Often, when people get denial letters from Social Security (see example, below), they are alarmed by the fact that Social Security does not have all the medical information about them. I had a client call this week upset that his denial letter only listed two of his doctors (In denial letters, Social Security lists what information they reviewed.) The client was disturbed because he feared that Social Security had turned him down without getting records from all of his doctors.
More Carelessness Than Anything Else
While this client was right to be bothered by this omission, in truth, this was nothing more than a typographical error. Even though Social Security did not list all of his doctors on the denial letter, they probably did look at all of the medical records. The failure to list the doctors reflects carelessness more than anything else. Social Security can make a real mess out of their denial letters.
Men Having Hysterectomies
Over the years, I have seen men get denial letters that say, “Though we realize your recent hysterectomy caused you some pain and discomfort . . . .” For a while, almost every denial letter I got said something about the death of the claimant’s spouse. These letters went to people who had never been married and also to those whose spouses were very much alive.
The fact is that Social Security is too busy or too lazy too much of the time to prepare proper denial letters. But, this is not going to limit a claimant’s chances going forward on appeal. By the time your case gets in front of a judge, we will make sure that judge has all the medical records.
A Sloppy Denial Letter Does Not Indicate A Missed Chance To Get Approved.
There is a bigger issue in all this, I think. It is that claimants like to believe that if Social Security knew everything about them, Social Security would approve their claims. This is understandable. But, the fact is, Social Security is set up to deny claims. They pick and choose among the medical evidence to support an argument that no one is disabled. As noted elsewhere, for example, no one is ever more than partially credible.
So, if you get a turn down letter that seems incomplete, don’t fret. You did not miss a chance to get approved. You merely got proof of why it is that Social
Security is so bad at fairly processing applications for disability. Call your lawyer, do your next appeal, and keep the line moving.
If you have questions about a denial letter or any other paperwork Social Security sent you, let me know.
