As a Social Security disability law office we get questions from prospective clients about what conditions and diagnosis qualify for disability benefits, but this is not how a disability case is decided. What is more important is how severe an impairment or diagnosis is and how it limits a disability applicant’s ability to work.
Existence of Impairment
By law, SSA needs specific medical evidence to establish that a claimant has impairment. SSA regulations require “objective medical evidence” from an “acceptable medical source” to establish that a claimant has a medically determinable impairment. The regulations define these terms.
Severity
Once the existence of an impairment is established, SSA considers all evidence from all medical and nonmedical sources to assess the extent to which a claimant’s impairment(s) affects his or her ability to function in a work setting; or in the case of a child, the ability to function compared to that of children the same age who do not have impairments. Nonmedical sources include, but are not limited to: the claimant, educational personnel, public and private social welfare agency personnel, family members, caregivers, friends, neighbors, employers, and clergy.
Evidence Relating to Symptoms
In developing evidence of the effects of symptoms, such as pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue, on a claimant’s ability to function, SSA investigates all avenues presented that relate to the complaints. These include evidence about:
- the claimant’s daily activities;
- the location, duration, frequency, and intensity of the pain or other symptom;
- precipitating and aggravating factors;
- the type, dosage, effectiveness, and side effects of any medication;
- treatments, other than medications, for the relief of pain or other symptoms;
- any measures the claimant uses or has used to relieve pain or other symptoms; and
- other factors concerning the claimant’s functional limitations due to pain or other symptoms.
In assessing the claimant’s pain or other symptoms, SSA considers all of the above-mentioned factors. It is important that medical sources address these factors in the reports they provide.
