The Disability Judge Ruled that One of Your Impairments is Non-Severe. What Does that Mean?

What does it mean when the Social Security disability judge writes in his written decision that one or more of your medical problems is “non-severe?”

Recently I have been noticing a trend in which judges are announcing in court and stating in their written decisions that one or more of my client’s medical problems is non-severe. As I discuss in this video, I had a judge declare my client’s depression as non-severe even though the consultative psychologist selected by Social Security itself identified a significant level of depression and anxiety that needed treatment. I discuss this change in more detail on my blog at https://www.ssdanswers.com/non-severe-impairment/.

When a judge finds that one of your impairments is non-severe, this means that the judge will assume that no work activity limitations arise from that impairment. Even if you are taking medications for that condition and even if Social Security’s own consultative doctor sees a significant problem, the judge won’t consider it.

My sense is that judges do this to narrow the issues and focus only on well documented medical or mental health issues. I further think that the key element here is “well documented.” If you have not sought treatment for a mental problem, most judges assume that the problem must not be that significant.

This stance obviously punishes claimants who are too poor or too unstable to visit doctors and no doubt results in denials for claimants who are truly disabled but just don’t have the proof needed.

So, if you make the difficult decision to pursue disability benefits, recognize that you must have evidence of that disability. The starting point of your case must be on-going treatment records from doctors who diagnose you and manage on-going treatment. Without treatment records, you have basically no chance at winning benefits. #nonsevereimpairment #5stepsequentialevaluationprocess #secretstowinningdisabilitybenefits

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Jonathan Ginsberg
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