Workers’ compensation and disability benefits

People in North Carolina that are severely injured at work may be entitled to receive both workers’ compensation benefits and social security disability benefits. In most cases, however, injured workers receive one or the other.

What Is The Difference?

Workers’ compensation benefits are paid for by your employer’s insurance provider to cover injuries that you sustained at work. Only injuries that were work-related will be covered by workers’ compensation insurance.

Disability benefits, on the other hand, can be used to pay for temporary or permanent disabilities that resulted from non-work-related circumstances. You may receive disability benefits for work-related injuries as well.

When Can You Get Disability Benefits For Work-Related Injuries?

You may qualify for disability benefits if you have a medical condition or injury that leaves you unable to perform your work. If you are in the process of filing a workers’ compensation claim that is being disputed by your employer, you might qualify for disability benefits while the dispute is ongoing. You may also get disability benefits if the amount that you are entitled to receive is higher than the amount of workers’ compensation benefits that you qualify for.

What If Your Temporary Condition Becomes Permanent?

If you have been awarded workers’ compensation benefits, you can continue to receive these benefits until your condition becomes permanent. At that point, you would need to switch to disability benefits.

Do Some Injured Workers Receive Both?

There are rare cases where a permanently disabled worker can qualify to receive both workers’ compensation benefits and disability benefits at the same time. This usually happens in the case where a worker has a terminal illness or a disability that they expect to last for one year. However, disability benefits may be reduced if a disabled person is receiving workers’ compensation benefits at the same time.