• 02
  • August
    2010

Each year on July 1st, the state of New York puts out new benefit rates for workers' compensation recipients. State law dictates that the maximum weekly benefit rate will be two-thirds of the state's average weekly wage for the previous calendar year, which the Department of Labor has determined to be $1,109.75 for 2009. That translates into about $740 dollars a week for those workers whose dates of accidents or disablement fall between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

Some disabled workers may qualify for both workers' compensation benefits and Social Security disability benefits. Although there may be some overlap, the eligibility requirements for both programs are quite different. Workers' compensation benefits are designed to cover a disability or injury arising out of the course of employment.  The benefits may cover both partial and total disabilities, and can be given over the short or long term.  Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), by contrast, has more stringent eligibility requirements and is only available to people whose disability is expected to last for at least one year and prevents him or her from engaging in any "substantial gainful activity." Only those workers who have a substantial work history - in other words, those who have been paying into Social Security for a number of years - can receive SSDI.

While a disabled person might be eligible for both types of benefits, SSDI benefits will be offset, or reduced, by the amount of workers' compensation benefits one receives. Finding a lawyer with a practice in the fields of Social Security disability and workers' compensation can help you ensure the best possible outcome when seeking benefits.