The office of Disability Determination Services requests medical records for Social Security claims at the initial and reconsideration levels. However, the claimant is responsible for requesting and obtaining all medical records for the hearing before the Administrative Law Judge. The process to obtain these medical records can be time-consuming and meticulous, leading to unnecessary stress for a person with disabilities. A Social Security Disability attorney, with experience, alleviates theses stressors for their clients, allowing their clients to relax while the attorney and their staff begin the arduous task of obtaining the critical medical records for the hearing.
The records needed for the hearing include all the records that have not been sent to Social Security in the past. The judge and experts may become irritated with duplicate records. Identifying duplicate records, while acquiring updated records, is a way to show the judge the seriousness of a claim. Duplicate records indicate sloppiness and irresponsibility.
Medical facilities often have a release of information department responsible for gathering medical records for any requestors. Sometimes the facilities are efficient and can have records to the requestor within a week; nevertheless, some hospitals and clinics are so busy it can take weeks, or even months, to gather all the medical records for a particular patient—sometimes the facility can lose the request among other requests. When this is the case, consistent updates are necessary.
Additionally, hospitals and clinics may charge for these medical records. It is important to understand there are laws in place, in certain states, that designate the amount a facility can charge for records when the request is being made at the hearing appeal level. An attorney understands these laws.
The attorneys and staff at Hoglund Chwialkowski & Mrozik, PLLC work tirelessly to ensure there are no duplicate records submitted to Social Security, to follow up regularly with medical facilities, and to make sure the client will never have to worry about a bill for copies of medical records.
If you have questions about your social security disability claim and are not sure where to start. Visit Disabilitylawyer.com and get help with your social security disability claim today!
