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


Who is the DDS Doctor, i.e. the Social Security Doctor?


How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

 
The "DDS doctor" is the medical consultant who works in the same case processing unit at DDS (disability determination services, where disability claims are handled for the social security administration) as the disability examiner who has been assigned to work on a social security disability claim or SSI claim.

Officially, their title is usually medical examiner or medical consultant. To be a medical consultant, an individual must be a physician with an M.D. degree and license. Very often, the doctors at DDS are physicians who have retired from their regular practice and are now significantly older.

What does a medical consultant do on a disability case? After a disability examiner has completed his or her evaluation of the case (which includes gathering and reviewing the claimant's medical records, speaking with the claimant about their daily activities, and reviewing the claimant's relevant work history), they will typically write a synopsis of the pertinent facts of the case and also complete what is known as an RFC, or residual functional capacity form. A physical RFC form will be completed if the claimant's conditions are physical in nature and a mental RFC form, or MRFC, will be done if the claimant's conditions are mental in nature. Very often, of course, a case will require both types of forms.

RFC forms basically describe the specific limitations that a claimant has as a result of their medical condition. And when a disability examiner completes these forms, they are setting the stage for a decision to be made on the case. Based on how the claimant's condition is rated on the RFC form(s), and based also on what the requirements of the claimant's past jobs were, the case may be approved, or the disability case may be denied.

Because so much hinges on the accuracy of a completed RFC form, the social security administration generally requires disability examiners to have their RFC forms reviewed by a medical consultant and/or a psychological consultant.

Basically, this is what happens: the disability examiner will go in to the office of one of his unit's consultants after the consultant has had the opportunity to review the claimant's medical records as well as the work done thus far by the examiner. If the consultant agrees with the assessment of the examiner, they will "sign off on it". If not, the examiner may be asked to give further consideration to the facts of the case.

The purpose of using consultants is to help ensure that disability examiners adhere to sound decision-making and also to make sure that each case is ultimately reviewed by someone who is not just a case-processor but who has medical or mental training.

DDS doctors are not to be confused with the doctors who perform independent consultative examinations (called CE for short) for the social security administration.














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Topics and Questions


  • What is the SSI and Social Security Disability Application Wait Time?

  • Can I Be Eligible For SSI And Social Security Disability At The Same Time?

  • Social Security Disability SSI - Retroactive Benefits Vs Back Pay Benefits

  • Should you Look at the Disability File that Social Security has on You?

  • How does Social Security Disability decide that you cannot work?

  • Social Security Disability, SSI, Mental Disorders, and Functional Limitations

  • Filing for Disability Online or over the phone

  • Applying for disability benefits in North Carolina

  • Receiving a Social Security Disability Award Letter

  • How is SSI different from Social Security Disability?

  • Are Social Security Disability Claims Based On Back Pain Usually Turned Down?

  • Can you be denied for disability even if your doctor recommends that you be approved?

  • How Do You Win An SSI or Social Security Disability Hearing?

  • Filing for Social Security disability- what to bring when you apply

  • Steps for Filing A Disability Claim Under SSI or SSD

  • The non-medical Disability Requirements for SSD and SSI

  • What medical conditions can you apply for disability for ?

  • Crucial Information about the Social Security Disability Application Process and SSI

  • What Determines If You Are Covered for SSDI (Social Security Disability) Benefits - The DLI Issue

  • How Long Will it Take To Get a Decision Letter from Social Security Disability?

  • Can You Appeal A Decision By A Judge On A Social Security Disability or SSI Case?

  • The Social Security Disability Approval Process

  • Why Will You be Sent to a Social Security Doctor?

  • Can I lose my disability benefits at some point ?

  • How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid ?

  • Receiving a Social Security Disability Award Letter

  • Answers to Social Security Disability and SSI Questions

  • What tools are used by a Social Security Disability Examiner to Make a Claim Decision?

  • Will I Qualify For SSI, How Do I Get Approved?

  • What are social security disability denials based on, your medical or work history?

  • What Happens If You File A Late Social Security Appeal?

  • Social Security Disability Attorney- do I need one to win my case?

  • For Social Security Disability Do I Need To Give My Dates of Treatment?

  • How Does A Social Security Disability Examiner Determine a Person’s Functional Limitations?

  • Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease

  • When do you receive a Hearing for Disability?

  • When Are You Allowed To Ask For A Social Security Disability Hearing?

  • How Disabled Does One Have To Be To Collect Disability?

  • What are the Requirements for Social Security Disability and SSI?

  • Will Social Security Disability Pay for X-rays or an MRI?

  • How Long Does It Take For An Answer To Qualify For Social Security Disability or SSI?

  • How long Does SSI last?

  • Will my doctor charge me for a letter for my social security disability claim?

  • Requesting a Social Security Hearing when you have a Disability Representative or Attorney

  • If Am Medically Disabled, Can Social Security Still Turn Me Down For Some Reason?

  • How Long Does a Social Security Disability or SSI Appeal Take?

  • Hiring a Qualified Disability Lawyer in Virginia

  • Qualifying for disability benefits with the social security administration

  • Social Security Disability Health Coverage

  • How Many Work Credits Do You Need To Have For SSI?

  • How will an attorney help me win disability benefits ?

  • Disability Hearings and the Social Security Appeals Process

  • What are the Application Requirements For SSI Disability?

  • Why Will A Social Security Disability Application Get Denied? (SSDI Denial)
























    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