Does My Injury Need To Be Permanent To File For SSDI Benefits In Tulsa?

Even severe injuries and debilitating conditions can sometimes disqualify a person from receiving Social Security Disability benefits. In this video, Tulsa disability lawyer Steve Troutman explains the 12-month duration requirement and how temporary disability is not enough to convince Social Security of benefit eligibility. To speak to our Oklahoma disability law firm about your disability claim, call us at (918) 265-1404 or fill out our online case review form.

Video Transcription

Social Security has what they refer to as a 12-month duration requirement, so any injury or illness that has not lasted or is not expected to last for 12 months, you could have a pretty severe car injury where you’ve broken both legs and both arms. It’s not disabling because those kind of injuries generally, you recover from those in a matter of months. Even things like cancer many times will not be considered disabling. If you’re expected to recover from the surgery, the chemo, radiation – if you’d be able to go back to work within 12 months, it’s not disabling. If it’s really uncertain as to how long it’ll take them to go back to work, sometimes it’s best to wait a little while and see how the medical treatment goes. If someone applies early on in the process, Social Security will essentially make their best guess. We see it a lot where Social Security says we think they’ll be able to go back to work within 12 months and so they’re not disabled, even though the person currently is clearly unable to work.

To have a free evaluation of your disability claim, call us at (918) 587-0050 or visit us at TroutmanLaw.com.