A short-term disability is any type of debilitating injury or illness that can prevent an individual from working, but is not expected to last more than one year. Although this type of disability is not permanent, it can severely impede a person’s ability to support themselves and their family. Without a steady income to cover living costs and medical expenses, anyone who has a short-term disability may be in need of financial support.
Unfortunately, there are no short-term disability benefits offered through the Social Security program (for the majority of people). Indiana state employees, however, are covered for injuries or illness that cause them to miss work for a short to intermediate amount of time. An Indiana state employee who is full-time for at least six months may be eligible for short-term disability benefits. Short-term disability benefits are 60% of pay and last no longer than five months. After this period, long-term disability is an option.
If you or someone you love is an employee of the state of Indiana and has experienced an injury or illness that has left you unable to continue working for a short period of time, the Indiana short-term disability attorneys of Hankey Marks & Crider can help. Contact us at (317) 634-8565 to discuss your case with a member of our legal team today.
Do I Need a Short-Term Disability Lawyer?
If you are not a state of Indiana employee, you can choose to purchase short-term disability insurance for yourself to ensure that this type of event is covered. Sadly, even this precaution does not always guarantee you will receive the benefits you deserve in the event of a short-term disability.
Arguing with insurance companies can add more stress to an already frustrating situation and make it harder to receive your benefits. Attorneys have seen every trick these insurance companies try to use to undermine your claim. An experienced lawyer will be able to anticipate and counter the insurer’s tricks while ably negotiating on your behalf. Therefore, by hiring an experienced lawyer to take care of your case, you may be able to ensure that you receive your support quickly and without legal complications.
An attorney can help guide you in making all of the right decisions while you are filing your application for disability. An experienced Indiana disability lawyer has great knowledge and understanding of the state’s disability laws. At Hankey Marks & Crider, our attorneys are prepared to work closely with you and your case to ensure you receive the money you deserve when facing a short-term disability.
Why Choose Hankey Marks & Crider to Handle My Case?
The highly skilled lawyers at Hankey Marks & Crider have more than 75 years of combined experience helping Indiana employees obtain the disability benefits they need and deserve. Our Indianapolis short-term disability attorneys are dedicated to the success of our clients’ claims, and we will work hard to ensure that you receive financial support.
If you have a short-term disability claim, you need to work with an Indiana lawyer you trust to get the job done. At Hankey Marks & Crider, we have dedicated a significant amount of our practice to working with Indiana disability laws. This experience has given us the knowledge necessary to assist clients like you and ensure that a disability does not derail your life.
Our firm’s founder, Charles D. Hankey, has spent most of his legal career helping clients successfully receive short- and long-term disability benefits and has been involved with more than 10,000 disability trials. Through the hard work of Hankey and the Indiana disability attorneys at Hankey Marks & Crider, thousands of Indiana residents have been able to receive the benefits they deserve, and you could too.
Types of Cases We Handle
When you are filing for disability benefits, there are many different steps you must take. It is critical that you complete each part of your claim correctly, and Hankey Marks & Crider is prepared to help you throughout this entire process. We have experience helping clients with a variety of disability claims, including:
- Long-Term Disability benefits: Typically lasting for over a year, long-term benefits make up a percentage of your paycheck when you find that a disability prevents you from working. You may receive benefits for between six months and three years. The benefits may be extended if you are permanently unable to return to work. However, it is recommended that you consult with an Indiana disability lawyer as it can be difficult to receive these benefits in a timely manner.
- Short-Term Disability benefits: Short-term benefits are the type of benefits you will be eligible for when you first discover that you are not able to continue working. Despite lasting for a short period of up to 5 months, they can be crucial to your financial stability while you are learning what the long-term effects of your injury will be and when you are waiting for you long-term benefits to take effect.
- ERISA claims: ERISA stands for the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which sets a minimum standard for voluntary health and pension plans. This act, which was created to address problems with inadequate employee pensions, can help ensure that you receive the funds you deserve from your employer when you are facing a disability.
