Insufficient Medical Evidence for SSDI: Now What?

If you have received a notice of denial letter from the Social Security Disability Insurance program due to a finding of insufficient medical evidence to support the disability diagnosis or the level of impairment or severity of disability then the first step is to respond by submitting a written request for reconsideration of the claim within sixty days and to provide them with sufficient medical documentation to approve the claim for benefits.

Submitting Additional Medical Evidence to Substantiate Claim

The second step it to attempt to figure out where the medical evidence submitted was inadequate so that you can provide medical proof that responds directly to that specific inadequacy and, if possible, provides even more evidence supporting your claim.  Sometimes talking with a member of the disability determination service would help to respond to the evidentiary shortcoming but it that is not possible it may be due to one of the following reasons.

• The medical information submitted failed to document the medical diagnosis of the claimed disability condition.
• The diagnosis was properly documented but the condition’s impact on an ability to engage in gainful employment, if an adult or perform fundamental tasks on a level commensurate with non-disabled children of the same age, if a child was insufficiently documented.
• The medical documentation submitted did not support the finding that the disability was severe enough to have a profound impact on the ability to engage in gainful employment or perform tasks on the level of non-disabled children of the same age.

Collect and Re-Submit Responsive Medical Evidence

Once you have determined where or how your application for disability benefits fell short the task is to find a medical provider that can help you to produce the missing medical evidence element.  For example, if the Social Security considered that the disability was not severe enough in nature to impact adversely on an ability to engage in gainful employment then the claimant would want to ask his medical provider to document what he can about the condition’s adverse affects on the applicant’s ability to work.  Sometimes it is helpful to get a letter from a former employer discussing the effect of disability in hindering the claimant’s ability to perform his duties even with the best of reasonable accommodations.

Getting Legal Help

If you or a member of your family has been received a notice of denial of a Social Security Disability Insurance claim due to insufficient medical evidence it may be helpful to discuss the claim denial and the need to submit additional medical evidence supporting the claim with a disability lawyer.