SSDRC




What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI?

How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI?

If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits?

How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition?

What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits

Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits

How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing

If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare?

How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid?

Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process

How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability?

What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits?

Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia

Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease

Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression?

Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability

What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits?

Social Security Disability Status

Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on

Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts


Can you be denied for SSDI or SSI disability if social security cannot find your medical records?


How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

 
Every SSDI --social security disability insurance -- and SSI claim is determined according to both medical and vocational information, meaning information regarding an individual's medical history and work history.

However, while the importance of one's employment history cannot be overstated (after all, it is the type of work that a person performed in their work history that determines A) what types of jobs they may or may not be capable of returning to and B) what skills they may possess that might allow them to perform some new form of "other work"), all disability claims begin and end with...the medical records.

If the disability examiner who is working on the SSDI or SSI claim cannot locate the medical records, it will become very difficult to even process the case, let alone approve the claim.

How often is it the case that social security cannot locate a claimant's medical records? It is very infrequent that SSA (meaning the disability examiner) cannot locate all of a claimant's medical records. At the same, it is not extremely uncommon for at least one of the claimant's treatment sources to be unlocateable. Why does this happen? Sometimes, this is because a clinic has merged with another or because a physician in a small independent practice has moved out of state or has retired.

Usually, though, the inability of the disability examiner to obtain medical records from a particular treatment source is simply because the claimant has provided inaccurate information at the time of filing for disability, such as an incorrect name for the physician, an incomplete address, or a incorrect name for the medical practice. Even when this occurs, the examiner can often work around the incorrect information and, through some investigative effort, manage to come up with enough contact information so that a MER letter can be sent out (MER stands for medical evidence of record and this is the letter that is sent out to all identified sources of treatment requesting that medical records be sent back).

More information at: What happens if the disability examiner cannot find all the needed medical records?














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Topics and Questions


  • Does Social Security Disability Come With Medicaid Benefits?

  • The Psychologist Exam for Social Security Disability and SSI Claims

  • How long does it take to hear an answer after filing for disability?

  • How Long Can You Receive Social Security Disability Benefits (SSDI)?

  • How Can You Get Medical Records For A Disability Case If You Have No Insurance?

  • How Do I Find Out How My Disability Appeal Is Going?

  • Filing a Disability Appeal When you are not Represented by a Disability Lawyer or Disability Representative

  • What Is the Five Step Sequential Evaluation Process Social Security Uses In Every Disability Case?

  • Medicare and Social Security Disability - Basic Facts

  • Does Social Security Disability Come With Medicaid Benefits?

  • When will a disability lawyer decide to take your case?

  • Can you qualify for disability benefits if you did not work much ?

  • Do You have A Chance Of Losing Disability Benefits If Your Case Gets Reviewed?

  • How do you find out if a Social Security disability claim has been approved or denied ?

  • What Is the Five Step Sequential Evaluation Process Social Security Uses In Every Disability Case?

  • How Do You Fire a Social Security Disability Lawyer?

  • Can I file for SSI online?

  • SSD AND SSI Disability Benefits and Back Pain

  • Am I Eligible For Social Security Disability?

  • Applying for disability benefits in Indiana

  • Approved for Disability but Medicare being terminated?

  • Disability Attorney - Does Social Security pay the fee?

  • What Income Will Affect Your Disability Benefits?

  • Denied For Social Security Disability Because I Can Work -- What are my Options?

  • How Can I Get Social Security Disability If I Have Not Worked For A Long Time?

  • Filing for Social Security Disability or SSI with Bipolar Disorder

  • Do You Get Cost Of Living Increases If You Receive Social Security Disability Or SSI?

  • Social Security Disability Doctor, Supportive Statements

  • Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on

  • Social Security Hearing- How do I Request one, how long will it take?

  • Social Security Denied Me For SSD But Didn’t Have All My Medical Records, What Do I Do?

  • If I get disability, will they look at my case later?

  • How Long Does It Usually Take To Get Disability After I see Their Medical Examiner?

  • If I Get Denied Twice For Disability, What Do I Do?

  • The Difference Between Social Security Disability and SSI Really Involves Work Activity

  • SSA Disability Claim Decisions For Physical Problems

  • Filing Disability Appeals- Reminders About the SSD, SSI Appeal Process

  • Is There A Maximum Dollar Amount For SSI Disability?

  • Is getting social security disability easier for mental or physical problems?

  • Does A Certain Percentage of VA Disability Automatically Make You Eligible For Social Security Disability?

  • Filing for Social Security Disability or SSI with Multiple Sclerosis MS

  • Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease

  • Social Security Attorneys and What they do for you

  • Can an adult who has been to college but hasn't worked for a long time get Disability Benefits?

  • Melanoma and Filing for Disability

  • Does Social Security Depend on Your Illness or the kind of Work that You Did?

  • After you file for SSD, the Disability Examiner may contact you for additional information

  • Is there a time limit for how long you can collect Social Security Disability or SSI benefits?

  • Memory Loss and Filing for Disability

  • Hiring a Qualified Disability Lawyer in Wisconsin

  • Can You Get SSD or SSI Disability Benefits If you are Injured In An Accident?

  • If You Get Workers Comp, Will You Get Disability From Social Security?
























    SSD and SSI are Federal Programs

    The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states:

    Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

    Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here:

    Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state

    Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials