Doug Landau hates waste. Anyone who has seen him around the office knows that he enjoys “multi-tasking.” It makes the Herndon Reston brain injury lawyer nuts when clients waste their time, effort or money. However, there is one type of waste that it particularly grating.

As the former Chair of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America Disability, Social Security and Health Law Section, Landau compared notes with lawyers from all over the country. The ABRAMS LANDAU trial lawyer saw that the interplay of Social Security and Workers Comp laws resulted in permanently disabled and unemployed clients not getting back the money they had paid into the Federal system. In other words, when an injured client is eligible for BOTH State Workers Comp wage loss benefits AND the Federal Social Security Disability Income (“SSDI”) benefits, the Federal Government, like many private Long Term Disability Insurance plans, takes a “set off” for the comp money. For example, if a client would get $3,200 per month in SSDI benefits, but is getting $500 each month in comp wage loss benefits, she might then only get $1,200 ($3,200 – $2,000 = $1,200). So, even though the worker has contributed from her pay checks to Social Security, she does not get the benefit of that money because of she is receiving workers comp. Because of this, the team at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. may look at the compromise settlement of the comp claim so as to try to maximize the Social Security payments to the client. After all notes Landau, it is the disabled clients money, and they can use the money at this critical time in their lives. If you, or someone you know is disabled and receiving workers compensation and may also be eligible for Social Security Disability, call us so that we can help them to coordinate and maximize these wage loss benefits.