When your Social Security Disability claim contains an opinion on your limitations resulting from your disabling impairments, lawyers and judges refer to this as a medical source opinion. Sometimes a medical source opinion can be given by your treating doctors. Your surgeon, for example, might advise you not to lift more than ten pounds. If that instruction is in writing and contained in your medical records, it would probably constitute a medical source opinion. The Judges who decide disability claims must evaluate many such opinions as they evaluate claims.
Often your treating physician will render a medical source opinion. Sometimes they will offer no such opinions even when contacted directly. The judge will, of course, decide the case with or without your treating physician’s opinion because deciding whether you are disabled is an issue reserved for the Social Security Administration. Clients often ask if having their treating physician’s opinion that “they are disabled” is critical to winning their disability benefits. The short answer is that it can be helpful to have such an opinion. But we have won many cases without such opinions, based on other evidence in the file. We often assist our clients in obtaining medical source opinions helpful to winning their disability claims.
Fellow blogger and attorney Gordon Gates has recently posted some good points about medical source opinions as well. We suggest that you read his article.
If you, or someone you know, is suffering from severe health problems keeping you from working, please feel free to contact us. If you are considering a Social Security Disability claim, we advise you to speak with an attorney. We handle cases throughout the state of Texas, but we are always happy to give you a referral if we are unable to assist you.
