Importance of Diagnostic Testing

I represent a Social Security Disability (“SSD”) applicant who stopped working when he was 39 years old due to orthopedic, neurological, and cardiovascular conditions that limited his ability to use his arms and legs. His SSD application had been denied based upon a consultative examination, so he retained me to handle the appeal. 

The claimant’s orthopedist, chiropractor, and neurologist provided reports concluding the claimant could not perform any type of full time work. Administrative law judges (“ALJ”) typically give little weight to treating doctors’ opinion when there are few treatment records in the file. While that was true for the claimant, he had an inordinate number of diagnostic tests, including multiple upper and lower NCV/EMGs, cervical and lumbar MRIs, as well as operative reports. 

I contended that the diagnostic test reports amply supported the opinions of the treating specialists. The ALJ agreed and credited their opinions.