What Kind of Evidence is Used to Evaluate and Decide a Disability Benefit Claim?

Applying for Social Security Disability in Fayetteville, Arkansas

• Medical doctors
• Osteopathic doctors
• Certified psychologists
• Optometrists
• Podiatrists
• Speech/language pathologists

SSA regulations place special emphasis on evidence from the medical professional — called treating sources — who has treated you over a longer period. Full reports from treating sources are given a lot of weight and may reduce or eliminate the need for additional medical evidence to complete your claim. However, the SSA also requests and considers copies of medical evidence from hospitals, clinics, or other health facilities where you have been treated. Information from other sources may also help show the extent to which your impairment(s) affect your ability to function in a work setting. Information from public and private agencies, caregivers, social workers, employers, naturopaths, chiropractors, and audiologists may be considered — but generally takes a back seat to the traditional medical reports.

• Your medical history
• Results of physical or mental status examinations
• Diagnosis
• Laboratory findings such as blood pressure and X-rays
• Prescribed treatment
• Prognosis

• A statement about what you can still do despite your impairment, including your ability to perform work-related activities, such as:

– Hearing
– Speaking
– Traveling

• In claims involving adults with mental impairments, a statement about your:

– Mental functional limitations
– Capacity to understand, to carry out and remember instructions
– Ability to respond appropriately to supervision, coworkers and pressures in a workplace

• Your daily activities
• The location, duration, frequency, and intensity of the pain
• Precipitating and aggravating factors
• The type, dosage, effectiveness, and side effects of medication
• Other treatments for the relief of pain
• Any measures you have used to relieve pain
• Other factors concerning your functional limitations due to pain