Once it is determined that a social security disability claimant is not engaged in substantial gainful activity, the next step in the claims analysis is to determine whether the individual suffers from a “severe impairment.”

SSA defines a “severe impairment” as any impairment or combination of impairments which significantly limits your physical or mental ability to do basic work activities.  An impairment significantly limits an individual’s ability to do basic work activities when it has more than a minimal impact on the individual’s ability to perform these basic work activities.  The impairment must be medically determinable, meaning you must provide evidence in the form of medical records or tests to prove the existence of the impairment.

Generally speaking, this is not a difficult test for SSA claimant’s to pass, but you’ve got to have that medical evidence to establish the existence of the impairment.

Tomorrow, we will talk about which severe impairments SSA considers to be disabling at step three of the process without considering whether you are capable of performing your past work.