In this 10th Q & A post, I discuss how the SSA determines what your functional limitations are.

Question:

How exactly does the SSA determine the effects of a claimant’s symptoms on his or her ability to function in the workplace?

My answer:

As you know, symptoms arising from your condition can severely affect your daily functioning. But in the SSA’s eyes, merely stating that you have symptoms that interfere with your abilities is not enough to win approval. The SSA, in deciding your claim, has to go a step deeper to determine how your symptoms effect your functioning. In doing this, the SSA will consider the following:

• How the symptom affects the daily activities of the claimant; a claimant’s ability to function; his/her limitations as a result of the symptom
• Location, duration, frequency and intensity of the pain or other symptom
• Side effects of any medication being taken, as well as the type of medication and the dosage taken
• Treatments, outside of medication, for the relief of pain or other symptoms
• Avenues which a claimant uses or has used to relieve pain or other symptoms

A good lawyer should also be able to draw conclusions about what functional limitations arise from your symptoms. Without being able to translate your medical symptoms into work limitations, I can say that you will have a tough time winning your claim. Work limitations are the bread and butter of a winning case.

One last point about extracting functional limitations from your symptoms: It is important that physicians note in a claimant’s medical records how any symptom experienced by the claimant affects his/her ability to function on a day-by-day basis. This supportive documentation will only substantiate an individual’s disability claim and leave little to no room for misinterpretation about how your symptoms affect your functioning.