{"id":3755,"date":"2020-07-28T16:23:39","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T16:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/?page_id=3755"},"modified":"2023-10-03T12:14:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T17:14:58","slug":"can-i-receive-long-term-disability-benefits-and-unemployment-benefits","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/ltd-faq\/can-i-receive-long-term-disability-benefits-and-unemployment-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Receive Long Term Disability and Unemployment Benefits?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

I\u2019m often asked by prospective clients whether they can obtain unemployment benefits and long term disability (\u201cLTD\u201d)<\/a> benefits at the same time. My answer is: \u201cIt depends on your insurance policy.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I\u2019ve looked around the web and been shocked by many other answers to this question.\u00a0 Most say that it would be totally inconsistent for you to claim unemployment while applying for LTD benefits.\u00a0 I understand the logic as it is often used in my Social Security disability claims.\u00a0 The logic is this: In order to receive unemployment benefits, you must attest to the unemployment office that you are ready, willing, and able to work.\u00a0 To obtain disability benefits, you must be unable to work.\u00a0 At first glance, these concepts are completely inconsistent. You cannot tell one agency that you can work but are unable to find a job and tell another agency that you cannot work due to a disability.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

However, the definition of disability is different in insurance policies than it is with the Social Security Administration.\u00a0 I said, \u201cIt depends\u201d above because you must carefully read the definition of disability under your policy.\u00a0 Under most policies, the definition of disability (for the first two years of the policy) is the inability to perform the material duties of your own occupation (commonly referred to as \u201cown occ\u201d for your \u201cown occupation\u201d). This definition is critical.\u00a0 Social Security generally defines disability as the inability to perform any occupation (commonly referred to as \u201cany occ\u201d for \u201cany occupation\u201d).\u00a0 You may find additional information about this on the web when you search for \u201cown occ vs. any occ<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Why bring up this distinction? Because it relates to the original question.\u00a0 You may be disabled from working at your own occupation, but able to perform other work \u2013 and yet unable to find other work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Perhaps an example will help clarify things.\u00a0 Let us assume Sue Smith is an orthopedic surgeon.\u00a0 Dr. Smith performs surgeries all day every day.\u00a0 However, Dr. Smith begins experiencing tremors in her hands that happen frequently throughout the day.\u00a0 If she has an \u201cown occ\u201d policy, then she will likely be found disabled for disability benefits because she cannot perform surgeries with her tremors.\u00a0 However, she may be capable of other types of work. With her medical training, although she cannot perform surgeries, she may be able to do an administrative job in a doctor\u2019s office.\u00a0 However, in a bad economy, she may have difficulty finding such a job. No one will hire her, so she files for unemployment. She is eligible for unemployment because she is ready, willing and able to perform work (other than as a surgeon); she just is unable to find work.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In sum, we have found circumstances where a claimant is eligible for both long term disability and unemployment. \u00a0 In the above situation, the doctor is: (1) disabled from her own occupation and therefore eligible for disability; and (2) able to perform other work, but unable to find work, and therefore eligible for unemployment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The lesson learned here is that you cannot assume that the general rule will apply to all situations and that you must carefully read the disability insurance policy.\u00a0 Because these issues can be complicated, you should consider hiring an experienced disability attorney to assist you in your claim.\u00a0 Mr. Ortiz has experience in handling long term disability claims. He can be reached at\u00a0(888) 321-8131<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m often asked by prospective clients whether they can obtain unemployment benefits and long term disability (\u201cLTD\u201d) benefits at the same time. My answer is: \u201cIt depends on your insurance policy.\u201d I\u2019ve looked around the web and been shocked by many other answers to this question.\u00a0 Most say that it would be totally inconsistent for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1817,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3755\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nickortizlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}