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A series of articles emphasizing practical
knowledge you can't find in practice guides
and interviews with experts who share
their techniques for effective and efficient
case management
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Articles emphasizing practical knowledge you
can't find in practice guides
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Profiles of people who changed workers’
compensation law.
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• Warren
Schneider
• Marjory Harris
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HARRIS: What are you looking for in particular
in
the subpoenaed records?
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CRAW:
I am looking for objective findings that support
the claimant’s allegations – i.e., MRI reports,
X-rays,
diagnostic test results, medical reports for
hospitalizations or discharge, reports of
examinations using the SOAP procedure, referral
reports of medical specialists.
I am looking for chronologies of clinic and doctor
visits that help to demonstrate the length of time of
the illness or injury and the Claimant’s attempts at
securing help – regardless of the claimant’s
subjective beliefs that “nothing can be done for me.”
Without a demonstration that the claimant has
sought medical help in a reasonably diligent and
responsible manner, the SSA can attack his/her
credibility – i.e., “If it is so bad, why didn’t
you go to
the doctor?”
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HARRIS: Is there some
special method you use for following up on items you discover
in the records?
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CRAW:
Yes. I closely question the claimant about the
selected record items and/or, if possible, I contact
the treating source directly. I also look at other record
sources to see if the selected record item is
duplicated or addressed by other medical
personnel.
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HARRIS: How do you get
the records, or extracts, into evidence?
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CRAW:
Very simple. I organize the records into
reverse chronological order with the latest on top
and send them to SSA – either to the Claims
Representative, the State Agency Analyst or the
Administrative Law Judge. If they are relevant to the
claim, they will be admitted. In this area, the Social
Security Act is very liberally construed, so SSA will
err on inclusion rather than exclusion.
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