Weight of a Medical Opinion

Your Macomb County Social Security disability attorney can work with a physician to present a medical opinion in court regarding your disability. If that medical opinion is not given controlling weight (meaning the Social Security Administration approves the medical opinion as its own), you can still make a disability case.

An Opinion Not Given Controlling Weight

An administrative law judge can still accept an opinion that was not given controlling weight, especially if it accompanies a statement explaining why the person is disabled. In fact, a medical assessment that explains why an applicant is disabled is almost always considered more valuable than an assessment that simply states whether a claimant is disabled or not.

The Social Security Administration’s Considerations

The SSA considers the following factors before making a decision about the value of a medical opinion:

• The doctor’s relationship to the claimant (the degree and extent of the pair’s relationship).
• The physician’s specializations and quality of testimony.
• The number of times the claimant and medical professional have consulted and whether the doctor was able to develop a long-term opinion of the claimant’s injuries.
• The types of tests administered (and whether those tests are accepted in the medical and/or scientific community).
• The consistency of the medical results with previous reports and diagnoses.

Veterans Affairs

If you are a veteran, your Macomb County Social Security disability attorney can ask the Veterans Benefits Administration to employ a medical professional to provide a medical assessment on your behalf. The Veterans Administration cannot, however, provide medical assessments to fulfill requests by the Social Security Administration.

Nurse Practitioners and Physicians

Oftentimes, disability benefits claimants receive treatment from a doctor and a nurse practitioner. If that is your situation, you should get the nurse practitioner’s opinion corroborated by the doctor that worked alongside the nurse practitioner. Or, you can get another medical assessment from an outside doctor.

Contact Us

Do you have a disability and now you’re worried that you are not going to receive benefits? Call Macomb County Social Security disability attorneys, J.B. Bieske and Jennifer Alfonsi, Attorneys at Law, as soon as possible at (800) 331-3530. They have the knowledge and experience to walk you through the disability benefits process.