Are my dependents eligible for disability benefits if I am injured?

You may qualify for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA) due to an injury if your resulting medical condition(s) make you unable to do the kind of work that you did prior to the injury, and are projected to last at least for one year, or to result in death.  Furthermore, when you qualify for Social Security disability benefits, your dependents may also qualify to receive benefits based on your earnings record.  Your children, whether they are biological, adopted, or stepchildren, may be eligible for these benefits so long as they are unmarried and under the age of eighteen (18).  However, a child who is disabled prior to the age of twenty-two (22), and is over the age of eighteen (18) may still be entitled to benefits.  Likewise, a child who is eighteen (18) or nineteen (19) years old and enrolled as a full-time high school student may still be entitled to benefits until he or she graduates or until two months after he or she becomes the age of nineteen (19), whichever happens first.  Additionally, a dependent grandchild who is living in your home may also be entitled to this type of Social Security benefits. 

Each dependent who qualifies for Social Security benefits based on your earnings record is normally entitled to a monthly payment up to one-half (1/2) of your monthly disability benefit.  However, the SSA does place limits on the total amount of monthly benefits that a family can receive, which is genearlly about fifty (50) to eighty (80%) of your monthly disability benefit.