You may never think that it could happen to you; but unfortunately, you may find yourself in a situation where you are made the victim of a workplace accident. Subsequently, you may be suffering from temporary or permanent physical or emotional disabilities. With such disability, you may be wondering whether you qualify for the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits program. Continue reading to learn the possibility of receiving SSDI benefits for your work injury and how an experienced New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur can help you receive fair compensation.
Is it possible to receive SSDI benefits for my work injury?
In short, the SSA’s SSDI benefits program may not cover your work injury. Rather, you must seek coverage via a workers’ compensation program provided by a federal or state agency, your employer, or an insurance company on behalf of your employer.
You must understand that these programs have different functionalities. For one, SSDI benefits may only be available to you after earning a substantial work history. On the other hand, workers’ compensation benefits may be made available to you on your first day of employment. What’s more, SSDI benefits may be given to you for any long-term disability that precludes any gainful work activity, whether it arose while you were on or off the clock. Contrastingly, workers’ compensation benefits may only be given to you if your long-term disability arose directly in the course of your employment.
Can I collect SSDI benefits and workers’ compensation benefits at the same time?
Say, for instance, that you are eligible for both SSDI benefits and workers’ compensation benefits. Well, the short answer is that you may simultaneously collect from both benefits programs. However, the caveat is that collecting from both may reduce the total amount of payment you receive. That is, your total amount of earned benefits cannot exceed 80 percent of your average current earnings before you incurred a disability.
For example, say that you earned $5,000 a month from your employment. Now, say that you earn $3,000 from SSDI benefits and $2,000 from workers’ compensation benefits. But since your earned benefits cannot exceed 80 percent of $5,000 (i.e., $4,000), then your SSDI benefits may be reduced from $3,000 to $2,000.
It is worth mentioning that there are other public benefits programs outside of workers’ compensation that do not affect your monthly SSDI payout. Namely, these programs are Veterans Administration benefits; Supplement Security Income benefits; and state and local government benefits, if Social Security taxes are deducted from your earnings.
When filing your SSDI benefits claim, there is no other than a skilled New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer to be in your corner. So please get in touch with us at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur today.
