Can I Get SSDI If I Am Still Working?

Disability law is very particular about who is considered disabled by the Social Security Administration. Most people who work and are engaged in what is called “substantial gainful activity” are not eligible to receive disability benefits. However, in some cases, some amounts of work may not make you ineligible for benefits. In this video, Steve Troutman explains step one of the sequential evaluation for SSDI benefits. Our law firm offers free evaluations of your case for prospective disability applicants, and we operate on a contingency fee basis. This means our clients only pay attorney fees if we are successful in obtaining benefits for them.

Video Transcription

There are some people that meet the listings that are not considered disabled. Those are people that are working. Because if a person is working, now let me give you an example, if a person is in a wheelchair, let’s suppose an amputee came back from the war, they’re missing both legs, they’re in a wheelchair, you’ve seen people work like that. And so if they come into an office, there’s some people in this building who come to work in wheelchairs, if that person is working, they would be denied benefits by Social Security at what Social Security calls Step One of the sequential evaluation because they’re engaged in substantial gainful activity. So if someone is engaged in substantial gainful activity, they’re denied benefits by virtue of the fact that they’re working and you never get to the medical issues. So if you take that person who meets a listing but is working, they’re not disabled, the day they stop working, either by choice, they could get laid off, they could quit, whatever reason, they apply for benefits and they’ll be granted benefits because they meet a listing. To have a free evaluation of your disability claim, call us at (918) 587-0050 or visit us at TroutmanLaw.com.