Disability Claim
There are other details considered in your disability claim.
This includes evaluating whether you can complete an 8-hour workday, does your medical condition keep you from arriving at work on time, are you having to leave work for medical appointments, or are you missing entire days of work?
In such scenarios where you cannot keep a work schedule or work full time, Social Security recognizes this is not competitive employment, and that can mean you are more likely to be found disabled.
Working to establish your disability case should include all the above criteria. For your part, do take note of all the providers you see and document the dates of each doctor’s visit.
Complete medical records, that include Objective Testing and Medical Source Statement, can help show the restrictions caused by your physical impairments and support your disability claim.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) requests and gathers all this information to evaluate your disability claim.
Contact us now for a free no obligation consultation via email or call us directly on (866) 950-5116.
