SSD & Longshore Benefits
Maritime worker injured on the job? Get the federal benefits you deserve. Louisiana lawyers who fight for longshore and harbor workers, not insurance companies.
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Can I Get Both Social Security Disability and Longshore Workers’ Comp at the Same Time?
If you’re injured at work in a maritime job, you may be able to collect benefits through the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
If an injury leaves you unable to work for an extended period of time, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits.
But can you get both at once?
Yes.
If you meet the requirements for both, you can receive both.
The only wrinkle is that the Social Security Administration (SSA) will reduce your benefit amount based on how much you’re getting from longshore & harbor workers’ comp.
You need to report your workers’ comp benefits to Social Security. But your longshore benefits aren’t affected by what you get from Social Security.
Both kinds of benefits can be complicated to secure, but they’re lifesavers when you can’t work because of an injury on the job.
The Workers’ Compensation, LLC, law firm has attorneys who can help you with both.
If you live in Metairie, New Orleans, Hammond, the Northshore, Baton Rouge, Houma, Lafayette, Alexandria, Shreveport, Monroe, or anywhere else in Louisiana, talk to us.
Workers’ Comp Is What We Do.
How Does Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Comp Work?
If you work around piers, docks, wharves, and port terminals, you may be covered by longshore & harbor workers’ comp.
The Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, which created these benefits, is a federal law that gives you even greater protection than jobs covered by state workers’ comp.
An insurance company for your employer pays for benefits, such as these:
- Payment for your lost wages when you can’t work (at two-thirds of your previous pay)
- Medical treatment to recover from your injury
- Vocational rehabilitation to transition back to work
The requirements to get benefits are that you were injured on the job in a qualifying type of maritime occupation.
The process of filing for benefits is overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor. Disability benefits, meanwhile, are run by a different part of the federal government, the Social Security Administration (SSA).
If you’re wondering whether you qualify for either program, you can get attorneys from Workers’ Compensation, LLC, to look at your case and let you know where you stand, free of charge.
How Does Social Security Disability Work?
These are the basics of the Social Security Disability program:
- You qualify by working and paying into the Social Security system.
- To get benefits, you must be unable to work in any job because of health problems.
- Unlike workers’ comp, qualifying health problems can be anything that keeps you from working. (Your injuries and other conditions don’t have to be work related.)
- You must be unable to work for at least a year.
- Benefits pay monthly checks, which are calculated based on your past income but could be less than the lost wages you get from workers’ comp.
- Social Security Disability also qualifies you to receive Medicare health coverage. (Or Medicaid if you qualify for a different program, Supplemental Security Income [SSI]).
Social Security Disability and longshore benefits are two hard-to-navigate programs established by the federal government.
While workers’ comp benefits should begin quickly after your injury, approval for your Social Security Disability benefits can take a long time.
But it’s a good idea to apply for disability because benefits last as long as you can’t work, up to retirement age. Workers’ comp benefits often end before then.
If your longshore benefits end, Social Security would raise you what you get in disability benefits to the full amount.
Experienced workers’ compensation lawyers know how to get you through these processes and maximize your benefits after an injury on the job.
Objectively, this was the most effective law firm I’ve ever dealt with… and I was fully confident after just our first consultation that they were going to make problems disappear. Lo and behold, they did.
Joel Russel
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“Objectively, this was the most effective law firm I’ve ever dealt with… and I was fully confident after just our first consultation that they were going to make problems disappear. Lo and behold, they did.”
Joel Russel
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“I really did have a great lawyer, and I was entirely confident in him the whole time… I’m also lucky in that it was Workers’ Compensation, LLC, that I called first when my job decided I didn’t deserve workers’ compensation.”
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