Disabled on the Job? Protecting Your Social Security Benefits
If you are disabled on the job and cannot return to work, you may qualify for Social Security Disability payments in addition to a lump sum workers’ compensation disability settlement. But if you do not structure your workers’ compensation settlement properly, you can end up significantly reducing your Social Security Disability benefits for a long period of time.
Signing a legal settlement without legal guidance can be a slippery slope. It’s important to seek the advice of a knowledgeable South Carolina workers’ compensation lawyer who knows the proper language to include in a workers’ compensation settlement to prorate the settlement over the lifetime of the injured worker.
The experienced attorneys at Joye Law Firm will work to protect your Social Security Disability benefits while negotiating the settlement that you deserve for a workplace injury or occupational disease. Talk to us before you try to navigate the workers’ compensation system on your own. Since 1968, we have helped injured workers like you obtain the workers’ compensation and full Social Security Disability benefits that they are entitled to so they can move forward with their life.
Joye Law Firm, based in Charleston, has successfully represented injured workers all over the state, including North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Goose Creek, Summerville, and Moncks Corner.
To discuss your workers’ compensation claim, call Joye at (888) 324-3100 or fill out our free online case evaluation form.
Qualifying for Social Security Disability
You are totally disabled as a result of a workplace injury or illness. You expect to receive a workers’ compensation settlement from your employer’s insurance company and to qualify for Social Security Disability (SSD) payments. But be careful. You don’t want to enter into a workers’ compensation settlement that undercuts your eligibility to receive full Social Security Disability benefits. We’ve seen that happen repeatedly to workers who negotiated a settlement on their own without experienced legal advice.
Federal law states that injured workers who get both workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability benefits cannot receive benefits totaling more than 80 percent of the worker’s pre-injury income. So if you agree to a lump-sum settlement of your workers’ compensation case without including legal language to prorate the settlement payments, you may significantly reduce your future Social Security disability benefits.
Too many times, we have met with injured workers who handled the initial workers’ compensation settlement on their own without understanding the big picture. The insurance company’s lawyer is not going to give you advice about including proration language in a settlement to protect your future Social Security Disability benefits. If an injured worker is not aware they need certain language spreading out their payments in a disability settlement, then the worker is likely to end up losing future Social Security Disability benefits. Don’t let that happen to you.
Consult a qualified Charleston workers’ compensation attorney. A highly qualified workers’ compensation lawyer at the Joye Law Firm will review your case free of charge and without obligation. Whether you decide to retain our law firm or another, we would urge you to have experienced legal representation to guide you through South Carolina’s complex workers’ compensation system. You have too much at stake to go it alone.
Social Security Disability Questions Demand an Experienced SC Workers’ Comp Lawyer
Workers’ compensation settlements are complex, and you don’t want to jeopardize your Social Security Disability benefits. You should have a highly qualified workers’ compensation attorney guiding you through the workers’ compensation claims process and around the pitfalls. Your employer’s insurance carrier will certainly have lawyers looking out for the insurance company’s interests. You should have an experienced workers’ compensation attorney working to protect your Social Security Disability benefits too.
If you’ve been injured in a South Carolina workplace accident, you can trust the dedicated attorneys at the Joye Law Firm to get you the money and full medical benefits you are entitled to under the law. We have successfully represented injured workers all over the state, including Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Goose Creek, Summerville, and Moncks Corner.
To discuss your claim, call Joye at (888) 324-3100 or fill out our free online case evaluation form.
