When filing a claim for disability benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will analyze your medical condition. Just how they view your medical symptoms is paramount in their decision whether to accept or deny your claim. An Augusta disability lawyer can advise you what to expect, but the following will provide you with some idea of what SSD takes into consideration.
Augusta Disability Attorney on Your Doctor’s Role
As your Augusta disability attorney can explain, the SSA will look to answer two major questions when analyzing your disability claim. First, are your medical symptoms reasonably related to a medical diagnosis or condition? Second, are your reported work limitations consistent with your doctor’s findings? Your Augusta disability attorney knows that your treating doctor will play an important role in providing the answers.
Your doctor can provide a professional opinion on the symptoms you’ve reported and what limitations or impairments you have as a result. As such, the SSA may heavily rely on your doctor’s report. Your Augusta disability lawyer can go over the report with you and discuss its strengths and weaknesses. Your doctor will exercise his/her professional judgment about your condition and whether it makes you disabled or limited from work. As your Augusta disability attorney knows, most of your reports of pain and impairment will be subjective and not measurable by lab tests or X-rays. Therefore, it’s important to understand how the SSA may measure your symptoms.
How the SSA Measures Your Symptoms
As stated above, difficulties can arise due to the subjective nature of pain. X-rays and diagnostic tests may not accurately show how your symptoms effect your daily activities. Two people with the same back condition, for example, may be able to cope with it differently. Let your Augusta disability lawyer advocate for you, stressing that no two people experience pain equally. The SSA’s rules for evaluation recognize that. As your Augusta disability attorney will discuss, your doctor’s professional opinion can go a long way towards convincing the SSA of your disability.
For more information about pursuing a disability claim with the Social Security Administration, contact Augusta disability attorneys. Call for an appointment today.