OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE VS. OTHER EVIDENCE

Social Security requires objective medical evidence in order to find a claimant disabled and eligible for benefits.  Objective evidence includes medical signs and laboratory findings from a qualified medical source, as defined in 20 CFR 404.1528 b and c, and 404.1529.

 For instance, if a person complains of severe back pain, Social Security decision makers would like to see an MRI or X-ray of the spine which demonstrates a clear medical impairment, such as degenerative arthritic changes or a herniated disc, that could reasonably explain the symptoms.  Further, they will need documentation by a medical source as to the severity of pain and other symptoms.

 In addition to objective medical signs and findings, "other evidence" will also be considered.  Other evidence might include statements from the claimant or from treating or non-treating sources about your medical history, diagnosis, treatment, daily activities, efforts to work and other evidence showing how your impairments and related symptoms affect your ability to work.

 However, statements alone will not prove disability.  Proof of disability must be based on objective medical signs and laboratory findings (20 CFR 404.1529).  The regulations also stipulate how the opinions of medical courses are compared and considered (404.1527).  Examining doctors are given more weight than non-examining doctors. Treating doctors are given more weight than mere examining doctors.  Specialists who are practicing in their field of specialty are usually given more weight than non-specialists.

 Your advocate or representative is trained to know what type of medical evidence is needed to satisfy the requirement for objective medical evidence.  He or she will also know how to help you gather such medical evidence.

 Vocational implications of pain or other medical findings play an important factor in disability decisions.  For example, what are the resulting limitations on the your ability to perform work-like activities, such as lifting, bending, standing, walking, sitting, reaching, concentrating, remembering, etc.  At your hearing, a vocational expert will usually weigh in on how these limitations may affect your ability to perform certain types of jobs.

See Answers to Common Social Security Disability Questions Here


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GETTING MONEY FROM SSDI

SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance .  When you first began working, the Government deducted a percentage of your wages, called a FICA tax.  This continued as long as you worked, in most cases.  This money was matched by your employer and set aside in a government trust fund to help you if you later became disabled and could not work. SSDI is a type of government sponsored insurance program, usually called "Social Security disability insurance."  To get benefits out of SSDI, you must prove  that you have a medical disability so severe that you cannot work any full-time job; that this disability has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least 12 consecutive months. That sounds simple but Social Security has made it rather difficult to prove that you are disabled.  One reason is that their definition of 'disability' is so strict.  You usually must prove that you cannot perform even simple, unskilled work at the sedentary (sitting) leve
Read more

POST HEARING EVIDENCE

Many people assume that a Social Security disability case is over when the hearing has been held.  This isn't always the case.  Often there is post hearing work that should be done to achieve the best chance of a favorable decision. Everyone at a disability hearing works under pressure.  This includes the claimant, the representative, the vocational expert and even the administrative law judge.  Hearings are generally limited to less than one hour.  The judge will ask questions that place the claimant under stress to answer correctly.  The representative or attorney will be asked to respond to procedural issues or points of law that place him or her under pressure.  The judge must constantly conduct the hearing so that it follows Social Security laws, rules and regulations.  Further, the judge must form accurate hypothetical questions for the vocational expert based on the medical and vocational evidence in the file and upon the claimant's testimony.  The vocational expert th
Read more

PARTIALLY FAVORABLE DECISIONS ON DISABILITY

You attended a hearing on your Social Security disability claim.  A few weeks later, you receive a Notice of Decision in the mail that says you have received a Partially Favorable decision.  Does this mean that you are only partially disabled, not fully disabled? ANSWER:  No.  Social Security does not make awards for partial disability.  You are either disabled or not disabled.  There is no such category as "partially disabled" within Social Security law. A "partially favorable" decision means that the administrative law judge has found you to be disabled.  However, he or she has changed some material fact in your application.  Most often, this change involves the established onset date--the date you were found to have become disabled.  For example, in your application you may have alleged that you became disabled on June 1, 2012.  After reviewing the facts of the case, the judge may have decided that you did not become disabled until September 1, 2012.  Theref
Read more