Inadequate Disability Examinations

Vance Jennings

Attorney

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The Charlotte Observer ran an article a while ago regarding "hasty disability exams" in Social Security Disability claims. The federal government hires doctors in North Carolina to perform disability exams on claimants. According to the article, North Carolina doctors collected $12 million in the fiscal year of 2006 from such exams. The Charlotte Observor interviewed 40 current and former social security applicants regarding their disability examinations. Of the claimant's interviewed, more than half described their examinations as "hasty, inadequate, or unusual."

Complaints ranged from the doctor only spending a few minutes examining the claimant to strange behavior and strange attire by the doctor.

However, Federal Rules require the doctor to set aside at least 30 minutes for an examination. The article stated that half of the people interviewed said their examination was less than 20 minutes.

These examinations are unfair to claimants and often used to support denying claims.