Posted in Benefits, Chronic Pain, Claims, Fibromyalgia, Health, Impairment, Procedure, SSA, SSI, Social Security Disability on Sep 1st, 2010
By Elizabeth Stakenborg, Esq.
The answer to that question is - maybe. The Social Security Administration and the Circuit Courts have created guidelines which the Administrative Law Judges must use when analyzing a claimant’s pain complaints. Pain complaints are considered “subjective” complaints. This means that the pain cannot be measured and it is often a question […]
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Posted in Benefits, Chronic Pain, Claims, Health, Impairment, Injury, Procedure, SSA, SSI, Social Security Disability on Feb 26th, 2010
If you have a back injury which prevents you from working and is expected to be disabling for a period of 12 months or more, you may wish to file a claim for Social Security Disability. When you make an application for disability, the Social Security Administration will begin evaluating the claim. They will request […]
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If you have made an application for Social Security Disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income and been denied, it is very possible that you were denied because the Administration determined that, although you may have impairments which prevent you from doing the type of work you have done in the past, you are able to […]
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Posted in Impairment, SSA, Tips on May 31st, 2009
You may be surprised to learn that a report from your doctor stating that you are unable to work does not carry much probative value as far as the Social Security Administration is concerned. The Administration is the final decision maker as to disability. It is much more helpful if your doctor will give you […]
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Documentation of the existence of a claimant’s impairment must come from medical professionals defined by SSA regulations as “acceptable medical sources.” Once the existence of an impairment is established, all the medical and non-medical evidence is considered in assessing impairment severity. “Acceptable medical sources” are:
licensed physicians (medical or osteopathic doctors);
licensed or certified psychologists. Included […]
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Health professionals play a vital role in the disability determination process and participate in the process in a variety of ways:
As treating sources or other medical sources who provide medical evidence on behalf of their patients;
As CE sources to perform, for a fee, examinations and/or tests that are needed;
As full-time or part-time medical or psychological […]
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Posted in Impairment, SSA on Jun 26th, 2008
A treating source is a claimant’s own physician, psychologist, or other acceptable medical source who has provided the claimant with medical treatment or evaluation and has or has had an ongoing treatment relationship with the claimant. The treating source is usually the best source of medical evidence about the nature and severity of an individual’s […]
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Posted in Impairment, SSA, Tips on Jun 15th, 2008
When determining whether an individual is disabled, the Social Security Administration utilizes The Listing of Impairments. The Listing of Impairments describes, for each major body system, impairments that are considered severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity (or in the case of children under age 18 applying for SSI, cause marked […]
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When the Social Security Administration determines disability, they must consider our residual functional capacity (RFC). Social Security Ruling 96-8p defines RFC for Social Security Decision makers. Social Security Ruling 96-8p makes six major points about an individual’s residual functional capacity (RFC) and/or its assessment, as follows:
1. Ordinarily, RFC is an assessment of an individual’s […]
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