Preparing for a Social Security Disability Consultative Examination

The Social Security Administration may ask you to undergo what is called a consultative examination. This is not for the purpose of providing you treatment, corroborating past diagnosis or to provide additional diagnostic details regarding the claimant’s condition.

These exams are scheduled to allow the disability examiner to say that they have reviewed the recent medical records before they close your case.

If you haven’t been seen by a doctor in the last 60 days, you may be sent to a Social Security Medical Exam.

A consultative medical exam doesn’t take the place of medical treatment provided by your treating physician and, in our opinion, these CE exams are used as a basis for denial.

At The Law Offices of Nancy L. Cavey we have found that physical CE exams are used to form the basis for your claim’s denial.

A CE doesn’t take the place of a good physical examination and an opinion by your treating physician about your functional capabilities.

In our experience, we have found that: (1) disability examinations are used to provide evidence so that a case can be closed; (2) most disability examinations don’t provide any provide any significant medical evidence that’s useful in approving a claim; (3) that many of the doctors who perform the consultative examinations are predisposed to denying claim; (4) that even if the examination does support your case, the State Disability Agency often finds ways to discount the results of the examination.

So why are you being sent for a disability examination? Disability examinations are used to obtain “recent medical evidence” to successfully close your case by denying your claim.

If you are scheduled for a disability examination, we suggest that you immediately contact St. Petersburg Social Security Lawyer Nancy Cavey to discuss what will happen during that examination, and how you can prepare for it.

Answering these broad-based questions isn't easy. Help is a phone call away. You can contact Nancy Cavey, an experienced long-term disability attorney at 727-894-3188.