Resources

Pain is the most common reason people seek medical care and frequently drives the need for Social Security disability benefits. An Ocala disability attorney can help you determine whether your pain is severe enough to qualify you for disability benefits. Pain can be disabling when it is constant or severe. But pain is a subjective symptom. Only the patient can measure their own pain. It doesn’t show up on medical tests and this makes it difficult to document. Measuring pain How do Social Security administrators approach measuring pain and whether it prevents a claimant from working? The agency first explores whether an underlying medically determinable impairment may be reasonably causing the pain. If so, you will need to describe the…Read More

In your Social Security disability claim, will your doctor’s opinion be controling? Your Ocala Social Security disability attorney will assess whether your physician’s views will have sufficient weight to uphold your claim. Three main factors determine the doctor’s authority. Well-supported opinion The treating doctor’s opinion must be well supported to be given merit. The supporting records include clinical and laboratory exams and diagnostic techniques. If the treating doctor’s opinion is medically well supported and consistent with other substantial evidence in the case record, it will be regarded as controlling. In such a case your doctor’s determination will be honored. A “treating source” Another important factor is that the clinician must indeed be your treating provider. You can’t shop around for…Read More

Clients often ask their Ocala Social Security disability lawyer how the Social Security Administration (SSA) assesses the ability to walk or ambulate. A reasonable measure of the ability to ambulate is whether someone can walk a block at a reasonable pace on an uneven surface. If that is doable, then the patient likely will not be viewed as disabled in their ambulation. Assistive Devices One of the regulations under the Social Security disability program mentions the use of a walker or two canes as indicative of the inability to walk independently. While that is true, note that some claimants are defined as disabled even if they do not use a cane or walker. Just because a person can manage to…Read More

Your Ocala Social Security disability lawyer knows that back injuries, more than almost any other injury or condition, are the reason most Social Security claimants seek disability benefits. Back pain is challenging to prove because while claimants may suffer from muscle spasms, pain, and limited ability to sit, stand, lift or bend, the medical evidence may not show serious abnormalities. Low Correlation of Back Pain and Medical Imaging Results The medical community acknowledges that often a person’s symptoms of pain do not match up with medical results (such as x-rays or medical imaging). Some patients with severe pain show only mild abnormalities, while others with x-ray evidence of severe joint and bone degeneration experience mild or no pain. Even the…Read More

Subjective Evidence and Your Credibility Your Ocala Social Security disability attorney knows that objective evidence is important in any back injury case, but also knows that the Social Security Administration (SSA) must take into account subjective evidence such as your medical history, your credibility and the consistency of your complaints. The SSA will examine how consistent your subjective complaints of pain have been: - Is there an overall consistency over time? - Are your complaints the same with every doctor you have seen? - If there are inconsistencies, can they be explained by changes in your symptoms over a period of time? The SSA will look at various things when assessing your credibility: - How have you gone about seeking…Read More

When applying for Social Security disability benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will want to know exactly how able-bodied you are and what levels of physical exertion you can handle. You and your Ocala disability lawyer will need to closely identify where your physical abilities fall on the spectrum of physical exertion levels for those afflicted with physical impairments. Social Security Administration classification Although you can use the same physical exertion levels laid out in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) for the purposes of SSA classification, those levels published in the DOT tend to change often. The details of classifications are frequently revised, and it would be best for your and your  Ocala disability lawyer to revisit the most…Read More

The problem mentioned most frequently by Social Security disability applicants is low back pain resulting from a back injury. The challenge is to prove that your pain is real and disabling. SSA Consideration of Back Pain Evidence The SSA will examine three factors when determining the severity of your back injury impairment: Objective abnormalities Reported pain and other symptoms Credibility Objective Medical Evidence Not Conclusive Many claimants suffer pain and limitation of motion but have insignificant neurological findings.  It is entirely possible for a claimant to be disabled but exhibit very little objective evidence of impairment.  A chronic back strain with no evidence of x-ray changes may still be disabling. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT), and x-rays of…Read More

If you or someone you know is experiencing great difficulty walking, it's time to get in touch with experienced Ocala disability lawyers who can assist you in seeking Social Security disability benefits to help provide support with this impairment. Musculoskeletal limitations If you are suffering from joint dysfunction or arthritis, and your ability to walk has become limited, your disability may qualify as a musculoskeletal disability. This type of disability is considered relatively extreme because it limits your ability to ambulate effectively – your Ocala disability lawyers will not have a difficult time proving why your disability necessitates financial assistance. Social Security Administration guidelines state that this type of impairment greatly interferes with your ability to live life freely, because…Read More

If your Social Security disability hearing will involve a vocational expert, your Ocala disability attorney may decide to brief you on the role of the vocational expert (VE) in your case and his or her duties in court. Their testimony serves several purposes, but vocational experts should not overstep certain boundaries. Duties of the Vocational Expert A vocational expert testifies at a Social Security disability hearing before the administrative law judge (ALJ) in order to provide him or her with vocational information that will assist any decisions regarding your ability to perform work despite impairment. The ALJ will ask the VE certain questions, such as: Is the claimant capable of performing past relevant work? If the claimant is not capable…Read More