Social Security can be a great help to injured workers in the United States. However, in order to qualify for these benefits, there are several requirements you’ll need to meet. One such requirement is to have reached a certain amount of hours of work needed for Social Security Disability.
Social Security Disability Insurance is designed to provide income replacement and financial security to people who have become disabled due to an injury or illness. It provides monthly payments to eligible individuals based on their age and earnings history.
The amount of money that you receive depends on your current age, how long you were insured under Social Security, and whether you worked during any part of those years. The longer you work before applying for disability benefits, the more likely it is that you will get higher benefit amounts.
In order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must first apply for them through the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Your disability must also meet the following:
If you meet these minimum requirements, the next step is to look at whether you’ve worked enough hours, recently enough, to qualify for Social Security Disability. This is determined through Social Security work credits.
Credits are based on your wages. In most cases, you need 40 credits to qualify for SSD, and 20 of those credits need to have been earned in the last 10 years. It’s possible to earn up to 4 credits each year.
While this is an average, there are many factors to take into consideration. For instance, younger workers who become disabled often don’t need as many credits to qualify for SSD. That’s why it’s important to speak with an experienced attorney. We can help guide you through your case.
When determining if you qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance, the SSA looks at your total number of hours worked over the course of your life. If you haven’t worked enough hours in recent years, then you won’t be able to collect Social Security Disability Insurance.
This is because the SSA only pays out benefits when someone has worked enough hours to earn Social Security Credits. These credits are used to determine your eligibility for SSD.
North Carolina is one of the few states in the US that still uses contributory negligence as a way of deciding whether or not an injured party can earn a settlement. The court will look at whether or not your negligence caused your accident. If your negligence contributed to your accident in any way, you could lose your settlement.
Let’s say you’ve been injured in a car accident. Any observer of this accident would agree that it was the other person’s fault. However, what was less easy to observe was the fact that you were speeding. When this case goes to court, they will look at whether or not your speeding caused your accident in any way.
The court determines that if you hadn’t been speeding, there’s a possibility the crash wouldn’t have occurred. Because of this, the court will be unable to award you any money in your settlement. This is because your speeding is considered contributory negligence.
However, if the court had determined that the crash would have happened regardless of whether or not you were speeding, then it would not be considered contributory negligence. In this case, the court would be able to grant you a settlement if they saw fit.
Usually a defense attorney will do everything in their power to show your contributory negligence, which is why it’s always a good idea to have an experienced attorney on your side when dealing with a personal injury case.
After you’re injured at work, the last thing you want to worry about is whether or not a photo you post on social media is going to damage your case. Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in. Defense attorneys know that most of us share every aspect of our lives online, so they will absolutely dig through any social media account they can find to gather evidence on why they shouldn’t pay you.
It can be hard to believe that the insurance companies would stoop this low, but one of our clients experienced it first hand. She had a 10-second video, shot by her child, of her hugging her spouse after returning from seeing her mother who was terminally ill.
The defense attorneys took that video and tore it apart for evidence. Soon they were asking questions such as “You seem to be moving okay, are you sure you’re hurt?” and “You seem to be carrying a bag, how much did it weigh?” These questions have the potential to save their client tons of money — which is why it’s important not to give them anything to work with in the first place.
This may feel like a huge invasion of privacy, but the truth is they don’t see it that way because you are volunteering this information. Regardless of whether or not your profile is public, there’s still a good chance an attorney will find it. That’s why the best course of action is to simply temporary disable your social media accounts while your case is ongoing.
Every day, we hear stories about workers’ compensation claims being denied. Some cases seem legitimate, while others seem entirely bogus. The bottom line is it is totally possible that your workers comp case can be discredited.
Regarding workers’ comp claims, it pays to be careful. There are many reasons a claim might get rejected, but most of the time, it’s because the claimant didn’t provide enough evidence to support his/her case.
