Denied Disability For Treatment Non-Compliance? 6 Reasons You Are Justified To Do So
Posted on: 18 May 2017
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If you recently filed for disability benefits, your doctor advised you to stick to your medical treatment plan. If however, you do not continue to follow your doctor's prescribed treatment path, Social Security can deny your claim. It is assumed you are able to work after all since you did not:
- Take your medication
- Undergo any recommended surgery
- Follow other treatment advice, such as attend physical therapy
Fortunately, you may still be able to collect disability if it is determined that you stopped your treatment in any way due to certain justifications. Here are 6 reasons why failure to follow your doctor's treatment may not be held against you for disability.
1. You are unable to afford the treatment or medicine. Social security might consider this reason compelling if you show you cannot afford your doctor's care. This is only after you prove you do not have health insurance, could not receive Medicaid, and there are no low-cost, free, charitable or subsidized clinics near you.
2. Your religious beliefs are violated. In order to use this justification, you must prove you are a member of that religious affiliation. Then, you have to show how your medical treatment violates your church's teachings. Your church authority can provide this statement for you.
3. Doctors Give Conflicting Advice. If you are seeing more than one physician for your medical condition, one of more doctors may disagree on your treatment course. If this happens, it may be good cause for showing you refused or stopped your treatment.
4. Mental Illness Symptom. If you suffer from a mental illness, and one symptom of your disease is failing to continue treatment, you may be able to justify your medical non-compliance. Your mental health physician can give his or her opinion to Social Security regarding this.
5. Extreme Fear. If your physician can prove that you have an extreme fear of surgery, you may be able to waive non-compliance. This fear must be well-documented. You might even seek treatment of counseling for it.
6. Very Risky Surgery. Your doctor may have prescribed a surgery option that is beyond an unavoidable, ordinary surgical risk. One example of this may be experimental surgery, which will probably not hurt your disability chances.
If you have not been following your doctor's prescribed treatment for medication plan for disability, you may be able to prove you had justification to do so. Talk to a disability attorney like those at Gieg Law Offices to see whether you can avoid having your disability claim denied.