How Medical Documentation Helps Your
Columbia Social Security Disability Claim

The Social Security Administration values medical evidence very highly, and they will not award you benefits in your Tennessee Social Security disability claim without some objective evidence of your disability.

One way to win Tennessee Social Security disability benefits is by having an impairment whose severity meets one of the entries in Social Security’s Listing of Impairments, which “describes … impairments considered severe enough to prevent an individual from doing any gainful activity.”

In such a case, your outcome will be determined solely based on objective medical findings and test results. Your doctor’s opinion about your ability to work is not as important for cases that are decided in this way.

Most claimants, however, do not have a disability as severe as those in the Listing of Impairments. They will need to qualify, instead, by showing that they are unable to perform any of the jobs they have held in the last 15 years or (depending on their age) any jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy.

The Social Security Administration will make an effort to collect all of your medical records and test results, and they may even arrange for you to have a medical consultation with one of their doctors or for additional tests to be performed. Too often, though, they will not have all the available information in your case. Hospitals are busy and they may take a long time to respond to the Social Security Administration’s requests for your records. Worse, the records they send are sometimes incomplete. Often, a claimant’s initial application for Tennessee Social Security disability benefits is denied without the decision maker even seeing all the medical records available in the case.

This is one reason why it is important for a good Columbia Social Security disability lawyer to help with your appeal. He or she will look carefully at the facts in your case and develop a customized plan based on what, specifically, you need to prove to the Social Security Administration to be found disabled. Your lawyer will gather all medical records and, if necessary, send forms to your treating doctor to get his or her opinion about your ability to work.

Get Help Proving Your Medical Condition to Social Security

If you live in Columbia, or the surrounding area, please contact Columbia Social Security disability lawyer Susan Clasbey by filling out the claim evaluation form below. If you are interested in a free consultation, please call me.