Long Term Disabilities: Are You Protected? 

The odds of eventually suffering an accidental injury, chronic health condition, or unexpected illness that impacts your ability to work or perform certain tasks on your job are strong. When this happens, long term disability benefits can help offset your losses in income, ensuring that you and your family have what you need. Assessing your risks and any benefits you have in place can help ensure you are protected. 

What are the Chances of Developing Long Term Disabilities?

A disability is considered to be any type of emotional, physical, or cognitive issue that impairs your thought process, mobility, or ability to perform various tasks for a period of three months or more. In some cases, you can recover sufficiently to return to work, though a job change or other modification may be required. Long term disabilities are considered those which prevent you from working for a period of years and are likely to eventually be the cause of your death. 

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), roughly one in four young people will eventually suffer a disability before reaching retirement age. These generally occur as a result of one or more of the following: 

• Accidental injuries: Broken bones that are not properly treated, burns, accidents involving crushing injuries or amputations, and injuries to the head, soft tissues, or spinal cord are leading causes of long term disabilities. 
• Chronic health conditions: Issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and heart disease can all eventually leave you unable to work. 
• Unexpected illnesses: Respiratory illnesses, leukemia, and cancer are among the leading causes of disability. 

What Long Term Disability Benefits do You Have in Place?

There are steps you can take to reduce your risks of suffering long term disabilities or minimize their impacts on your life, but it is still important to have the proper protections in place. Long term disability benefits may be available through three different sources: 

• Social Security: If you have worked a long enough period to earn credits, you may be entitled to monthly disability payments through the SSA. 
• Employer-provided benefits: Long term disability insurance is often offered by employers as part of your overall compensation package. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires plan administrators to provide you with a copy of these documents. 
• Privately purchased coverage: If benefits available through your employer or the SSA seem inadequate, you can purchase additional coverage on your own. 

Reach Out to Our Chicago Long Term Disability Attorneys

At Bartolic Law, we help people get the disability benefits they are entitled to. For help in filing a claim or appealing a denial, call or contact our Chicago long term disability attorneys online and request a consultation today.