Filing for workers' compensation, or long-term disability benefits through Social Security can be a daunting process. The following tips can help you avoid, or at least better deal with, common pitfalls such as lack of documentation, lost paperwork and slow response times.
Complete a "Benefit Review" as soon as you are injured or have received a diagnosis or other indication that you may not be able to work at some point in the future. The review helps you to understand what benefits are available to you, how you qualify for those benefits, and what your income will look like when you are no longer working. Completing your benefit review right away will greatly help your chances of being allowed to make changes to enhance your benefits in the future should you need to.
All employers that offer benefits are required to provide a Summary Plan Description to all employees. If you do receive benefits from your employer check with your personnel department and request a copy.
Beware of switching to a part-time employee as this can be a mistake. An employer must make "reasonable accommodation" for your condition to help you continue working under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Reduced hours and reduced pay are part of the accommodations in most cases. (LTD) long-term disability programs through work often tie benefits to what you were earning at the time you stopped work. If you reduce your hours at work this will also reduce your income and the benefits you're eligible for later on, and if your hours drop too dramatically, you may even lose eligibility for the benefits all together since they are usually only offered to full-time employees.
Make sure you are following up with every step of the claim process. Contact the examiner and analyst and make sure all the necessary forms were received, also follow-up with doctors to who have yet to submit their records. This will help you personalize your claim to the examiner and also reduce the time it will take to process the paperwork.
Maintaining a phone log can be a useful step. When you talk to the insurance company or Social Security or your employer be sure to keep a record of the call. Keeping written records is the best way to keep things in order. When people are asked to submit things to you in writing they are much more likely to be careful about what they say, and to be sure that what they are saying is accurate and will be done in a timely fashion. Anyone can say anything over the phone, by asking for things in writing you can feel a little more at ease.
It is easy to get frustrated with a process like this, but be careful not to threaten or get upset with the people you speak to. It will get you a lot farther a lot faster to be complimentary and ask as many questions as possible. Make sure to double-check what you are told; when it comes to your income and your continued health insurance, you can never be too careful.
Moving from work to disability due to an on the job injury or other medical condition is not an easy process. By using these tips you can make the workers compensation or long-term disability claim process a little easier and less daunting.
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