You have a letter from your doctor stating that you are totally and permanently disabled. So you are confident that you will win your Social Security disability claim. Unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth. In fact, a letter from your doctor that simply states you are totally and permanently disabled is usually ignored by the Social Security Administration. Reports from your treating doctor for an SSDI claim need to be as detailed as possible. They should state your diagnosis with all the evidence that supports that diagnosis and should explain how your medical condition keep you from working. These reports should always be accompanied by all of your doctors treating records including any test performed (x-ray, MRI). It can sometimes be difficult to get a detailed quality report from a treating doctor because if they are done correctly it requires a good deal of time on the doctors part. To get a detailed report from your treating doctor it can help to offer to pay the doctor for his time for doing the report. This can be expensive especially for those who are disabled and living on a limited income. However, a thorough medical report supported by the medical evidence can be the difference in winning your claim which would mean a source of consistent income. If you are going to get a report from your doctor it is important that you know, and more importantly that your doctor knows, what the doctor must address for your particular claim. It is impossible for me to go through all the possibilities for different medical conditions and what a report should include for those particular conditions. This is where it can be helpful to have a lawyer or representative. A good Social Security Disability lawyer will be able to craft a letter or send a form to your doctor explaining what is important to SSA when evaluating your particular medical condition. The importance of your treating doctors opinion cannot be overstated. Whether it is in the form of a doctors report or RFC form it is essential because Social Security is supposed to give more weight to your treating doctors opinion then to the opinion of their own doctors as long as it is supported by the medical records. If all you have done is submit medical records with no opinion then you are at the mercy of what the Social Security doctors have to say your limitations are.

I expect over the next couple of years to see a sharp increase in the number of disability claims filed. I say this for several reasons. First, with the downturn in the economy and the anticipated layoffs, many people with disabilities who have long-term relationships with companies who were willing to accommodate individuals limitations from their disabilities in the workforce may be less willing to do so in an attempt to save money. So individuals with disabilities who find themselves laid off may have a much more difficult time getting a new job at a company that may not be willing to put forth the necessary expense and time it takes to accommodate a disabled worker. Now I am not saying that companies will only layoffs disabled workers but in the mass layoffs there will certainly be a good number of workers who have disabilities that do get laid off. These workers will have a much more difficult time finding new employment than individuals without disabilities. With nowhere else to turn I expect many of these previously working people with disabilities to apply for Social Security Disability benefits. Second, the baby boomers are now reaching the 50 to 65-year-old age group and at these ages it is much more difficult to learn new skills to perform a new job. Many in these age groups who have medical conditions might look at Social Security disability as a better option than finding new work. It will be interesting to see how Social Security handles this expected increase in applications. The Commissioner of Social Security has made clear, as I have mentioned in previous posts, new programs to help with the increased caseload are expected. My biggest concern is in this climate of the government financially assisting failed industries will they forget that the Social Security system has been in need of financial assistance for years and the problem is getting worse. What happens if Social Security runs out of money? Will there be any money left to save the Social Security system. This is an issue no politician wants to hear about right now or deal with, but we have known for years that the Social Security system does not have enough money to support the baby boom generation and still support the generations that follow. I certainly don't have the answers but I hope the government of elected officials begins to come up with a plan to save our most important safety net.