It’s not immediately obvious to some Social Security disability claimants how they should describe the severity of their injuries to the administrative law judge at their hearing when their level of pain varies from day to day. However, having “good days” and “bad days” with respect to your level of pain is not uncommon among disability claimants.
Describe How Pain Varies
The best way to describe pain of varying levels is to describe how they vary. As with any type of pain, you should describe how it affects your daily routine, including what activities you are prevented from participating in because of your pain.
Describe what pain you experience on a good day and on a bad day. You should also talk about how often you have good days as opposed to bad days. Finally, you should describe to the judge how quickly your symptoms can fluctuate and how long your periods of moderate and severe symptoms are.
Keep a Pain Diary
This is a lot of complex and detailed information, and the best way to keep track of it all for the purposes of testifying in the future is to begin keeping a journal now. Ideally you should write daily reports as to the severity of your pain in a format that you can easily reference in the future.
This detailed testimony will allow a South Carolina disability attorney to make sure you receive the benefits you deserve. If you are not already represented by an attorney, call the Dennison Law Firm today for a free initial consultation.