Real Estate Law Misconceptions

If you have been injured due to your work and are no longer able to work, you may qualify for social security disability benefits. If you are going to apply for social security disability benefits, you are going to want to use the assistance of a lawyer to ensure that your application goes through without a hitch and you get the assistance that you need. Here are two medical tips that will help you with your social security disability application. 

#1 Have Your Doctor Fill Out Residual Functional Capacity Forms

Before you file your claim, you are going to want to ask your doctor to fill out the Residual Functional Capacity, or RFC, forms. These forms are also often referred to as the "Ability to do Work Related Activity" forms.

Regardless of the name, the purpose of these forms is to provide an avenue for your doctor to describe what specific conditions you have and how those specific conditions impair your ability to do work. These forms provide your doctor with a space to describe how your ability to work has been limited because of whatever injury or illness you suffer from. 

If your injury and illness is mental as well as physical, make sure that you have your psychiatrist fill out a Mental RFC and your physician fill out a Physical RFC. 

Presenting this information upfront will allow you to present your doctor's formal view of how your injury and illness impacts your ability to work from the beginning. Once you begin the disabilities process, Social Security will require you to see one of their doctors, who will fill out an RFC on you. Having one from your doctor can provide a second opinion on your condition. 

#2 Account For All Medical Conditions

When you apply for Social Security disability benefits, you want to make sure that you disclose all of your medical conditions, not just the primary condition that is driving your application. Your other medical conditions can influence how debilitating your primary medical condition is. 

For example, if you injured your arm and can't fully use it, and you also suffer from asthma, depression, and sleeping disorders, all of those other conditions will also be taken into consideration. Although one primary condition may be preventing you from working, your overall medical health and ability to work is impacted by your entire health prognosis, even long-term conditions such as migraine headaches and asthma. Make sure that all of your medical conditions are disclosed on your paperwork. This can actually assist your application and put your condition in a larger context.