When you apply for any type of disability benefit, it is your responsibility to prove to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) that you are permanently disabled (see Part V, Item 5, for the definition of permanently disabled). You must provide or tell us about any evidence which may show that you are disabled.
How to Furnish Medical Evidence
You may furnish medical evidence in three ways:
- We will give you a report form for your personal physician to complete. In this way, we can get information about your condition from the medical source who knows you best.
- We will ask you to sign an authorization to release to the RRB any hospital, clinic, or employer records about your condition.
- We may ask you to be examined at the RRB's expense if more evidence is needed to:
- obtain more detailed or specialized medical findings about your condition, or
- resolve conflicts or differences in the evidence already in file.
Acceptable Sources of Medical Evidence
The following are some of the acceptable sources of medical evidence.
- Licensed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners;
- Licensed or certified psychologists (independent or school practice);
- Licensed podiatrists, optometrists, and audiologists;
- Qualified speech-language pathologists; and
- Persons authorized to send copies or summaries of the medical records of hospitals, clinics, sanitariums, medical institutions or health care facilities
Other Sources of Information
Sometimes, information from other sources can be important to a decision about your ability to work, such as:
- public and private social welfare agencies,
- observations by non-medical sources (for instance, family members, caregivers, counselors and employers), and
- other licensed healthcare workers (naturopaths, chiropractors, social workers, etc).
Failure to Submit Evidence
It is in your best interest to fully cooperate if medical or other evidence is needed so that the decision on your claim will be made as quickly as possible and be based on the best information available.
If you fail to submit medical evidence that is needed and requested, a decision will be made based on the evidence available.
If you fail or refuse without good cause to report for an examination scheduled and paid for by the RRB, it may be decided that you are not disabled.