TRANSLATE MEDICAL EVIDENCE INTO VOCATIONAL EVIDENCE

To win a Social Security disability claim, it is necessary to translate medical evidence into vocational evidence.

In most cases, the presence of a disease or injury, even a serious one, does not automatically qualify for disability benefits.  You have to show two things in addition to the fact that you have the medical condition(s).

1.  You have to show that the medical condition is severe.
2.  You have to show that the medical condition imposes significant limitations on the ability to perform work activities.

Let's take the example of Degenerative Disc Disease.  You have X-rays or MRI images showing a bulging disc with narrowing of the neural foraminal canal in the lower back.  Does that mean you are disabled under Social Security rules?  It may or it may not.  You have to go a step further. (Neural foraminal stenosis refers to compression of a spinal nerve as it leaves the spinal canal through the foramen (the opening between the vertebrae through which spinal nerve roots travel and exit to other parts of the body)).

You have to show that your spinal disease poses significant limitations on such work related functions as lifting, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, standing, sitting or maintaining concentration.  You might also show that back pain would cause you to be absent from work an excessive number of days each month, or that you would be off task an excessive amount of an 8 hour work day.

So, once you have established that you have neural foraminal narrowing ("back trouble") the important questions become.....
  • How many pounds can you lift, and how often?
  • For how many minutes or hours can you stand without sitting to rest?
  • How long can you sit without the need to stand or change positions?
  •  How does back pain affect your ability to walk, bend, stoop, crouch, crawl...?
  • Is the pain bad enough that you have trouble maintaining concentration, persistence and pace?  Do you finish what you start?  Can you maintain an 8 hour workday, 5 days a week?  Would you be off task an excessive amount of the time?
Those are examples of vocational evidence--necessary if you are to be approved for Social Security disability benefits.

How is the best way to prove limitations in the ability to do work related activities?  Get your treating doctor to complete a form which asks about each of these specific activities and how severe your limitations are in each area of function.  Also, at your hearing, testify to how you are limited in each of these functional areas and give examples.  Naturally, the allegations made by you (and your doctor) must be supported by objective evidence in your medical file (X-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, laboratory findings, etc.). 

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