What is The Residual Functional Capacity Form?

by David M Clark on Jun. 12, 2012

Government Social Security 

Summary: When you apply for social security disability benefits, the application will include a form referred to as a residual functional capacity form. The Disability Determination Services or DDS will look closely at this form when determining if your application will be approved or denied.

When you apply for social security disability benefits, the application will include a form referred to as a residual functional capacity form. The Disability Determination Services or DDS will look closely at this form when determining if your application will be approved or denied. They want as much documentation and evidence about your disability and how well you can perform various tasks at work. This form is essentially a list of questions with the intention of gaining valuable information about your capability to work. You will not filling out this form yourself, but your physician will be filling out this part of the application. Many applicants that are denied do not properly fill out this form and it usually costs them dearly. Make sure you and your doctor know what the purpose of the form really is before rushing to fill it out. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to not take your time when filling out this form. Make sure that you are in close contact with your doctor and that he/she knows how to properly and accurately finish this residual functional capacity form.

The Residual Functional Capacity Form is a tool used by SSA to evaluate your ability to perform related work activity. It essentially gives them ideas of your ability to perform work duties which are similar to the tasks required from your employer before the disability took place. It looks at your duties performed your disability and if you can still do these takes after your disability. Sometimes you can still perform these duties even with your disability, so the look over this form closely to ensure the proper people will be receiving benefits. Your medical physician will be required to help you fill out this form and this gives the doctor the opportunity to list and describe why you can or cannot perform at work. Simply being disabled is not enough reason to quality for social security benefits; you will need to show that you are not able to perform the tasks at work which would lead you to accomplishing gainful employment. For this reason, the residual functional capacity form is critical during the approval process as well as competent guidance from Michigan social security attorneys - http://theclarklawoffice.com/social-security-attorneys/

This form gives the SSA a closer look into your actual physical and mental ability and how that equates to performing tasks at work. The SSA does not want to simply take your word; they want some legitimate evidence from a qualified physician to legitimize your disability claim and that is the main purpose of the RFC form. This form is filled out by your physician so it brings more credibility to your overall claim if the form corresponds with the rest of your application. If it doesn’t correspond with your claims made in the application, there is a very good chance that you will be denied and forced to abandon or appeal the decision of the Social Security Administration. By filling this out correctly, your chances for approval can be much higher and in most instances you will also have a faster turnaround time on the decision.

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