An office manager often wears multiple hats, from completing payroll, solving employee issues, and setting appointments. Like any other person, an office manager may suffer any number of long-term health complications that impact their ability to work or care for their family. Those complications could arise from a work injury or from an acquired or genetic disease.
The long-term disability (LTD) insurance attorneys for office managers from Capitan Law can help people with disabling conditions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania understand their LTD benefits and their rights to access them.
We understand that navigating the long-term disability claims process can be overwhelming. We’re here to provide thoughtful legal advice based on your situation and can advocate for your interests with the insurance company.
Common Disabling Health Conditions Among Office Managers
Falls are one of the most common workplace injuries for office managers. In fact, falls in an office are more than twice as likely to result in a disabling injury than falls in other types of workspaces. Falling down bruises more than just your ego. You could sprain or break your wrists, trying to catch yourself in a fall. For many office workers, this means they’re out of work until their hands or wrists heal.
A fall can damage your back, tearing muscles that could limit your mobility or resulting in a painful herniated disc. Falls may also result in a broken tailbone, which usually means a long, painful recovery and difficulty sitting. Or, you could have facial damage, like a broken nose or orbital bones.
In addition to workplace hazards, office managers are susceptible to the same disabling conditions afflicting the rest of the population. Among those that might qualify a person for long-term disability benefits are:
- Cancer
- Multiple Sclerosis
- ALS
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Quadriplegia
- COPD
- Alzheimer’s Disease
How Can Long-Term Disability Insurance for Office Managers Help Me?
LTD insurance offers benefits to office managers with a serious illness or injury that prevents them from working for a long time. Depending on the policy you purchased, there will be an elimination period of anywhere from 60 days to six months. If your condition lasts that long, depending on the policy, you may qualify for long-term disability benefits. Long term disability insurance differs from short-term disability. Long-term disability is to help people who cannot work for months. Benefits typically include wage replacement (usually 50-60% of your average income) so that you can pay your bills while you heal.
What Is the Difference Between Workers’ Compensation and Long Term Disability Insurance?
Pennsylvania workers’ compensation and long-term disability insurance provide wage benefits for injured workers. However, there are several fundamental differences between them.
Workers’ compensation is an employer-paid insurance benefit open to all qualifying workers who are injured on the job. If your employer is required by state law to carry workers’ comp, then you’re eligible for benefits from the first day you start working. You should be covered as long as you have a valid workplace injury or occupational disease.
Long-term disability insurance is a private policy that may be part of your benefits package. If your employer doesn’t offer long-term disability insurance, though, you can purchase your own policy and pay the premiums. Injuries or illnesses in the workplace do not limit LTD benefit eligability. For example, if you get cancer or develop a brain tumor that prevents you from returning to work, your long-term disability policy should also kick in for those injuries.
Workers’ compensation applies to workplace injuries. If you suffer a back injury that requires surgery or a repetitive motion injury to your rotator cuff because of job-related lifting, those injuries would be covered under workers’ comp. You would get wage replacement benefits for any time you were off work while your injuries healed.
How Long Are Each Benefit Paid For?
Workers’ compensation wage loss benefits are usually paid until the worker returns to work or takes a different job. Long-term disability benefits are paid according to the policy. Some LTD policies pay for two years, four years, ten years, or until retirement, depending on the terms of the policy.
Finally, the amount of your wage benefit for workers’ comp varies depending on state law. For example, Pennsylvania’s wage benefit is structured into tiers based on the workers’ annual wage. However, each state has a maximum wage benefit, which varies from year to year. Your LTD wage benefit, however, will be the percentage or amount stated in your policy.
How Can a Long-Term Disability Insurance Attorney for Office Managers Help Me?
Even if you pay your premiums on time each month, you could still run into problems when it’s time to collect your LTD benefits. Insurance companies are notorious for undervaluing or denying valid claims on flimsy grounds.
An experienced LTD benefits lawyer can help you get the benefits you’re entitled to. They can help you in any number of ways, like:
- Establishing that your injury wasn’t a pre-existing condition
- Fighting or appealing a denied claim
- Helping you get the full duration of the benefits you’re entitled to
- Proving that your condition meets the policy’s definition of disability
- Making you aware of policy exclusions and limitations.
- Exploring potential benefits for mental illness that impact your ability to work.
We can also provide legal advice regarding the best steps to take to appeal your claim. This can include gathering appropriate evidence to support your claim for benefits. Appeals can require expert medical witnesses to attest to the extent of your disability.
Contact Capitan Law Today for a Free Consultation
Do you need help securing the long-term disability benefits you paid for? Contact the skilled long-term disability insurance lawyers at Capitan Law for a free consultation. We have office locations in Pennsylvania and help clients in New Jersey with their long-term disability claims.
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