Functional capacity
What you can and cannot do in real life — especially material work duties.
Ladder step 3: What work requires — Which duties can you no longer perform, and why?
This is
- Attendance, stamina, cognition, safety, reliability, travel tolerance
- The evidence insurers often say is 'missing'
ClaimBuddy resources
Cross-links to Clinical Atlas, glossary, traps, and policy terms — hover for a quick summary.
How do you know?
Practical signs that this term applies to your situation — not legal advice.
- You can list specific duties you cannot perform — with frequency and severity.
- Symptoms map to tasks: fatigue → full workday; panic → client meetings.
- Employer or colleague observations match your functional limits.
What triggers it?
Events or thresholds that typically activate this concept in a claim.
- Insurer requests occupational questionnaire or IME focused on duties.
- Own-occupation test requires proof you cannot do your actual role.
- Building the duty-impact matrix in ClaimBuddy links symptoms to material duties.
Check yourself
Highlighted words link to language-map explainers.
- Can I name five material duties and say which I cannot do — and why?
- Would a stranger understand my role from duties, not just my job title ?
- Is my evidence about home tasks (ADL) or about work tasks?
How this links to other terms
Functional capacity is always tied to what your job actually requires.
Each limitation links one symptom to one blocked duty.
Medical facts mean little until translated into duty impact.
Functional evidence shows why you are incapacitated for policy purposes.
Under own-occupation wording, disability is shown through functional failure.
ADL tests home tasks; IP usually needs work-function proof.
Evidence
Duty-impact statement, OT report, detailed doctor questionnaire
Often mixed with
Confusion drill-downs
Side-by-side guides for pairs people mix up with Functional capacity.
"Cannot manage client deadlines, supervision, or site travel" = functional, not just medical.