In a word, “NO.”  According to Herndon Reston area injury and disability lawyer Doug Landau, just because you are getting state workers compensation benefits does not mean you are automatically entitled to federal Social Security Disability benefits.  One government program has no influence over the other when it comes to determinations of eligibility.  At Abrams Landau, Ltd., in Herndon, Virginia, clients are instructed that STATE workers comp cases are generally decided in favor of workers who cannot do the job they did when they got injured.

Federal Social Security disability income claims not only require that the wage earner be unable to perform the kinds of jobs they did in their work life, but that they are also disabled from all jobs that are generally found in the national economy given their present physical and mental impairments.  It is because of the difference between the two government systems that it is important to have counsel who is experienced in BOTH Social Security Disability AND Workers Compensation in cases involving permanent injury, long term work impairment, brain injury and/or severe psychiatric illness.  An experienced workers comp and Social Security disability lawyer will know how best to use the medical evidence to help in BOTH cases, saving valuable time and expense.