Medical Assessments

Friday, March 6th, 2009

I represent a 41 year old bank operations manager whose application for Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits was approved today without a hearing even though she had filed another application on her own less than a year earlier that was denied. What changed?

Although it took half a dozen written requests, I finally obtained a copy of the claimant’s prior SSD file. The file failed to contain any records from one of the claimant’s two treating specialists. The file was also missing some key diagnostic tests, even though others from the same source were included. I submitted the missing records. Additionally, I obtained disability assessments from the treating specialists. It is uncertain whether it was the submission of the missing records, the medical source statements, or both that resulted in the application being approved.

Reviewing the claim file and ensuring that the proper medical records and reports get submitted not only increase the chances that an SSD application will be approved, but also increase the chances that it will be approved at an earlier stage of the disability process. The claimant had received a notice indicating that her application was being approved with a belated onset date. Another reason to retain an attorney familiar with the disability process is to ensure that the claimant does not unknowingly waive entitlement to additional SSD benefits once a Notice of Award is received.

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