The five step sequential evaluation process determines whether a person can be classified as disabled. Step three requires that a claimant’s medical conditions, symptoms and test results meet at least one of the impairments listed in the Social Security Administration’s Listing of Impairments. An Ocala disability attorney can guide you through this often complicated process, and inform you regarding the Listing, which is a set of medical criteria found in the administration’s disability regulations.
It is possible that your impairment may not be found in the SSA’s listing. However, an Ocala disability lawyer can argue that your conditions are medically equivalent to one in the listing. There are four situations in which this can occur.
One could be that you don’t have one of the necessary findings outlined in the listing for a particular impairment, but you have others. Another situation could be that you have all of the findings, but at least one of them isn’t very severe. In the third situation, your medical conditions aren’t outlined in the listings, but their severity may be comparable to other impairments that are listed. Finally, you may have a number of conditions not found in the listings, but their total impact may be equal to those described in the listings.
There is a possibility that an Ocala disability attorney can argue that your symptoms, which may not be found in the listings, make you just as disabled as someone who has impairments found in the listings. Nevertheless, an administrative law judge cannot deem your conditions equal to those in the listing until an opinion from a medical expert, who is hired by the SSA, is obtained.
To learn more about the sequential evaluation process as it applies to your disability claim, call an Ocala disability attorney at CJ Henry Law Firm, PLLC at 352-304-5300.
