What Medical Proof Do I Need for Social Security Disability Benefits?
Did you know that medical proof is an essential element while claiming social security disability benefits?
It’s this evidence that proves:
- Your disability prevents you from working
- You suffer from a terminal medical condition or something that lasts at least one year, wherein you can’t work.
- If the disability falls under SSA’s definition of disability
- You are younger than the qualification age for SSA retirement benefits
How to Prepare Your Medical Evidence
You need to keep these five main things in mind while preparing your medical proof:
1. Updated Records
Don’t produce records older than three months, as it will only create problems. Maintain only updated records.
2. Be Thorough
You can’t just say that you fell off your horse, and that leads to your paralysis. You need to produce your brain MRIs and your doctor’s reports on it and its effect on your working ability.
3. Accurate Documents
The SSA doesn’t consider chiropractor reports. You need a medical doctor’s report documenting the injury and its effects.
4. Your Doctor
Reports from a doctor who’s treated you for years have more weight than a doctor assigned by the SSA.
5. A Lawyer to Help with Paperwork
Studies prove that hiring a lawyer increases the likelihood of your claim getting approved trifold.
Required Evidence
It’s always better to provide as much medical evidence as possible. The more thorough you are, the higher are the chances of claim approval. You need these reports for successful social security benefits to claim:
- treatment and examination notes, preferably from your physician or by a doctor specializing in your injury treatment.
- Recent and old blood work results
- X-rays, MRI, images, and analysis by doctors or qualified technicians.
- Records from all the doctors you have consulted about your injury, including mental health consultations.
- Records of any rehabilitation or physiotherapy treatment records you had to prove the injury prevents you from working.
According to Social Security Administration (SSA) regulations, you also have to submit any medical evidence that works against your claim. This is where your Burbank social security benefits lawyer helps.
They will mitigate these negative reports by finding points in the report you can exploit during the hearing.
What Is an RFC?
The RFC or Residual Functional Capacity form determines your ability to work after filing your claim. It’s the document the SSA uses to assess your claim.
And they always look for a reason to reject your application.
So you mustn’t work after filing your claim.
It means you can’t even do part-time jobs like cutting neighborhood lawns or delivering papers.
The SSA will seize the opportunity to prove that you can work and thus deny your claim.
The claim examiner and your doctor have to fill out the RFC. Your doctor has to give an opinion based on how well you can perform everyday tasks based on their medical examinations.
They will mention:
- How long you can stand, sit and walk
- If you can stoop, crouch, grasp objects, or reach overhead
- How much weight you can lift.
In short, the RFC shows how your disability has made simple tasks difficult.
There’s help if you don’t have any medical evidence
There’s a Chance You Won’t Have Medical Evidence Because of:
- A lack or lapse in insurance
- A recent move where you couldn’t consult your regular doctor
This is when an excellent social security benefits attorney in Burbank can help. They can help cover the missing period using testimonies through prepared questions.
They can also get specialists to examine your available records and give an opinion of your condition during periods without medical proof.