Social Security Experts

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) often utilizes expert witnesses when assessing a claimant’s disability. SSA may send a claimant to a physical or mental health doctor for an evaluation. SSA may also call a medical expert or a vocational expert to testify at a hearing.

The experts who appear at the hearing have never examined the claimant. These experts simply review the exhibit files and give their opinions based on the written evidence and reports. SSA pays for these experts to testify.

Claimants often inquire about the objectivity of these expert witnesses, given that their appearances are being paid for by the government. As one of my clients put it, “Why would a doctor bite the hand that feeds him?” It is a good question and there is no perfect answer.

Some expert witnesses do make a significant income off of their testimony for SSA, but that alone does not necessarily mean they will compromise their ethics and testify in a biased manner. Thankfully, your attorney is given the opportunity to cross-examine these witnesses. Thus, if the testimony is inaccurate and does not align with the medical evidence and clinical findings, we are able to poke holes in the expert’s theories.

Additionally, SSA is supposed to give controlling weight to the opinion of your treating physician over that of the expert witness.  This is because the government recognizes that your own doctor is better-suited to assess your capabilities, rather than a doctor who does not have a longitudinal history with you. Thus, there are strategies that we use to combat expert witnesses who do not testify objectively.

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.

 

What Does Social Security Mean by Ambulating Effectively?

There are a variety of conditions, diseases and impairments that may qualify a person for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income (“SSDI/SSI”) benefits.  Cancers, orthopedic conditions, heart disease, mental health issues, and autoimmune disorders are among the diagnoses that may qualify an individual for these Federal benefits. What is important to understand is that the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) is not as concerned with the diagnosis itself as they are with the limitations that an impairment may impose on an individual’s ability to work. Certain impairments, like lower extremity joint disorders, require SSA to look at a person’s ability to “ambulate effectively” when assessing disability. SSA defines effective ambulation in specific terms.

To order to ambulate or walk effectively, an individual must be able to walk without a hand-held device that would prevent an individual from using at least one upper extremity to carry items. For example, a person must use his/her hands to operate a walker or a manual wheelchair. Thus, a person using a manual wheelchair or walker can have difficulty with ambulation because such devices require the use of both hands to be operational. Conversely, a person who relies on a cane to walk has an available hand to carry items. A person reliant on a cane can ambulate effectively under SSA’s definition.  

To ambulate effectively, SSA also indicates that a person must be able to walk at a reasonable pace over sufficient distance to carry out activities of daily living. Effective ambulation further requires that a person be capable of walking at a reasonable pace on rough or uneven surfaces for a full block. A person must be capable of walking up a few steps at a reasonable pace with the use of a single hand rail to be considered ambulatory. Finally, a person must be able to use public transportation to carryout routine ambulatory activities like shopping to meet SSA’s requirements for effective ambulation. For more information on SSA’s definition of “effective ambulation,” please see: http://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/1.00-Musculoskeletal-Adult.htm .

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.