Heard a lawyer say 'your paperwork is your best witness' in a deposition prep session

It hit me how much my messy records were probably costing me in credibility. Has anyone else had an SSA judge push back because of missing medical notes?

3 comments

3 Comments

alex30728d ago

Wow, that is kind of a scary thought!

graydavis28d ago

The scary part is how many people probably assume their medical records tell the full story. I learned the hard way that doctors often write things in a way that sounds less serious than it really is. If you don't push for those specific numbers and details, the record might make it seem like you're doing okay when you're really not.

grantp2828d ago

You ever look back at your own notes and realize they're basically useless if someone else tried to read them? I had a similar wake-up call when I went through a disability hearing a few years back. What worked for me was getting super specific with my doctor's office about what I needed in my charts. I started asking them to write down things like how long I could stand before my back gave out, or how many times a week I had to stop working early. The judge ended up leaning hard on those small details because they showed a clear pattern. It took some extra nagging at appointments but it made a world of difference when the paperwork had to speak for itself.