Assuming your doctor knows everything is a mistake!
Millions of people file for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) every year. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is required by law
to decide whether someone is disabled largely based on a review of relevant medical
records. Because of these rules it’s important that any claimant, a person who files
for Social Security Disability or SSI, get regular medical treatment.
Just getting into treatment with your doctors, therapists, counselors, and other professionals isn’t enough. You also must tell them everything that causes you to be unable to work. If your doctor doesn’t know about a problem, how can it be part of your medical records? If the SSA does not have medical records saying you have the problems and limitations you suffer from then they will not be able to consider those problems in their decision.
Medical Records Are Essential to Winning Disability Benefits
It is critical that the SSA reviews copies of your complete medical records from every provider you have seen for your disabling conditions. When you work with a disability lawyer this is a huge part of what they do for you; make sure your records have been forwarded to the SSA.
You should assume your doctor knows nothing about your problems and tell them each time you visit. This is because doctors are busy people and they see many patients in a day. To have your best shot at winning your benefits you need to have a consistent medical record that documents your impairments completely. Ideally you would want doctor’s notes that consistently discuss your problems and limitations that you allege are the reasons why you can no longer work.
The bottom line is that if you have not told your doctor or other provider about the problem, then Social Security may never know about that issue. If you tell each of your providers about each of your problems at every visit you are doing your job to ensure all of your problems make it into the medical records. Submitting your complete medical evidence records could make the difference between you winning your benefits or being denied.
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How to
Get More Help
We hope
the information linked to from this page will help you
regardless of where you are in the process. If
you have a question about your disability case that
you don’t find answered in the resources linked to
above, then contact us
here or give us a call at (800) 584-3700.
For more information on our attorneys, please visit Our Attorneys page.
For more information on Social Security Disability, please see:
Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) FAQs
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) FAQs
Social Security Disability Links
Social Security Glossary
