Can a Foot Injury Lead to Both Workers Compensation and Social Security Disability Benefits?

Can a Foot Injury Lead to Both Workers Compensation and Social Security Disability Benefits?

Most people don’t think of a foot injury as life-changing.  After all, people break toes, sprain ankles, or fracture feet every day and eventually return to work, but a serious foot injury can permanently affect a person’s ability to stand, walk, climb, balance, lift, and perform almost every physically demanding occupation. In some cases, the injury leads not only to an Alabama Workers’ Compensation claim, but also to a claim for Social Security Disability benefits.

Understanding why requires looking beyond the broken bone or torn ligament and focusing on how the injury affects a person’s ability to function.

Foot Injuries Are Common in Physically Demanding Occupations

During more than 30 years of representing injured workers throughout Alabama, we have handled numerous claims involving serious foot and ankle injuries.  These injuries frequently occur among:

• construction workers;
• truck drivers;
• healthcare workers;
• iron and steel workers and
• workers who regularly climb ladders, carry heavy materials, or work on uneven surfaces.

Some injuries occur after a single accident, such as a fall from a ladder or a heavy object crushing the foot.  Others develop over time from repetitive stress.

Common Foot and Ankle Injuries

Serious work-related foot injuries may include:

• fractures;
• Lisfranc injuries;
• Achilles tendon ruptures;
• plantar fascia injuries;
• ligament tears;
• ankle instability;
• crush injuries;
• nerve injuries; and
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

Some workers recover completely.  Others continue to experience chronic pain, swelling, stiffness, numbness, and difficulty walking long after the injury has healed.

A Foot Injury Affects More Than the Foot

When your foot hurts, you naturally begin walking differently.  You may:

• limp;
• shorten your stride;
• place more weight on the opposite leg;
• avoid pushing off with the injured foot; or
• rely on a cane or other assistive device.

Those changes often place abnormal stress on other parts of the body.

Over time, an altered gait may contribute to:

• knee pain;
• hip pain;
• lower back pain;
• balance problems;
• fatigue; or
• additional orthopedic problems.

The body is designed to move as a coordinated system. When one weight-bearing joint stops functioning normally, other body parts often compensate.

Why Foot Injuries Can Become More Complicated in Workers’ Compensation Cases

Under Alabama Workers’ Compensation law, injuries involving the foot or leg are often treated as scheduled injuries because those body parts appear in the statutory schedule; however, not every case remains that simple.

Questions sometimes arise when:

• chronic pain affects the body as a whole;
• an altered gait produces secondary injuries involving the knee, hip, or back;
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome develops;
• permanent balance problems occur; or
• the effects of the injury extend beyond the scheduled member.

Those situations frequently require careful medical and legal analysis.

Work Restrictions Often Matter More Than the Diagnosis

One of the most important questions after a serious foot injury is not “What bone was broken?”  Instead, it is:

“What can the worker safely do now?”

Following treatment or surgery, physicians may permanently restrict a worker from:

• prolonged standing;
• prolonged walking;
• climbing;
• working on uneven surfaces;
• repetitive squatting;
• heavy lifting; or
• jobs requiring frequent pushing or pulling.

Those restrictions may permanently prevent a worker from returning to physically demanding occupations.

Standing and Walking Are Critical in Social Security Disability Cases

Many people assume that if they can still stand for short periods of time, they should be able to continue working, but competitive employment often requires much more.

Social Security classifies work according to its physical demands, including sedentary, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy work.

For example, light work generally requires a person to stand or walk for a substantial part of the workday, often about six hours during an eight-hour workday.  That means a worker who can stand for only brief periods or who must frequently sit because of foot pain may be unable to perform many light occupations.  Likewise, workers limited in standing, walking, balancing, or climbing may find that the range of jobs they can perform is significantly reduced.

When a Foot Injury May Lead to Social Security Disability

Most foot injuries do not qualify someone for Social Security Disability benefits.  Most heal successfully, but some do not.

Imagine a 61-year-old construction worker who suffers a severe crush injury to the foot.  Despite multiple surgeries, the worker continues to experience chronic pain, requires a cane for prolonged walking, and can stand for only short periods before needing to sit.

The altered gait has also produced chronic hip and lower back pain.

The worker has spent forty years performing heavy labor and has no experience performing office work.  The issue is no longer simply the injured foot.  The issue becomes whether that individual can sustain full-time competitive employment.

Social Security Looks at the Whole Person

Unlike workers’ compensation, Social Security evaluates all medically determinable impairments.

The Administration considers factors such as:

• age;
• education;
• past relevant work;
• transferable skills;
• residual functional capacity;
• standing and walking limitations;
• chronic pain;
• medication side effects; and
• other medical conditions.

For older workers who have spent their careers performing physically demanding jobs, permanent limitations involving standing and walking may have significant vocational consequences.

In some situations, the Social Security Medical-Vocational Guidelines—commonly known as the Grid Rules—may become an important part of the disability analysis.

Why It Helps to Understand Both Systems

The same foot injury may be evaluated very differently under Alabama Workers’ Compensation law and Social Security Disability law.

Workers’ compensation focuses on whether the injury arose out of employment and the benefits available under Alabama law.  Social Security focuses on whether the claimant can perform substantial gainful activity considering all medically determinable impairments.

Understanding those differences is important because a serious foot injury may involve:

• scheduled versus non-scheduled issues;
• altered gait;
• secondary orthopedic conditions;
• chronic pain;
• permanent restrictions; and
• vocational disability.

A serious foot injury is rarely “just” a broken foot.  Our feet support every step we take, injuries affecting them often influence the knees, hips, back, balance, and overall ability to remain on one’s feet throughout the workday, and a permanent foot injury can have long lasting effects.

At Powell & Denny, we have spent more than 30 years representing injured and disabled workers throughout Alabama. We understand that the true impact of a foot injury is measured not simply by an X-ray or MRI, but by how it affects a person’s ability to work, earn a living, and support their family, so if you have questions about an Alabama Workers’ Compensation claim of a claim for Social Security Disability benefits- don’t hesitate to contact the experienced attorneys at Powell and Denny today a free consultation; remember. Virtual appointments are available through Zoom so you can meet with one of the attorneys of Powell and Denny from wherever you live, and remember-there is no fee unless you win.

Powell & Denny: We Work When You Can’t.

Offices in Birmingham, Alabama and Huntsville, AL