Tips For Disabled Or Injured Workers: How You Can Get Compensated

Workers’ compensation benefits include wage benefits and medical compensation. If a work injury inhibits you from working, you may be eligible to receive disability benefits during your recovery. This fact causes many workers to ask if they can receive both workers’ compensation and disability insurance together. The answer to that is, yes, it is possible to collect both workers’ compensation benefits and Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits together. However, you will need to meet specific requirements to qualify for both. It’s also crucial that you understand that getting SSD benefits may influence how much you are entitled to collect from your workers’ compensation claim.

Workers’ Compensation Vs. Disability Benefits

Firstly, let’s address the significant differences between workers’ compensation and disability claims.

How Workers’ Compensation Works

Workers’ compensation, often called workers’ comp, is the insurance an employer purchases to cover their workers who get injured on the job:

• In some states, employers with more than two employees are demanded to purchase workers’ comp. With this, most people are covered.
• Workers’ comp covers workers from the start of their employment.
• In the case of a work injury, workers can file a workers’ comp claim to cover their medical costs and supplement their income for the period when they are unable to work.

It is important to note that to qualify for workers’ compensation, it is not compulsory for an injury to happen while carrying out work duties. However, it does have to happen at work. In certain situations, a worker may get coverage if they are injured while travelling for work.

How Social Security Disability (SSD) Works

SSD is a federal program whose benefits are provided via the Social Security Administration (SSA). After every completed job, workers pay into the SSD through a portion of their paycheck. In addition, SSD provides workers with alternative income if they cannot work due to disabilities from work injuries. For workers to benefit from this, they must be vetted as unfit to work or disabled. Unlike workers’ compensation, a worker’s disability does not need to arise from a work-related injury.

You must have these to quality for SSD:

• Earned sufficient work credits for ten years
• Made payments into SSD
• Identified as disabled by the SSA
• Have a critical condition expected to lead to death or be unable to work for more than one year.

Workers’ compensation and SSD benefits typically do not end until they can return to their regular work schedule.

Defining Disability: Workers’ Comp Versus Social Security

Bear in mind that different State Boards of Workers’ Compensation (SBWC) and SSA hold different definitions for disability. Workers’ comp. lawyers at https://www.fendonlaw.net/ recommend that you hire legal representation. They will help navigate the various laws and policies and represent you if any future lawsuits arise. For workers’ compensation, a person is covered if the work injury hinders them from carrying out the regular job roles. Workers typically receive temporary total disability benefits because they are expected to return to work entirely in due course.

Social Security Disability, on the other hand, is only received when workers are disabled. They cannot carry out any type of work, including their previous jobs or any other new jobs. If a person is permanently disabled because of a work injury, they might be considered for both permanent total disability benefits and SSD benefits.

Workers may also gain access to temporary partial or permanent partial disability benefits through workers’ comp if they have to take up a lower-paying job if they eventually get back to work. In such an instance, the person would be unable to receive SSD benefits because they still earn income.

Getting Approval for Workers’ Compensation and Disability Benefits

After a disability from a work injury, workers should immediately get started with their claims as soon as possible. Here’s how to file a claim.

• Report all work injuries to the employer
• Complete and file a workers’ compensation form
• Forward a copy of the completed form to the employer and their insurance company
• Obtain the necessary medical treatment and get appropriate documentation
• Hire a workers’ compensation lawyer to assist you with your claim and protect your right. And also represent you in case of a lawsuit.

Remember that winning a workers’ comp claim doesn’t necessarily affect a person’s ability to seek SSD benefits, as discussed earlier. With that, it’s advised to get started on an SSD application as well. Furthermore, it can take several weeks or months to get approved for benefits. Also, many applicants are unfortunately denied on their first attempt to file for SSD benefits. To mitigate against this, an experienced lawyer should evaluate your application.

Lastly, we strongly recommend contacting a lawyer experienced in both workers’ compensation and SSD claims. In certain situations, there are advantages to filing for one benefit before the other. An experienced attorney will advise you on the best line of action unique to your situation and needs.