Augusta residents may not know exactly how a Social Security disability claim is supposed to be handled by the Social Security Administration. In many of these claims, the physician who treated the claimant will provide records for the federal government to review. To properly review these medical records, the government hires medical examiners and records reviewers to assess the records of the physician who treated the claimant. However, many people throughout the country are denied Social Security disability benefits after the government reviewers make their decision. Why?

Well, stricter criteria for obtaining SSD benefits have resulted in an increased number of denials. But Georgia residents should know that sometimes a denial can be successfully challenged, especially if the one-time examination of a government examiner is unduly given more weight than the records of the treating physician.

Usually, an examiner hired by the government has never been in contact with the treating physician or any other healthcare providers that have cared for the person applying for benefits. That is why a federal administrative judge -- a judge who ultimately accepts or rejects an SSD application -- must give appropriate consideration to the provided medical evidence.

In Social Security disability cases, the federal judge will ultimately accept or reject an application for benefits. If that judge rejects an SSD application, he or she must give a reason for rejecting the treating doctor's opinion. If the judge fails to explain the reasoning for the rejection, then the decision has to be reversed. In short, a judge who decides on SSD applications must explain how much value he or she ascribes to the treating physician's conclusions, and how that value relates to the government medical examiner's opinion. In SSD cases, the treating physician's opinion should generally carry more weight than the one-time examination of a government examiner.

Source: Injury Board, "Treating Doctors' Opinions' Weight in Social Security Disability Cases," Doug Landau, Feb. 13, 2012