Originally Posted by LIT LOVE

Doctors never make the decision whether or not you can work or not work. Why? Because it is a complex medical/legal evaluation. Doctors can claim what they believe to be your ability to sit, stand, what weight you can lift, etc. (this is the point of having them fill out RFC forms.) But, if the measurements listed are not consistent with your medical records, the ALJ can choose not to rely on them. If your doctor performs (or sends you out for) a Functional Capacity Evaluation, the legitimacy of their claims about those measurements and your abilities and limitations, will be much less likely to be questioned by an ALJ. I encouraged you to undergo a FCE, like I do with most people. You can choose to provide them with both FCE testing and have your doc use that info to fill out an RFC form for you.

After your ALJ hearing, the ALJ will set your RFC rating. Your medical documentation, info you and 3rd parties provided about your Daily Activities, and your testimony from the hearing/s will all be used to determine your RFC rating.

By using the answers from various hypothetical limitations posed to the Vocational Expert, and matching that to the decided RFC rating, the ALJ will decide if you are capable of performing any job listed in the D.O.T. The D.O.T. is insanely outdated and proving you can't perform a "job" such as Surviallance System Monitor is another part of the process that is widely misunderstood. Read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survei...system_monitor

It is much faster and less complicated if an applicant can qualify for SSDI based upon either meeting the requirements of a Listed Impairment or via the Grid Rules.

Regarding your attorney's fees, SS limits the maximum amount they can collect to 6k up until the ALJ level. Once an appeal to the AC is required, the attorney can collect 25% of a beneficiary's backpay and retroactive benefits. (Read the fee agreement/contract you signed. Some attorneys will voluntarily limit their fees to 6k even at the AC level, but that's not common from what I can tell.) So, if you were to receive $100,000 in backpay and retroactive payments after being approved, your attorney would (likely) be entitled to $25,000. If they can help you get approved, it's worth it, IMO, but you need to understand how the fee agreement work and the ramifications of such an agreement.