There are a lot of dangerous occupations in America. Construction work is usually identified as the most dangerous, although many industrial jobs are just as dangerous. When a California resident suffers a work-related injury, that person may be left unable to work for a significant amount of time. How can a person make up for those lost wages?
The good news is that the United States has pretty good employment laws to help a person who finds themselves in this type of situation. Workers compensation, for example, will typically be a means of making up lost wages when an injury is actually suffered in the course of a person’s job. But, oftentimes the workers compensation that is paid out is only a percentage of the person’s actual wages. And, workers compensation doesn’t last forever. What if a person is seriously injured and they are facing an inability to work for a period of time that lasts for over a year?
California residents who find themselves in these unfortunate circumstances may be able to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits for their injury. These benefits can be the missing piece to the financial puzzle an injured person faces.
However, the Social Security Administration will not only gauge whether or not a person can return to their previous job – the SSA will also make a determination as to whether the person can perform any other meaningful work. SSD benefits are reserved only for the most severe of disabilities. Anyone who is thinking about applying for SSD benefits may want to get more information about their chances for approval before applying.
Source: www.ssa.gov, “Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability Insurance, and the Offset: A Fact Sheet,” Accessed May 9, 2015
