Many Social Security disability claimants get caught-up with what conditions they have been diagnosed with. A diagnosis of a serious condition is an important part of the disability process, but what is more important is how severe the impairment is and how it impacts a claimant’s ability to work. Here is some information about how Social Security considers impairments, their severity and the claimant’s responsibilities to prove how severe the impairments are.
Existence of impairment
By law, SSA needs specific medical evidence to establish that a claimant has an 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 non-medical 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. Non-medical 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.
Claimant’s Responsibilities
A claimant must inform SSA about or submit all evidence known to him or her that relates to whether or not he or she is blind or disabled. This duty is ongoing and requires the claimant to disclose any additional related evidence about which he or she becomes aware throughout the administrative review process. The evidence must be complete and detailed enough for SSA to determine:
- The nature and severity of the claimant’s impairment(s),
- How long the claimant has experienced the impairment(s), and
- Whether the claimant can still do work-related physical and mental activities with the impairment(s).
