ISSUES RESERVED TO THE COMMISSIONER

Certain findings in a Social Security disability case are reserved to the Commissioner. Particularly, the determination of whether or not your are disabled is reserved to the Commissioner. See 20 C.F.R. 404.1520b(c)(3). Therefore, your doctor’s opinion that you are disabled--or cannot work-- is given no special significance by the Social Security Administration (SSA). In fact, the heading for this section of the regulations is “Evidence that is inherently neither valuable nor persuasive.” That is an emphatic statement!

Section (3) of 20 C.F.R. 404.1520b(c) gives a list of statements on issues that are reserved to the Commissioner (The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration):

(i) Statements that you are or are not disabled, blind, able to work, or able to perform regular or continuing work; (ii) Statements about whether or not you have a severe impairment(s); (iii) Statements about whether or not your impairment(s) meets the 12 month duration requirement (see § 404.1509); (iv) Statements about whether or not your impairment(s) meets or medically equals any listing in the Listing of Impairments in Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1; (v) Statements about what your residual functional capacity is using our programmatic terms about the functional exertional levels in Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2, Rule 200.00 instead of descriptions about your functional abilities and limitations (see § 404.1545); (vi) Statements about whether or not your residual functional capacity prevents you from doing past relevant work (see § 404.1560); (vii) Statements that you do or do not meet the requirements of a medical-vocational rule in Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2; and (viii) Statements about whether or not your disability continues or ends when we conduct a continuing disability review (see § 404.1594). These statements, if adopted, would tend to direct the determination of disability, and must therefore be made by the SSA, not by your doctors or medical providers. Many claimants don't understand why Social Security ignores plain statements by their doctor that they are unable to work. But it happens. It's best if doctors avoid the words "disabled" or "not able to work" when writing their opinions for Social Security.

The solution to this problem is to ask your treating doctor for specific opinions regarding the nature and severity of your functional impairments: your ability to sit, stand, walk, lift, bend, reach, etc.

Here are a couple of examples of the type of statements your doctor can make that Social Security will consider.

• It is my opinion that this patient can sit for no longer than 30 minutes, stand for no longer than 15 minutes and walk for no longer than 15 minutes at one time due to disc degeneration in the lumbar spine and herniated discs at L4-L5 which produce chronic pain.

• This patient will be limited to lifting/carrying no more than 10 pounds occasionally because of chronic back and leg pain resulting from lumbar radiculopathy, specifically herniated discs at the L5-S1 level. An MRI showing compromise of the nerve root at L5-S1 appears in my medical record from 03/02/2021.

WHAT VALUABLE STATEMENTS MAY BE SUBMITTED BY YOUR DOCTOR INCLUDE: A description of your functional limitations or an estimate of how a medical condition may restrict specific activities. As already noted, a doctor COULD say: "My patient has degenerative joint disease in the bilateral knees, which will restrict standing to no more than 45 minutes at one time or no more than 3 hours out of an 8-hour day." This does not draw the conclusion that a patient is "disabled" or "could not work," it simply states a medical opinion. It helps "the Commissioner" reach the conclusion that that the individual is disabled.

Doctors often don't know exactly what type of language Social Security will accept or find admissible. That's why we recommend a prepared form for the doctor to complete and sign. Yet, some doctors prefer to write their own letters which contain inadmissible opinions that are reserved to the Commissioner. A trained attorney or Social Security non-attorney advocate will know the proper form to send the doctor, avoiding opinions "reserved to the Commissioner," thus making the doctor's statements admissible and permissible.