You may be entitled to receive workers compensation and social security benefits at the same time.
It’s the American dream: work hard, by a car, a house, start a family, and live the rest of your life surrounded by a white picket fence. However for many, the American dream is just that – a dream, a work of fiction you can long for, but cannot attain.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 31% of adults are unemployed, while another 25% of adults are disabled. Of those, some may seek to get Social Security Disability.
The Social Security Administration reports that roughly 9 out of 10 people receiving these benefits have a work history, and the average age of recipients is around 54. Interpret these numbers, and you’ll see most people who receive SSD have most likely worked for a good part of their adult life, but, as they got old, they were unable to continue due to a disability.
Those who do not have a work history, or have a short one, don’t even get SSD. Instead, they are transferred to Supplemental Security income. The number of recipients of Supplemental Security income was considerably lower than people with SSD.
So, the data tell this story: people in Missouri go to work, probably for decades, and then during their employment, they suffer some form of disability. Now, there are two possibilities here. Those people could have a disability as a result of their health, or some other incident that had occurred in their lives. The other possibility is that they become disabled because of a work accident. While the data does not break it down to see how many people are in this situation, other statistics can tell you about the prevalence of workers compensation in Missouri.
In St. Louis alone, over 19,000 first reports of injury were filed in 2017. State-wise, the number was roughly 100,000. Of all those, almost 14,000 filed for workers compensation due to their injury.
Steps to Take
If you’ve been injured at work, you should speak a Missouri work injury lawyer and file a claim. According to the Missouri law, you are entitled to benefits that can help you financially through your medical recovery and account for missed workdays. If the incident has also resulted in a disability, the Missouri Department of Labor can confirm that you are also entitled to receive benefits regardless of the disability is total or partial, temporary or permanent.
Moreover, you may be entitled to receive both benefits at the same time, as one does not cancel the other. If you are in this situation, consult with your attorney and ask for help to file these claims.
The data confirms that the people on SSD are generally those who need it the most. If you are in this situation, and your disability is a result of your work activity, get in touch with a workers comp attorney to learn more about your legal rights. Give us a call 24/7 at (816) 399-3706.