When employers try to skimp on long term disability benefits, workers lose out.
It’s becoming a problem. Employees are discovering that their long term disability benefits just aren’t adding up. Recent studies are showing that coverage for disability benefits in the long term is scant, especially in companies employing less than a hundred workers.
Obviously, most employers don’t see this as a major problem. In fact, many might consider it to be ingenious budgeting: cut the benefits, and boost the bottom line. But employees are beginning to be fed up, and many individuals are beginning to go out and seek a lawyer for their long term disability benefit coverage.
What is a long term disability? Essentially, it is any job-related injury that puts the worker out for a year or more.
Of course, the time that is most appropriate for a long term disability benefit lawyer is when filing a claim. While a disabling injury on the job can be a traumatizing experience, the financial fallout can be disastrous. Oftentimes employers are extremely reluctant to shell out money for long term disability claims, despite the fact that an injured employee has an insurance benefit provided in his or her contract.
At this point, it is extremely important to contact a disability lawyer who specializes in long term benefit coverage. Unfortunately, it really is possible to contact a lawyer too late. This means that the help you receive will not be what it could be. Before accepting a job, consult a lawyer whose expertise lies in long term disability. This professional will then be able to tell you whether or not the contract is worth signing – and what will happen if a long term disabling injury actually does occur.
Unfortunately, studies show that the majority of small time employers skimp on the benefits simply because they never really see it coming. After all, it’s somewhat unlikely that a workforce of 10, 20, 30, 50 or 100 will ever experience a single long term disability – but that’s no excuse not to have the coverage in place. Once an injury occurs, it means that the person affected will never be able live normally again.
A quick look at the statistics is, in a word, frightening. According to one study, much less than half of the employers with over 10 employees have any sort of long term disability benefit coverage. This, obviously, puts the lawyer and his or her client at a disadvantage when it comes to filing the claim or lawsuit and getting back the money that the permanently disabled client needs to survive.
Of course, the obvious response to this sort of news goes something like this: don’t be like that client. Make sure you have coverage for a being disabled over the long term. Make the job of your attorney easier.
Unfortunately, however, it’s not that simple. In an increasingly unstable economy in which only a fraction of the employers are actually giving real benefits for this serious aspect of insurance coverage (long term disability), it’s pretty much a terrible situation for the employees of the United States. Currently, over 80% of Americans who work have long term disability coverage that does not meet their needs, or have none at all.
And, obviously, nearly three quarters of workers in the United States found that they would be financially ruined if they had to miss work for a year or more, due to a long lasting disability sustained in the workplace. The most shocking just under half of the people surveyed in this recent study proved
There is, however, some silver lining to this cloud. The number of disability attorneys and lawyers available to file claims for long term coverage is increasing annually. If you have been injured and disabled for a year or more, then it is extremely important to contact a professional who will give you quality legal representation.
Not only does this give you a fighting chance when it comes to claiming your benefits from your employer after being injured on the job, but it also, in a more general sense, has the potential to create a cultural change that is necessary for improving everybody’s rights. Through litigation and representation, a lawyer can actively promote disability benefits coverage for those who are in it for the long term. | 
