Disability Catch 22 - Disabilities Message Board

penybobeny · 07-30-2007, 10:19 PM

Hello, everyone...

I have been on W/C disability for almost 9 years now... in VA the W/C insurance carrier only has to 'pay' you for 500 weeks...

I get yearly statements from the SS department showing what I qualify for... basically, because I do not have enough working credits in the past 10 years I qualify for nothing and cannot get SSD.

They will be amputating my left foot in the not too distant future... and I will have nothing... no W/C disability and no SSD...

There is a catch 22 in cases like mine... I have not been able to work due to my W/C injury and a series of 19 surgeries so far so I will not qualify for SSD because I have not been working...

There should be a 'cover' for people in my situation... it is not my fault that I have not been working, I had no control over it.

bwitht · 07-30-2007, 10:41 PM

peny,

It is too bad that you did not apply for SSD at the time of your WC injury, but I was under the impression that they take the time prior to your disability into consideration, not the time you have been unable to work. If I am wrong, since you do not have enough credits, you can apply for SSI (supplimental security income) which is income based. It gives you a monthly allowance and medicaid. I know it isn't much, but better than nothing.

ADDED:

I found this info on the SSA site "The number of work credits you need to qualify for disability benefits depends on your age when you become disabled. Generally, you need 40 credits, 20 of which were earned in the last 10 years ending with the year you become disabled."

td9997 · 07-31-2007, 08:06 AM

bw,

Im going to go with the poster and suggest SSDI its different from SSD the "I" part stands for Insurance" thats for people that havent paid in enough to SSD.

9 years on WC wow ! Thats a long time! I was getting WC for 6 mos they bugged the crap out of me to get back to work!

They sent a rep. to go to my Dr visits with me [in the consultation rm] and she called me every Friday to check on me , I said, yeah right

Is there LTD [Long term Disability] at your employer?

Dont give up there's help

good luck

teddy

lizzy76 · 07-31-2007, 04:03 PM

Actually the SSDI is for people who HAVE paid enough into the system to get SS disability benefits. SSDI is not income tested, meaning you can have any amount of money in your bank account and that doesn't affect the amount of money you receive each month. I went on SSDI when I was 28, which is pretty young, but at that point I had already paid enough into the system to be able to receive benefits. To determine what a person's monthly benefits are for SSDI they take into account your age and earnings record.

I don't know much about SSI but I think that is the one that people who haven't worked enough to qualify for SSDI can qualify for. Go to [url]www.socialsecurity.gov[/url] for more info.

Kissa · 07-31-2007, 07:41 PM

Unfortunately the correct thing to do would have been to apply for SSDI the moment you became disabled and were placed on WC. Because you have not worked since then you have not obtained enough work credits to actually qualify for SSD which would have paid a higher amount and is not based on your finances.

You may still be eligible for SSI but it is based on current assets and is a very low benifit amount compared to what you may have been eligible for on SSDI.

To be honest you should have been advised by your attorney or WC to apply for SSD when you first fell ill and were unable to work. Had you done this your WC would have been at a reduced amount offset by the SSDI but you at least had it going for you and when the time came that you would lose your WC you still had SSDI available to you.

If you had an attorney and they didn't advise you of this, I would seek out a new attorney and even see if something could be done. The lawyer may be legally held responsible if they did not report this information to you.