How to Get Disability If You've Been Hurt on the Job
- 1). Decide whether to apply for Social Security disability, worker's compensation or both. Worker's compensation is available to any qualified worker. Almost everyone is a "qualified worker" as long as your employer has more than one employee and you don't work in the farming/agricultural industry. Social Security disability, on the other hand, requires that you have worked for a set length of time--between 1.5 and five years, depending on your age--in a qualified position. In some cases, you can apply for both Social Security disability and worker's compensation if you meet the requirements of both programs.
- 2). Receive a medical diagnosis of disability from a medical professional. A doctor will need to certify that your injury is severe enough to constitute a disability, for both Social Security and worker's compensation. Severe disabilities include those that interfere with daily activities and that prevent you from working. Both worker's compensation insurers and Social Security disability maintain lists of "covered" disabilities that can include the loss of limbs, diseases such as cancer or other serious and debilitating conditions. Once you have a medical diagnosis, you can determine whether it is covered by one or both programs.
- 3). Apply for worker's compensation or Social Security disability. Both programs have websites that will allow you to fill out the forms. They will require you to prove the extent of your disability by submitting your medical diagnosis, as well as to submit proof of how much you were earning before you became disabled. You can fill out the applications on-line or visit the appropriate office (either Social Security or the local worker's compensation committee) to file your claim(s). In both cases, appeals processes are also available if your claim is denied.
