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Can My Doctor Help Me Get My Social Security Disability Benefits?

Q & A with 20+ year Social Security Disability Attorney Andrew Kinney

Q: Can my doctor help me get my Social Security Disability benefits?
A: Yes! But perhaps not in the ways you would expect. I’ll explain.

In our law practice, we purposely do not interact with treating physicians. Our clients make their own health care choices. Our clients go to doctors because they want to get better, or at least improve their quality of life. We explain the law.
The Social Security Disability program is all about the medical evidence. Forget what you hear on TV. Talk is cheap. Regular medical treatment is important. Just as important, though, is developing a treating relationship with certain medical doctors you know and trust. When you treat properly with physicians you know and trust, you create a bread trail of your problems.

This is where your physicians can help you further. Right after your next appointment, ask the doctor who knows you best these things:

1. “Doctor, can you please make sure you document my problems well?”
2. “Doctor, can you please make sure your treatment notes are clear about how I am limited?”
3. “Doctor, I had to apply for Social Security benefits. Would you mind if my attorney sends you a short form to fill out about my limitations?”

It is vitally important that your medical treatment notes document your ongoing medical problems. Attorney forms track Social Security law. While it is unusual for physicians to object to an honest, straightforward approach to your medical care, it can happen. Some physician practices, including the VA, try to avoid “forms,” but they complete them for insurance daily. Some physicians say that they cannot “decide disability,” but they are not. They are simply determining physical and mental limitations for their patients—something they lay out for working patients with injuries all the time. Finally, some physicians think their patients over 50 can still do “desk work.” That is fine. Depending on your past kind of work you can no longer do, the law can still be on your side. Ask an experienced attorney in this area of law.

Your medical providers are trying to make you better. Keep trying to get better, and document the truth about your medical problems. Your Social Security attorney will argue the rest.

Andrew Kinney, Esq., 12/1/15

Why Should I Complete Physical Therapy?

Physical therapy is designed to help an individual rebuild or strength their injured body part. Physical therapy is also designed to help individual decrease joint stiffness. Physical therapy may be painful in order to help individuals to get better. This article will cover reasons why individuals should complete a round of physical therapy.

One of the best reasons to complete physical therapy is because the physical therapy may increase the range of motion of a joint. This increased range of motion of a joint will help with the pain. In addition, along with increased range of motion, the individual is likely to have less stiffness.

Another reason to complete physical therapy is to learn different techniques that will help relieve pain. If an individual is having back pain, one of the techniques that physical therapy teaches you is on how to stretch the muscles. The stretching of the muscles and to what degree is all part of physical therapy. By completing the round of physical therapy, an individual will have a better understanding on what they are able and not able to do.

Another reason to complete physical therapy is to learn different ways on completing task. This is especially important on back pain. Individuals with back pain are retaught on how to lift without engaging the back muscles and instead use the legs to lift. The more an individual learns on how to lift, the less likely the individual will reinjure the back.

In conclusion, it is important to complete physical therapy. Even though the physical therapy may be painful, the usefulness of physical therapy out weights the pain. In addition, regular physical therapy gets easier for individuals and becomes less painful as time continues. In other words, the first days of physical therapy are the worst days and then it typically gets better as the stiffness leaves the joint.

Written by Hoglund Law

The attorneys of Hoglund law are licensed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC is based in Roseville, Minnesota. In addition to handling cases involving bankruptcy & social security, Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC handles faulty drugs and toxic exposure.

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What Should my Doctor Know About my Social Security Disability Case?

There are certain things that your doctor(s) can do to help possibly facilitate a better outcome in your Social Security disability case. Here are a few suggestions as to what you need to do make sure your doctor knows how to better assist you with your claim. Social Security is looking for certain information within your medical records and on the forms or statements that your doctor fills out on your behalf.
In Social Security’s eyes, your doctor needs to document your functional limitations in your medical records. These records will be the most important evidence in your case. Having it writing as to what you can and cannot do is very important. So your part is to be honest as to what has changed with your disabilities and how it affects your daily life, even if it seems to you to be no big deal. The little changes can add up. Social Security is looking for your doctor’s assessment of how you can do basic tasks. If your doctor is a specialist in his or her field and is willing to fill out a Residual Functional Capacity form (RFC) that might add weight to your medical records.
Your doctor(s) may also write a medical statement letter on your behalf discussing your disabilities. You can have more than one doctor write a medical statement for you. If your doctors are reluctant to assist you in your claim, find out why and try to address their concerns. There might be a good reason why you doctor(s) might not be willing to write something on your behalf.
You have a part in how Social Security looks at your claim as well. You need to be compliant with what your doctor suggests you to do in the treatment of your disabilities. If you are non-compliant or just do not seek medical help for your impairments then, Social Security might believe that you are not credible and your claim could be in jeopardy. So following the doctor’s orders is better for your claim in the long run.
So, both you and your doctors have things that you can do to give your claim the best chance of a positive outcome. Your doctor(s) can fill out the Residual Functional Capacity RFC form or write a medical statement letter. Most important, is your doctors need to be thorough when documenting your disabilities and how they have changed your daily living abilities, and what you might no longer be able to do in your medical records. You can best assist your claim by following the doctor’s orders and/or seeking ongoing medical treatment for your disabilities if you are not treating.

Written by Hoglund Law

The attorneys of Hoglund law are licensed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC is based in Roseville, Minnesota. In addition to handling cases involving bankruptcy & social security, Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC handles faulty drugs and toxic exposure.

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An Alternative Treatment for Arthritis

A procedure known as platelet rich plasma, or PRP injections, are being used to alleviate arthritis and other joint pain.  Avivia Gianetti is an active golfer who is in her late 50s.  However, soreness and pain running down her arms left her unable to play her favorite sport.  Not keen on the idea of surgery, her doctor suggested a new procedure known as PRP.  The procedure allows the patient to be relieved of pain without having to go under the knife.  In the procedure, the patient’s own plasma, a natural nutrient found in blood, is separated from the blood cells and injected into the damaged joints.  The PRP injection helps repair damaged cartilage and joints.

Notable athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Matt Forte have been using PRP to alleviate joint pain; however, baby boomers may want to take advantage of this alternative to surgery as well.  Due to the aging baby boomer population joint replacements are rapidly growing.  Knee replacement surgeries have doubled over the past decade.  Although many experts contend that PRP injections are not a proven substitute for surgery, they may be a good option for some.  Dr. Jazrawi states, “This is certainly, potentially one treatment option that may be utilized, but it’s not the magic bullet.”

Dr. Jazrawi uses the PRP injections most often in the treatment of chronic arthritis.  Patients are able to schedule a quick visit with Dr. Jazrawi to receive the injections.  And more often than not, one quick injection in Dr. Jazrawi’s office will allow a patient to get right back to their active lifestyle.  Dr. Jazrawi notes that PRP should not be the first-line of treatment.  Instead, he suggests that patients maintain an active and healthy lifestyle with dieting and exercise.  There is always a risk in applying new technology, and Dr. Jazrawi asserts that he does not want to apply this new technology in a haphazard manner.

 

Source:

Lara Salahi, Cutting Edge: Joint Injections Heal Baby Boomer Arthritis, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/cutting-edge-joint-injections-heal-baby-boomer-arthritis/story?id=15214643 (accessed 12/22/2011)

Written by Hoglund Law

The attorneys of Hoglund law are licensed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC is based in Roseville, Minnesota. In addition to handling cases involving bankruptcy & social security, Hoglund, Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC handles faulty drugs and toxic exposure.

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