The Role of the Doctor’s Opinion

If you are applying for Social Security disability benefits, talk to a Charlotte disability attorney from the Bridgman Law Offices at 704-815-6055.

Many disability claimants wonder if they should have their treating doctor provide information and written opinions about their patient’s condition for their disability claim. Your Charlotte disability attorney can help you determine if this would be helpful to your case, and he or she can advise you on how to obtain it.

Your doctor’s opinion is very important to your claim for disability benefits because it contains objective medical findings related to your impairment. These findings effectively determine your range of possible movements and abilities, and therefore what kind of jobs you may be able to work.

However, objective medical findings do not tell the whole story and are not the sole criterion used by the Social Security Administration. They will also look at the Listing of Impairments, and if your condition is not found there, they will have to look beyond your medical findings to determine your ability to work. For example, there is little correlation between X-ray findings and the function of a joint, so X-ray findings of a particular joint will not necessarily establish you cannot move it.

When you ask your treating physician to prepare an opinion about your ability to do work-related activities, expect your doctor to talk to you at length. Your doctor might ask you questions about what you think about your ability to do work-related activities, and whether that is consistent with what he knows about your impairment.

If you are applying for Social Security disability benefits, talk to a Charlotte disability attorney to make sure you are following the process correctly and with the strongest claim you can make. Call Bridgman Law Offices at 704-815-6055.