SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY LAW BLOG
March 17, 2011
Your doctor’s medical opinion can help you qualify for Michigan Social Security disability benefits
Your doctor’s medical opinion plays an important role in your Michigan Social Security disability benefits case. The Social Security Administration must consider your treating doctor’s opinion; in fact, under certain circumstances, your doctor’s opinion must be given controlling weight.
It is your doctor’s job to provide Social Security with a “medical source statement” that includes information about the degree of your impairment and your residual functional capacity – that is, what you are capable of doing, despite the limitations caused by your impairment. If you have retained a Michigan Social Security disability attorney, your attorney will ask your treating doctor to provide a formal, written opinion. The timing of this request is important. I suggest that you ask your attorney to request a medical opinion on the same day you retain your attorney. This way, you will have a snapshot of your medical condition and your residual functional capacity early in the case. If there is a long delay between the date of the medical report and the date of your hearing, your attorney can ask your treating doctor to prepare an updated report, if your condition has changed significantly, or to prepare a short letter noting that there has been no significant change in your condition. In most cases, this approach will be quite effective. There are some situations, however, in which an early medical report may not be advised. For example:
- If your medical history ebbs and flows—that is, if it reflects acute phases of your condition followed by periods of improvement – then it is advisable to wait until your doctor has had an opportunity to observe all phases of your condition.
- Similarly, if you just began seeing a new doctor, give the doctor time to get to know you and become familiar with your condition before asking for a medical report.
- If your medical history reflects competing diagnoses or other uncertainties, it usually is best to wait to obtain the report until after those medical issues are resolved.
- Finally, depending on your impairment, you may want to wait until you have been disabled for at least 12 months before requesting a report.
If you are not already represented by a Detroit disability lawyer, feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more about medical source reports and the role of your treating doctor in your Michigan Social Security disability case.
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY LAW BLOG
March 4, 2011
Common impairments: Obtaining Michigan Social Security disability benefits for obesity
In order to be eligible to receive Michigan Social Security disability benefits, you must have a severe physical or mental impairment. The Social Security Administration recognizes obesity as a medically determinable impairment (but not a Listing impairment). Thus, the success or failure of your obesity case will depend on whether your obesity, by itself or in conjunction with other impairments, is so severe as to prevent you from working.
To make this disability determination, the Social Security Administration will evaluate your “residual functional capacity” (i.e., your ability to function in a work setting despite the limitations of your impairment). Obesity can have a negative impact on residual functional capacity in several ways. For example, your obesity may limit your ability to perform the physical tasks associated with work, e.g., walking, standing, sitting, carrying, lifting. Your obesity may cause fatigue, which interferes with your ability to focus and perform cognitive work-related tasks. In addition, obesity often leads to depression, which may render you psychologically unable to work.
One argument that sometimes is raised in opposition to an award of obesity-related benefits is “failure to follow prescribed treatment.” Rarely does this argument succeed. A “prescribed treatment” is a course of treatment prescribed by a doctor that is expected to restore your health and your ability to work. When your doctor suggests that you eat better, exercise more and lose weight, this advice does not amount to a prescribed course of treatment. In addition, Medicare and many private insurers refuse to pay for surgical intervention or drug therapy for obesity. If your doctor does prescribe this type of treatment, but you cannot afford it, you have a valid reason for failing to follow through. Even so, it is likely the administrative law judge presiding over your hearing will ask you about your efforts to lose weight. You should be prepared to testify on this topic and, if possible, your doctor also should be prepared to comment on how difficult it has been for you to lose weight.
If your claim for Michigan Social Security disability benefits has been denied, and you would like to talk a compassionate and knowledgeable disability lawyer, please contact me.
