One of the best options you can make for yourself is by filing a personal injury claim following an accident. This will help you get your life back on track if you’ve been injured in an auto accident. You may receive compensation for your suffering, financial losses, and suffering, but this isn’t the only type of compensation you can receive.
If your injuries leave you unable to work for a long time, you may qualify for SSD or Social Security Benefits. This will provide you with checks on a monthly basis for the time you are unable to work. However, both claims are different and require a different approach. You can read more here.
Qualifying for SSD Benefits
The government doesn’t need to know the exact cause of your accident or who was at fault when they are trying to determine whether you qualify for SSD benefits. This has nothing to do with another driver. Instead, it is a benefits program for which you apply. SSD benefits depend on your health issues, no matter how they started, but the severity of them disqualifies you from working a normal job.
With SSD benefits, you must prove:
- You are unable to return to your previous job as a result of your health.
- Your medical impairments are bad enough that you are unable to switch jobs.
- Your health limitations will last at least a year.
This means that you must submit evidence regarding your medical treatment that can be a vital part of your personal injury case as well. However, receiving SSB benefits doesn’t mean that the amount you receive from a personal injury settlement will be affected, or vice versa.
Differences Between SSI Benefits & PI Claims
The processes for both SSD claims and PI claims differ. Some of the main differences between the two are:
- Personal injury claims consist of negotiations with the insurance companies, which is not a part of the SSD process.
- Personal injury claims require proof that another person was responsible for causing your injury. SSD doesn’t consider any type of fault.
- In personal injury cases, it is you against another party. SSD claims are not adversarial. There is no argument against you with SSD claims but you still have to fight through the process to receive benefits.
- Personal injury cases unfold under private negotiations and through the state court system. SSD benefits have separate courts and judges that will determine who will win disability benefits.
- The amount that you receive from a personal injury claim varies widely. SSD benefits use a scale that is pre-set that consists of various factors including your past income. This information will help determine the number of your benefits.
- Personal injury claims typically end up as a judgment or a one-time settlement. SSD benefits are available in the form of monthly checks for the time you are unable to work.
The bottom line is that you should obtain professional advice if you have been harmed or injured by another party, especially if you believe that disability benefits may make your case more complicated. You can speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer to help make this determination and guide you through the process.
