IMA Disability

I used to surmise that the State agency has an unwritten regulation that requires it to insist that every Social Security Disability (“SSD”) claimant attend a consultative examination (“CE”).  I have to come realize that because the State agency examiners and medical consultants are too lazy or too busy to read the claimants’ file, they disregard all the medical evidence in the file, and simply rubberstamp whatever CE concludes.  Therefore, the State agency sends letters to claimants requiring them to attend CEs by IMA.

When attending CEs, we have our clients confirm that the IMA doctors do not review any medical records.  Thus, the State agency does in fact ignore all the medical evidence in claimants’ files other than the CE report.

We represent a 60 year old teacher assistant from Brooklyn with physical and mental impairments.  The State agency sent a letter to the claimant to attend two, not one, IMA CEs.  I sent a letter asking the State agency to explain how the scheduled CEs complied with the regulations.  I never received a response to my letter, but a couple of weeks later, the State agency notified us that the claimant’s  SSD application was approved.

Before we agree to represent our clients, we always emphasize how important it is for them to speak with their doctors to confirm they will support the client's inability to work full time.  As soon as we file an application for SSD benefits, we request the client's medical records, and submit them as soon as possible after obtaining them.