What is Objective Medical Evidence for SSDI Eligibility?
Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can be a complicated and time-consuming process, especially when you are also dealing with the complications of the medical condition that is preventing you from working. In order to be eligible for SSDI benefits, you must provide detailed evidence for two separate requirements: a medical requirement and a non-medical requirement. In general, the non-medical requirement is typically easier to prove that you meet, since this requirement involves proving that you have worked recently enough, and long enough, to be eligible (which you can often do with tax returns and pay stubs, along with other documents that may be easier to access). Yet the medical requirement is often more complicated.
In order to be medically eligible for SSDI, you must provide “objective medical evidence” that shows you meet the definition of a disability used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) when making determinations on disability claims. Our national SSD eligibility attorney can explain in more detail.
Definition of a Disability for Medical Eligibility Purpose
In order to be medically eligible for SSDI benefits, you must be able to prove that you have an impairment that is expected to last for at least 12 months or to result in your death, and it must be serious enough that it prevents you from engaging in “substantial gainful activity,” which essentially means being able to do any meaningful work for income.
What do you need to prove that you meet this definition of a disability? It involves “objective medical evidence.” According to the SSA, medical evidence “is the cornerstone of the disability determination,” and the medical evidence used to prove the type of condition defined above must be “objective medical evidence from an acceptable medical source to establish that a claimant has a medically determinable impairment.”
What Counts as Objective Medical Evidence?
Under Section 404.1502 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), objective medical evidence “means signs, laboratory findings, or both.” How are signs and laboratory findings defined?
Laboratory findings “means one or more anatomical, physiological, or psychological phenomena that can be shown by the use of medically acceptable laboratory diagnostic techniques.” Those techniques can include “chemical tests (such as blood tests), electrophysiological studies (such as electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms), medical imaging (such as X-rays), and psychological tests.”
Signs refer to “one or more anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities that can be observed, apart from your statements (symptoms).” The CFR further clarifies that “signs must be shown by medically acceptable clinical diagnostic techniques.”
Contact Our SSD Eligibility Attorneys Serving Clients Nationally for Assistance with Your Disability Application or Appeal
After realizing that you will not be able to work due to a debilitating injury or illness, it is important to find out about your eligibility for SSDI benefits. As we discussed above, a major eligibility issue concerns the details of your medical condition, whether it meets the definition of a disability used by the SSA, and whether there is objective medical evidence to support your claim. Whether you have questions about ensuring you provide objective medical evidence in order to be found eligible for benefits, or you need assistance with an appeal because of an initial issue with the evidence you provided, one of the experienced national SSD eligibility lawyers at the Law Offices of Stephen Barszcz can assist you. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
Sources:
ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/evidentiary.htm
ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-1502.htm
