Many people apply for Social Security Disability benefits, but few receive the benefits they deserve because they don’t know how to properly prepare the forms.
Here are some tips to improve your chances of getting approved:
Don’t wait until you lose your medical insurance to apply. The general thought in Social Security Disability cases is that if you don’t have evidence showing you are disabled right now, you probably aren’t disabled. While it’s not fair, if you don’t have recent medical treatment records supporting your disability, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may assume that your condition is not really that bad. So, if you can’t afford to see a doctor for your disability, the SSA may decide that your condition is not severe enough to keep you from working. The upshot is that it’s in your best interests to see a doctor while you still have health insurance to obtain medical evidence that can help win your case.
Obtain your medical records. If you want the SSA to have the necessary records to decide your case, you need to provide the records to them. It’s true that the SSA will request your medical records for you. However, they won’t tell you which records they request or receive until after they have decided your case. If your records were incomplete, you do not get a do-over. Your only recourse at that point is to appeal the decision or reapply and start over; but in some cases, it may not be possible to reapply for disability.
Obtain a medical source statement. A medical source statement (sometimes called a residual functional capacity questionnaire) is a form completed by your doctor that tells the SSA about your workplace limitations. It lists your physical limitations, such as how much you can lift and carry or how long you can sit, stand and walk, along with your psychological and social limitations. The Social Security Administration may not ask your doctor what your limitations are because most of the time the SSA only asks their own physicians to give their opinions about your limitations.
Obtaining assistance from our skilled Cincinnati Social Security Disability attorneys will greatly improve your chances of winning your Social Security Disability case because we know how to present the evidence in a successful way.