A DOCTOR’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

Your patient has given you this form because the Social Security Administration has denied
her claim for benefits. The purpose of this guide is not to give you a course in Social
Security law. Rather, it is just to stress the importance of your role in the patient’s claim and
let you know what to expect if you choose to participate or not to participate in your
patient’s appeal.

IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO ASSIST YOUR PATIENT, your patient will almost
certainly lose her disability claim. Not to be overly dramatic, but without a doctor’s opinion
supporting disability, the patient’s disability claim is significantly less likely to be approved.
If you do not believe that the patient is disabled, tell the patient. This is a very good reason
for not wanting to get involved. However, if you do believe that the patient is disabled and
you just “don’t want to get dragged into a claim,” read on and hopefully you’ll change your
mind.

YOU WILL NOT BE DEPOSED OR HAVE TO TESTIFY AT A TRIAL. Social

Security cases are far different from personal injury cases, or even from insurance cases
governed by state law. The Administrative Law Judge decides the case solely on what is
contained in the claim file. Moreover, many medical providers are concerned that they will
be called to testify about any opinions they express in a form. I can tell you that I’ve handled
thousands of Social Security disability claims and never once has a medical provider been
called to testify in a deposition or court hearing about anything he or she wrote in a letter or
on a form.

YOU ARE QUALIFIED TO FILL OUT A FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY

ASSESSMENT. Your patient is not asking you to perform a full-blown functional capacity
exam. She is simply asking you to assign limitations based on your examinations and
experience. Doctors do this all the time. You can be sure that Social Security’s reviewing
physicians, who in 90% of cases will never meet your patient and will only be reviewing
medical records, will have no qualms about rendering an opinion stating that your patient is
not disabled. If you believe she is disabled, back it up in writing. The forms don’t take long
to fill out, but they make a world of difference to your patient’s disability claim.