Philadelphia Social Security Disability Law Blog

People make mistakes all the time. Even responsible and careful Philadelphia drivers will, from time to time, blow a red light or totally miss the fact that the traffic in front of them has come to a stop. On other occasions, a worker in one of the area's many factories or construction sites may just forget about taking an important safety step.

Unfortunately, these little mistakes can lead to severe and even disabling injuries. If the accident is the person's own fault, options for financial support may be limited. Worker's compensation may not be available, and a person may not have good health insurance. Moreover, there will likely be a need for income if an injury is serious enough to keep a person out of work indefinitely.

The concept of post-traumatic stress disorder originally came to light as mental health professionals treated combat veterans returning from war. Indeed, the horror of battle is one thing that can trigger PTSD. However, as time has gone on, psychologists and other experts have come to understand that any number of people, veterans and non-veterans alike, can experience PTSD for any number of reasons. There are, after all, a lot of ways in which people can experience traumatic events.

Someone who is bullied at school or someone who has been mugged, for instance, can have PTSD, as can someone who had a difficult childhood. Even a paramedic responding to a car accident or a rescuer involved in a natural disaster can experience PTSD. PTSD can develop over the long-term as well, such as when a person experiences ongoing exposure to trauma.

A new regulatory proposal, currently being floated between the President's team and the Social Security Administration, may lead to a regulation that will authorize or even require the Administration to examine social media posts when reviewing disability benefits and claims. Currently, the Administration only does so when there is already some suspicion of fraud or abuse.

For those in favor of the measure, the concern is that many people in Philadelphia, and throughout the rest of the country, are gaming the disability system. In other words, they may claim they have a debilitating injury but are in fact perfectly able to carry on with their normal life, and work, activities.

Losing one's job can be a difficult experience all by itself. However, it can be even more difficult if the job loss was due to a disability that was a result of a work-related injury. As readers may know, a disabled worker may be entitled to workers' compensation per Pennsylvania law, but the money received from such benefits is often not enough to meet the various expenses that arise after a disabling injury.

Thankfully, most workers pay Social Security taxes, making them eligible for Social Security benefits when facing financial challenges resulting from a disabling injury that eventually leads to job loss. The Social Security Administration runs the Social Security Disability Insurance program and will grant benefits to those people whose inability to work is because of a disabling condition.