Once you have completed your application for Social Security disability benefits, your state’s office of Disability Determination Services (DDS), a state agency that receives federal funding to adjudicate disability claims for the Social Security Administration (SSA) at the initial and reconsideration levels (note that Colorado does not have a reconsideration level), may request that you attend a consultative examination. In simplest terms, a consultative examination is a medical examination, either physical or mental, administered by a physician that has contracted with the SSA. The examination will attempt to clarify diagnoses, the severity of impairment, and the expected duration of any impairments examined.
DDS may refer your case for a consultative examination if your claim lacks medical evidence that would allow DDS to review the severity of your impairments and their effect on your ability to work; your claim requires specialized medical opinion evidence that is not already in the exhibit file; or the medical evidence already contained in your SSA exhibit file contains an inconsistency which requires review by an examining physician.
If you receive a notice from DDS that you have been scheduled for one or more consultative examinations, it is absolutely critical that you attend such exams as DDS may deny your claim for Social Security disability benefits if you fail to attend one such exam without good cause, such as an unplanned hospitalization.
If you would like to speak to an attorney about your disability claim in general or how to prepare for a scheduled consultative examination, please contact our office today via phone or this website.