Talked to a claims rep who said most appeals fail because people don't explain daily impact

I was at the SSA office last Tuesday helping my uncle with his paperwork, and the rep mentioned they see thousands of cases where the medical records are solid but the person never describes how their condition actually stops them from doing basic stuff like showering or cooking. Has anyone here had luck bringing in a written log of day-to-day struggles instead of just relying on doctor notes?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_fiona4d ago

Hard disagree on this one. Those logs can come across as cherry-picked and the SSA might just see them as self-serving rather than objective evidence. Doctor notes carry way more weight with examiners since they're from a neutral source.

the_anthony4d ago

Yeah but you're missing something important here. The SSA actually requires you to keep those logs - it's part of the application process. They literally ask for them on the forms. So calling them "self-serving" doesn't really hold up when the government itself asks for them. Doctor notes are great, don't get me wrong, but they're not the whole picture. A doctor sees you for maybe 15 minutes every few months. You live with your symptoms 24/7. Those daily logs show patterns and frequency that a doctor's note just can't capture. And examiners are trained to look for consistency between your logs and your medical records anyway. So both matter, but dismissing logs outright isn't accurate.

claire_grant344d ago

ugh i feel this so hard! when i was going through my own disability case, i kept a daily log of my migraine episodes and it honestly saved me. one examiner literally told me my log showed a clear pattern of 3-4 attacks per week that my doctor's notes never picked up on cause he only saw me once a month. i get why some people think logs are self serving but honestly they can be super helpful if you're consistent with them. like yeah you could cherry pick but that's on you if you get caught lol.