I regularly receive questions about auxiliary Social Security disability benefits. Often these questions are from divorced persons who are struggling with the cost of raising a child, while the disabled, non-custodial parent has not been cooperative with regard to auxiliary benefits.
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Doctors play a pivotal role in the social security disability process. 
Their contributions of expertise and documentation provide insight to an applicant’s mental and/or physical condition, and this insight may prove useful when a social security adjudicator is reviewing a claimant’s file. In essence, what a doctor’s contributions to a claimant’s disability file can influence the ultimate decision made by the Social Security Administrative Law Judge. For this reason, it is often said that medical records and documentation are the backbone of a successful disability claim, but in this post we look beyond that to discuss the logic of why a doctor’s opinions are so important.
More on The importance of doctor support in a disability claim (and why this is the case)
Filed under Migraine Headaches and disability, Strategies for winning, medical records by 
This afternoon, I tried an SSDI case involving a 53 year old woman claiming disability based on diabetes and associated complications. In reviewing the record it appears to me that my client had been diabetic for several years prior to her diagnosis and has most likely suffered permanent vision and nerve damage. Unfortunately her medical care has been suboptimal and while she has been compliant with treatment the record does not contain enough for me to make an argument based on the listing at 9.08. Instead I went with a functional capacity argument.
More on Diabetes and Social Security Disability Case Study Posted
In a recent post on the importance of claimant credibility, I made a point that your ability to effectively describe your physical pain at the hearing may play a role in helping you win your case. Since physical pain is common to many disability cases, I want to elaborate on this point. Not only should you be able to effectively describe your pain at the hearing, but also throughout the claims process and during doctor's visits as well.
More on Helpful Tips for the Disability Claimant: Knowing How To Describe Pain
Filed under Fibromyalgia and disability, Strategies for winning by
Hello and welcome to the 7th installment of my Q & A series, which is designed to cover some of the more elusive topics associated with the Social Security Disability claims process. In this post, I discuss what types of medical providers are deemed as "acceptable medical sources" by the Social Security Administration.
More on Q & A: What medical sources are considered acceptable by the SSA?
I have written extensively on this blog about the claim processing delays that continue to plague Social Security disability. I suspect that there are a lot of folks out there who are suffering and struggling trying to stay at work, perhaps at the expense of their health, because they are concerned that if they stop working, they will run out of savings before their case is decided. I recently received the following question from a gentleman named Steve who is fighting diabetes and diabetic complications and who finds himself with this quandary:
Filed under Case studies, Delays, Diabetes and disability by
Hello and welcome to the 4th installment of my Q & A series, which is designed to cover some of the more elusive topics associated with the Social Security Disability claims process. In this post, I answer a question asked about the Medical Expert witness (ME).
More on Q & A: Who is responsible for calling upon and compensating the Medical Expert witness?
Filed under Medical experts, Multiple Sclerosis and disability by
Hello and welcome to the 3rd installment of my Q & A series, which is designed to cover some of the more elusive topics associated with the Social Security Disability claims process. In this post, I will discuss the term "medically determinable," another one of those unique Social Security terms that people often have questions about.
More on Q & A: What is the Definition of "Medically Determinable"?
Filed under Migraine Headaches and disability, Strategies for winning by
When you appear before a Social Security judge for a hearing, there are four possible outcomes:
- you will be approved
- you will be denied
- your case will be continued to another date for a supplemental hearing
Filed under Administrative Law Judges, Case studies, Diabetes and disability, Disability hearings, Grid rules by
I invite you to visit my Georgia Social Security disability web site to read my latest heart disease disability case study report about a case I tried last week on behalf of a client with a longstanding cardiac disease complicated by decreased kidney function and diabetes. Like many of the cardiac disease cases that I try, there were three viable theories of disability that could apply: (1) a listing argument; (2) a functional capacity argument and (3) a grid rule argument.
