WHAT IS AN RFC FORM? CAN IT WIN YOUR DISABILITY CASE? YES!

The most important form you can put in your Social Security disability file is a..........

RESIDUAL FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY (RFC)

EXERTIONAL RFC - Outlines your limitations on such functions as lifting/carrying, pushing/pulling, standing, walking, etc. This form is used for a wide variety of medical conditions which physically restrict the ability to perform manual or physical labor.

• NON-EXERTIONAL RFC - Details your restrictions on things that do not related to your ability to exert yourself. Often, this may be an RFC for a mental disorder. But these type RFCs may be used for such conditions as vertigo, chronic fatigue, attention deficit disorder, syncope (fainting spells), seizures, or many other conditions.

• SPECIFIC RFC FORMS - An RFC form can be tailored by your attorney to fit your specific medical condition. For example, my office has RFC forms for migraine headache, irritable bowel disease, heart problems, neurological disorders, seizures, Multiple Myleoma, chronic fatigue, arthritis, joint dysfunction, Charot's Syndrome....and many others.

DOES SOCIAL SECURITY PROVIDE THESE FORMS?

No, Social Security will not ask for an RFC, will not provide you a form, and will not take any steps to obtain a Residual Functional Capacity from your doctor. You, the claimant (or your attorney) must be assertive and take it upon yourself to get these forms completed and submitted.

Where do you get an RFC form? The most common source of these forms is your attorney or representative's office. The Forsythe Firm (my office) will provide the appropriate RFC form free on request.

Is a Doctor's Letter Just as Good?

No. Out of the hundreds of doctor's letters I've seen, only 2 or 3 of them are helpful in proving a Social Security case. Doctor's letters are usually brief, much to vague and offer opinions that are inadmissible to Social Security. Most doctor's letters avoid the one thing that Social Security needs to pay a claim---specific limitations of function--the patient's ability to sit, stand, walk, lift, carry, bend, kneel, crouch, crawl, reach, push/pull....follow directins, need extra breaks, etc.

At the Forsythe Firm, we attempt to get an admissible Residual Functional Capacity report in every case we represent. I have seen this form save the day in dozens of disability cases which would not have been paid without the RFC. It may be the most important piece of evidence you can obtain.