Filing a Long Term Disability Claim

If you are ill or injured and faced with the loss of regular income, you may be considering filing a long term disability claim. Disability insurance is designed to assist you during this time. Disability can help you maintain your bills and live more comfortably during your time of illness or injury.

The precise rules as to your disability will depend on whether the money is coming from your employer funded insurance policy, the state or the federal government. An attorney can help you decipher the law as it applies to your claim.

Short Term versus Long Term Disability

Short Term disability is to be used in the first few months of disability and may not come from the same source as long term disability. For example, if you are claiming state short term disability, your long term plan may be funded by the federal government or your employer. Thus, you will apply separately for each kind of disability and the determination may be made by a different entity.Depending on your plan, short term benefits can go into effect shortly after your injury or illness and will last for weeks or months.

Long term disability kicks in after you have exhausted your available short term benefits. A long term disability is one that lasts for 12 months or longer.

Disability may be defined differently by the various entities that pay benefits. Thus, your disability may qualify under one plan but not another.

Long Term Disability Factors

The following are important factors in determining whether your long term disability claim will be successful and should be considered before filing a claim:

• Whether or not you are working. If you are still earning income from any source, it can impact your disability claim, so you need to evaluate whether to file a claim based on how much money you are earning. Most long term disability candidates are either not working at all or make very little money. However, in some cases, if you have suffered a significant drop in income due to illness or injury, you may be eligible for partial benefits.
• How severe your condition is will be a consideration.
• If you are unable to physically do the work you did previously, you are more likely to be successful on a claim.

Getting Legal Help

If you need to file a claim for long term disability, a lawyer familiar with the paperwork and process can help you ensure that you are successful in obtaining the money you need. A lawyer will assist you with any questions you have about the process and guide you through it with confidence.