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Doctor won't help with my Social Security Disability claim

Hi. I'm trying to do my SSDI claim on my own and after doing some research on your site I asked my most recent doctor to fill out a "functional capacity" form that I copied from an attorney's website. Now the doctor says she doesn't have time to fill out the form and says she has to charge me $200 to fill it out. Is that legal? If it is do you think I should pay for it or what else can I do?

Doctor help with functional capacity form

The doctor is not obligated to fill out the functional capacity form. So the question boils down to whether you believe the doctor is going to say things that will help you get approved for you disability payments. If your doctor is willing to fill out the form with information that supports your claim that you are disabled then it is worth the money. Attorneys who practice in the area of Social Security Disability often report that a detailed functional capacity form often greatly increases the chances of the claim being approved. On the other hand, if the doctor is not convinced you are disabled, or if you have one of those doctors who is not a big believer in the concept of disability payments, then you will be wasting your $200 and probably need to find a different doctor who can help you document your disability. As you may know from reading my other posts in this forum, I always encourage SSDI applicants to contact a qualified MA disability attorney when applying for SSDI.  Good luck.

 

You should also find out if

You should also find out if this doc has been trained to do a functional disability exam. It's a specialty and she should show you her credentials before you fork over $200.

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