If your disability claim is for suffering from chronic pain, the Social Security Administration will evaluate whether that pain truly prevents you from working. Your Social Security disability attorney in Augusta will want to make sure your claims are credible and consistent in order to satisfy the SSA’s evaluation. The SSA will consider the intensity and severity of your pain as well as the extent to which your pain limits your physical abilities.
At this stage of the evaluation, all available evidence presented by you and your Social Security disability attorney in Augusta will be evaluated, including medical findings, statements submitted by you and your treating physicians, and statements from other witnesses. Any doctor who has treated or examined you may also submit a statement for consideration.
Assessment of Chronic Pain
In assessing your pain, the SSA will look at these factors:
• Your day-to-day activities
• How frequent and long-lasting the pain is
• The location in your body of the pain
• Any known causes or exacerbating factors that affect your pain
• What treatment you have received for your pain
• Any other steps that you have taken to try to relieve your pain, such as lying on your back or altering your sleeping conditions
Unfortunately, your Augusta Social Security disability lawyer knows that pain is subjective and difficult to measure, which means your own words might not be sufficient to prove your claim satisfactorily. However, the SSA is required to consider any limitations that you or your treating physicians report that are consistent with the objective medical evidence presented.
How the Decision Will Be Made
It is possible for your pain to be more debilitating than what objective medical evidence suggests it should be. For a number of conditions such as arthritis and back pain, the medical evidence available may not have a strong correlation with the symptoms you exhibit. However, the SSA decision-maker may not reject your claims out of hand just because the medical evidence suggests your pain should not be as severe as it is. Instead, the SSA will consider the overall credibility of the statements presented by you and your Augusta Social Security disability lawyer.
Talk to a Social Security Disability Attorney in Augusta Today
For more information on proving your disability claim to the SSA, talk with a Social Security disability attorney in Augusta. Call us today.