- Life insurance claims: If a severe disability is involved, your life insurance policy may be able to act as protection in cases where you do not have disability insurance. However, this is only possible under special circumstances where you have obtained an add-on known as a “disability ride.” An attorney can help you fully understand your policy and your options.
This list is not all-encompassing of the types of disability cases we handle. If you need help with any aspect of a disability claim, reach out to one of the compassionate and qualified attorneys at Hankey Marks & Crider today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Short-Term Disability Claims
Below are some of the common questions Indiana state workers have regarding their short-term disability benefits. If you have any questions at all regarding your claim, contact one of the qualified Indiana disability lawyers at Hankey Marks & Crider by calling (317) 634-8565.
How long do short-term disability benefits last?
Payment of your short-term disability benefits may not exceed a five-month period. Including the 30-day elimination period, this means that your short-term benefits are exhausted six months from the date of the disability. During this period, you are required to provide medical proof of continuing disability.
How do I calculate my first day of receiving short-term disability benefits?
If your claim has been approved and you want to figure out when your first day of receiving short-term benefits will be, start with the first whole day absent from work due to your disabling condition, as certified by your doctor, and count each calendar day in order thereafter, until you reach 30 consecutive days without a return to work. Benefits start the 31st day, if it would have been a workday. If it does not fall on a work day, benefits will start the next work day missed. Your first disability benefit check will not be issued on the 31st day, but benefits for that day and the following days will be included on the check issued for that pay period.
What are my pay options with short-term disability benefits?
There are three options of pay available within the plan. The first option is the basic plan, which is 60% of your gross base bi-weekly salary. In the second option, you may increase payments to 80% by charging one day each week against accrued leave days. In the third option, if you have enough accrued leave available, you may use 10 days of leave per pay period to receive full wages.
What if I return to work after receiving short-term disability benefits and then become disabled again?
If you return to work after receiving short-term benefits and, within 90 days of the return, become disabled again from the same condition that caused the initial disability, you will not be required to satisfy a new 30-day elimination period. You can go right back on the short-term disability benefits and the entire period will be considered one continuous period of disability. You must submit a new doctor’s statement verifying the recurrence of the disability.
If you return to work after receiving short-term benefits and must be off work for medical treatments for the disability, those periods of missed work are eligible for benefits, or you may elect to use accrued leave time to receive full compensation. The basic short-term benefits paid during those one or one-half day periods will be 60% of the employee’s base bi-weekly salary and may not be increased to the 80% level by augmenting with accrued leave.
Indiana Disability Statistics
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22.5% of adults in the United States have some type of disability, and 23% of adults in Indiana have a disability.
- In 2015, the prevalence of disability in Indiana was: 13.9% for persons of all ages, 0.5% for persons ages 4 and under, 6.2% for persons ages 5 to 15, 6.0% for persons ages 16 to 20, 12.5% for persons ages 21 to 64, 28.3% for persons ages 65 to 74, and 51.4% for persons ages 75 and older, according to the “2015 Disability Status Report: Indiana” from Cornell University’s Yang Tan Institute on Employment and Disability.
- The prevalence of the six disability types in the report among persons of all ages in Indiana was: 2.4% reported a Visual Disability, 4.0% reported a Hearing Disability 7.8% reported an Ambulatory Disability, 5.6% reported a Cognitive Disability, 2.7% reported a Self-Care Disability, and 6.1% reported an Independent Living Disability
- In 2015, the employment rate of Indiana adults of working age (21 to 64) with disabilities was 35.9%. Of that age group with disabilities in Indiana, 18.6% of them received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments.
- Disability costs in healthcare expenditures are $8.4 billion per year in Indiana, according to an article published in Public Health Reports.
Contact Us
If you or someone you love is an employee of the state of Indiana or you have taken out short-term insurance on yourself and are not receiving the support you deserve, contact the Indiana short-term disability attorneys of Hankey Marks & Crider at (317) 634-8565.