Medical Specialists

Disability claims usually come down to a battle between your doctors and the those representing the insurance company or agency responsible for paying the disability benefits. Therefore, the more highly credentialed your doctors are, the less likely the chances are that your claim will be denied

A recent blog entry of mine described the case of a floor trader whose disability claim was based on uveitis. The claimant was treated by Michael Samson, who is widely renowned as one of the leading uveitis specialists in the United States. Unum approved long term disability after recognizing that it could not find a doctor capable of credibly contradicting Dr. Samson’s findings and conclusions.

Your doctor’s credentials can be just as important when seeking Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits. I represent a 47 year old school bus driver whose SSD application was approved in only two months. More to the point, the application was approved less than two weeks after submitting a form medical report from the claimant’s treating physician.

I have had many other older and less educated claimants with similar medical findings and conclusions whose applications were not approved until a hearing, or after an initial denial. The difference this time was that the treating physician made his credentials available. While other physicians may have credentials that are just as impressive, those facts are unknown to the analysts making the benefit determination. Therefore, when submitting medical evidence from a treating source, if at all possible, that doctor’s credentials should be provided.