Throughout the process of working with your Social Security disability representative on your claim for benefits, you should stay in touch and make sure that your representative is aware of what is going on with your case. Generally speaking, a qualified disability representative will make sure that you stay in touch as much as needed and will ask you for any clarifications or information that he or she needs to prepare your case.
You do not have to contact your Social Security disability representative to inform him or her about routine medical care and treatment for your condition. Of course, you should keep a log of all of the dates of medical appointments and treatment which you are undergoing so that you have that information for the hearing. When your Social Security disability representative sends you a letter about the date of your hearing, he or she may include a form where you will describe any and all medical care you have received between the time that you met with him or her and when you received the letter. Along with that information, you should include the complete names and addresses of any treating facilities or medical professionals. The easiest way to ensure complete and accurate information is to simply collect business cards and then send them to your representative along with your written medical care update.
There are situations where you should initiate contact with your disability representative:
- You are sent a form by the administrative law judge that is to be completed by your doctor.
- You are contacted by somebody from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
- You have received a letter from the SSA which you do not understand.
- You have returned to work, or are thinking about going to work, whether it is on a full-time or part-time basis.
- You were delivered a Notice of Hearing before receiving a letter from your representative stating the date of your hearing.
- Your contact information (street address, telephone number, etc.) has been or will be changed.
- You have been hospitalized.
- You have gotten a new diagnosis of your medical condition from your physician.
- Your condition has experienced some kind of dramatic change, positive or negative.
Of course, you should call your Social Security disability representative whenever you need help or clarification on something; legal advice is one the reasons why the help of a qualified Social Security disability representative increases the odds of a favorable decision.