Workmans Comp & SSI Disability

[Venturous Randy]

Five years ago this last Sept, Laura was filling in as a substitute teacher and while talking to a parent, a five year old child grabbed her wrists and dropped down, pulling her forward, tangling her feet. In an attempt not to fall on the child, she pushed the child to the side and her 1st point of contact was the forehead/cheek on the right side of her face on concrete. She sustained an eye socket blowout. It literally disentigrated the eye socket under the eye. She immediately had surgery putting a plate under her eye. Since then, she has had four more surgeries, all under workman's comp. And, she will have to wear corrective lenses due to double vision for the rest of her life.

A couple of years later, due to degenerative disc disease and fibromyalgia, she got Social Security Disability. Now, the workmans comp insurance has made an offer to settle and we took that offer to be reviewed by a lawyer. Even though the offer was pitifully low for what she has been thru, we were told by the lawyer that due to Laura being on SSI, even though it had nothing to do with her disability, any money she receives will be required to be paid back to SSI. We can either take the settlement and then her monthly checks will be prorated and reduced over a set period of time, or we can take the money and she will not receive a check until that amount of money has been accounted for.

As it was explained, if you receive a workmans comp claim at 25 years old, through an injury that is absolutely no fault of your on, and due to an illness 30 years later you become unable to work, you will still be liable for what ever money you received 30 years before coming out of any SSI payments, even though they are not related.

Just thought you all may want to know this.

RandyA

Edited October 1, 2009 by Venturous Randy

[FreezyRider]

Randy,

 

Is your attorney qualified in employment and/or disability law? I'd sure find one who is. His interpretation sounds off base to me. The link below is a starting point for you. My reading of it seems to indicate that Worker Comp money will only have an effect on your wife's SSI if the worker comp money is being paid at the same time. Read it and see what you think.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10018.html

Good luck, and don't let 'em cheat you.

 

Joe

[Freebird]

I agree. I have no idea if your attorney is correct or not but I know from experience that they aren't always right. Especially if it is an issue outside of their normal expertise.

[kenw]

I had a motherinlaw that was collecting ssi, she ahd to go back to work part time and found out after a year that for every 2 dollars she made she had to pay 1 to ssi. Isn't it great that we have millions to give to the big corps but the little man suffers. God bless the big shots and their corperate byoffs!!!

[mini-muffin]

That stinks, I'd definitely get a second opinion. Good luck Randy

 

Margaret

[RedRider]

To be fair - SSI is there to keep to a minimum level of sustainable income. It is not a disability insurance program in the true sense of the term. If there is additional income, the SSI is reduced or eliminated - as it should be.

 

Take for instance a carpenter who losses the use of his hand. He is eligible for SSI. However, if he gets training in another field - such as a truck driver - and can make a decent income, why should the gov't continue to pay SSI.

 

Agreed, your problem is a different and difficult situation with the serious injury and illnesses. However, the same priciple applies. It isn't pretty, but nothing that deals with giving away other peoples money ever is.

 

Good luck in finding out what is right. Sounds like a difficult situation no matter how the money issues are resolved.

 

RR

[bryan52577]

It sucks but I guess I have to agree with Redrider. This is what I got from the SSI page >

 

Figuring the reduction

 

Your monthly Social Security disability benefits, including benefits payable to your family members, are added together with your workers’ compensation or other public disability payment.

If the total amount of these benefits exceeds 80 percent of your average current earnings, the excess amount is deducted from your Social Security benefit.

Example: Before you became disabled your average current earnings were $4,000 a month. You, your spouse and your two children would be eligible to receive a total of $2,200 a month in Social Security disability benefits. However, you also receive $2,000 a month from workers’ compensation. Because the total amount of benefits you would receive ($4,200) is more than $3,200 (80 percent of your average current earnings), your family’s Social Security benefits will be reduced by $1,000.

Your Social Security benefit will be reduced until the month you reach age 65 or the month your other benefits stop, whichever comes first.

 

Bryan

[barend]

Where you went wrong was not to sue the daylights out of the schol for providing an unsafe work environment and the parent for whatever, failure to disclose a dangereous situation maybe. You'd be sitting on roses:mo money::stirthepot: