"My
doctor wrote a letter saying that I am disabled and not able to work at
any job. Social Security denied my benefits, anyway. How can they do
that?"
Your doctor meant well. But he is attempting to decide a matter that can only be decided by the Commissioner of Social Security, according to the federal regulations. In short, doctors may not determine who is disabled and who is not. So when a doctor simply says, "This patient is disabled," or "This patient cannot work," Social Security ignores it.
Here is what your doctor can and should do: provide you with a form describing your specific functional limitations. I use a form called a Medical Source Statement. By functional limitations I mean your ability to lift, sit, stand, walk, kneel, crouch, crawl, reach, concentrate, remember and follow instructions, complete simple tasks in a timely fashion, etc. These opinions carry great weight with Social Security when they come from a doctor who has treated you over a fairly long period of time.
Letters from doctors are often not helpful for 2 reasons. (1) They do not address specific functional limitations that would prevent work, and (2) they are much too genera and fail to address severity, onset and frequency of symptoms. Using the Social Security form covers all the questions in great detail.
One of the great advantages of a Social Security disability attorney or non-attorney advocate is his or her ability to potentially get the correct opinion evidence to advance your claim. There are a thousand other pieces of information that only an experienced attorney/advocate would know. Any one of these little pieces of information can help your case, or hinder it if you overlook them.
Look at a Social Security disability case as a long road trip. You have one destination you want to reach. There will be hundreds of stops, turns and delays along the way. If you make all the right turns and keep moving in the right direction, you will eventually get there. It's important that the driver knows where he is going and how to get there. Getting there by the shortest, most direct route is also important.
https://forsythefirm.wixsite.com/website
Your doctor meant well. But he is attempting to decide a matter that can only be decided by the Commissioner of Social Security, according to the federal regulations. In short, doctors may not determine who is disabled and who is not. So when a doctor simply says, "This patient is disabled," or "This patient cannot work," Social Security ignores it.
Here is what your doctor can and should do: provide you with a form describing your specific functional limitations. I use a form called a Medical Source Statement. By functional limitations I mean your ability to lift, sit, stand, walk, kneel, crouch, crawl, reach, concentrate, remember and follow instructions, complete simple tasks in a timely fashion, etc. These opinions carry great weight with Social Security when they come from a doctor who has treated you over a fairly long period of time.
Letters from doctors are often not helpful for 2 reasons. (1) They do not address specific functional limitations that would prevent work, and (2) they are much too genera and fail to address severity, onset and frequency of symptoms. Using the Social Security form covers all the questions in great detail.
One of the great advantages of a Social Security disability attorney or non-attorney advocate is his or her ability to potentially get the correct opinion evidence to advance your claim. There are a thousand other pieces of information that only an experienced attorney/advocate would know. Any one of these little pieces of information can help your case, or hinder it if you overlook them.
Look at a Social Security disability case as a long road trip. You have one destination you want to reach. There will be hundreds of stops, turns and delays along the way. If you make all the right turns and keep moving in the right direction, you will eventually get there. It's important that the driver knows where he is going and how to get there. Getting there by the shortest, most direct route is also important.
https://forsythefirm.wixsite.com/website
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