When applying for Social Security disability benefits, it is important to understand the minimum requirements to qualify. An Indiana Social Security disability attorney can explain these in more detail to you.
What Is the Duration Requirement?
One of the requirements is the duration requirement, which states that your medical impairment must have lasted or be expected to last for at least 12 continuous months. (This does not apply if your impairment is expected to end in death.) Some claimants wonder whether their condition will qualify if it waxes and wanes and goes through periods of remission; however, that is usually not an issue. As your Indiana Social Security disability lawyer will you tell, you cannot claim multiple unrelated impairments and add them together to get 12 months.
Denials and Delays
The SSA usually denies applicants based on the duration requirement in cases where the impairment has not lasted for 12 months and it is likely to improve within 12 months, as your Indiana Social Security disability attorney will tell you. If there is ambiguity as to whether it will improve before the requirements is met, the state agency decision-maker might issue a delay in your case to see if it improves.
The SSA process is slow and bureaucratic, so it is likely that if you get to the hearing stage, 12 months will have already passed by the time you get to the hearing, which will give you and your Indiana Social Security disability lawyer an opportunity to make a more persuasive argument.
If your condition improves after the 12-month requirement is met, your Indiana Social Security disability attorney might ask for a closed period of disability.
Contact Us
To find out if you are likely to qualify for disability benefits, contact an experienced Indiana Social Security disability attorney. Call Martin Barnes at 317-804-5058.