Unfortunately, it’s become prevalent for insurance companies to attack your credibility to get out of paying for your workers’ comp benefits. They will try to persuade the court that you are lying about your injury so they don’t have to pay.
There are many ways that an insurer might attack your credibility, but one of the most common is to look at the beginning of your case. Quite often, they will do their best to point out any inconsistencies in how your injury occurred.
They’ll compare your accident report with your doctor’s record and the recorded statement that the insurance company took from you. This is why it’s essential to be as consistent as possible when reporting your injury.
If you’re involved in a workers’ comp case, you need to be careful not to discredit yourself. This is especially true when dealing with employers who may try to blame you for injuries suffered at work.
Employers often claim that you were negligent and that you should have known better than to put yourself in harm’s way. They may say things like, “you knew this was dangerous.” Or, “you knew the job would hurt.”
The problem with these kinds of claims is that they’re usually false. Employers aren’t allowed to blame employees for workplace accidents unless there’s evidence that the employee failed to use reasonable care. And, if you fail to take proper precautions, you can still recover damages from your employer.
Workers’ Compensation laws were designed to protect employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses.
It’s impossible to know which details will be the ones that affect your case. So while it’s essential to be thorough, it’s also important to be consistent. If you can get a copy of your reports, that will help you remember what you said in each. That way, details won’t slip through the cracks.
One way to help you avoid pitfalls such as inconsistency is to work with an experienced attorney. If we get involved early, we can help you foresee any problems that might arise before they become significant issues.
If you have workers’ compensation claims, you should always consider hiring a reputable attorney. An experienced lawyer will fight hard for your rights and ensure that your case gets resolved fairly.
When it comes to workman’s comp cases, it’s important to know who all of the players are. If you’ve been injured at work, then there’s no doubt that you’ve probably heard of the North Carolina Industrial Commission (often abbreviated to NCIC or sometimes just IC). The NCIC is the government agency that’s in charge of handling all workers’ comp claims — and they’ll be playing a big role in your case.
The North Carolina Industrial Commission (NCIC) was created by the General Assembly in 1929 as part of the state’s new Workers’ Compensation Act. Its purpose is to administer North Carolina’s workers’ compensation system.
In addition to administering benefits for injured employees, the NCIC also handles employer liability issues, such as whether an employer has violated the law.
To do this, the NCIC investigates complaints from employees about their employers and determines if any violations have occurred. If so, the NCIC may issue fines against the employer.
When someone gets hurt on the job, he or she can file a claim with the NCIC. This means that the worker files a formal complaint with the NCIC, claiming that his or her injury was caused by another party’s negligence. Once the worker files a claim, the NCIC will investigate the incident and determine whether the employee should receive workers’ compensation benefits.
If the NCIC decides that the worker deserves benefits, the NCIC will pay him or her a weekly benefit amount based on how much the worker lost due to his or her injuries. These payments are called “compensation benefits.”
In some cases, however, the NCIC may decide not to award benefits. For example, the NCIC may find that the employer wasn’t negligent or that the worker didn’t suffer an injury that would entitle him or her to benefits. In these situations, the NCIC won’t designate any payments to the worker.
A lot of people don’t realize this, but workers’ comp claims do not go to court. If you’re dealing with a workman’s comp case you will never see a judge or jury. So what happens if there is a dispute about your claim?
In this instance, your case will be heard by a Deputy Commissioner employed by the NCIC. The Deputy Commissioner is like a judge. They will listen to both sides of the story, consider all of the evidence such as doctors’ testimonies, and will ultimately file a final decision. This decision is called an Opinion and Award.
Whoever doesn’t win the Opinion and Award has the option to file an appeal to the Full Commission. The Full Commission is made up of a panel of three Commissioners. They will reconsider all of the evidence which will be presented to them by the Deputy Commissioner who originally heard your case.
During this time the attorney for each side gets 20 minutes to tell the Full Commission what they should be looking at. The Full Commission also has the opportunity to ask questions. Once they come to a clear decision, they can determine the outcome of the case.
