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    We Represent People With:

  • Physical Disabilities and Impairments, Psychiatric and Mental Disorders, Bipolar, PTSD, Deafness, Blindness, HIV/Aids, Cancer, Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, Depression, Mental Retardation, Cerebral palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Herniated Disk, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Arthritis, Stroke, Seizures, Hepatitis, Heart and Lung disease, Meniere's Disease, Crohn's Disease, Colitis, L.B.S., Myasthenia Gravis, Severe Headaches and Sleep Disorders, Amputation, Vocational Disabilities, MRSA who have wrongfully been denied their benefits.
Home :: FAQ :: Physicians Issues

I thought Social Security had their own doctors who determine disability; is that correct?

The doctors contracted to the SSA are usually general practitioners or family practitioners who do cursory physical examinations of claimants to see if they can see, hear, walk heel to toe, get on and off an examining table. Sometimes they may ask a claimant to grip the physician’s fingers or touch the claimant’s toes.  The evaluation is a one shot, five minute deal and the physician is not one who knows the claimant or has a patient - physician relationship.  The evaluations, at best produce ambiguously written information  that hardly, if ever results in an Administrative finding of disability. These physicians often are afraid to write favorable observations and seem to think they are at risk losing their Social Security referral source.  Moreover, the reports the SSA physician writes normally do not take into consideration the evaluations and treatment notes of the claimants treating physicians.  They also do not specifically address that claimant’s Residual Functional Capacity for sitting, standing, walking, pain, memory and ability to concentrate.  This is why the Administrative Law Judge pays little deference to reports filed by non-treating SSA doctors.  It is noteworthy that the Rules pertaining to Judicial evaluations of patient evidence require the Administrative Law Judge to pay “great deference” and give “significant weight” to the regards and opinions of “Treating Physicians and Sources” to the extent that those opinions are consistent with the patient’s treatment records.  This is why we specifically request our client who have treating sources to fill out “RFC” Residual Functional Capacity Questionnaires for our clients that can truthfully and factually relate what the claimants limitations are.