Philadelphia How Long Does It Take To Get Temporary Disability?

Pennsylvania law does not require every employer to provide short-term disability benefits. Instead, employers may offer short-term disability as an extra benefit, like paid vacation time or health insurance. Many large companies do offer their employees some short-term disability insurance. If you work for a smaller employer or you are a state employee, your only short-term disability insurance coverage would come from a policy that you personally purchased and for which you pay premiums.

What Is “Short-Term” Disability vs. “Long-Term” Disability vs. Worker’s Compensation?

Someone who suffers an injury or illness can quickly become confused by the number of different “disability” coverage programs that exist. Every state has its own laws and unique programs.

• A “short-term” disability is a physical or mental impairment verified by a competent healthcare professional that prevents the person from working for at least 14 days but less than one year.
• A “long-term” disability is a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that lasts or is expected to last 12 months or more (or results in death) and prevents the person from performing substantial gainful activities (earning more than $1,470 per month).
• A worker’s compensation disability claim is a “work-related” disability claim that is not limited to a timeframe.

Why does it matter? The significance of these differently defined disability claims is that different benefits programs and policies cover each disability. Workers’ compensation insurance coverage is mandated by state law and is designed to cover all work-related injuries and illnesses by providing employer-paid insurance coverage for a substantial portion of your usual earnings plus all related medical and treatment expenses.

Long-term disabilities, those lasting 12 months or more, are covered by federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI or SSD). These benefits are based on your lifetime earnings record and are limited to people with a long history of working. Another program covers people with long-term disabilities who do not have a sufficiently long work history, Supplement Security Income (SSI) benefits.

Short-term disability in Philadelphia is provided voluntarily by employers or purchased individually by employees at their own expense.

How Long Does It Take to Get Pennsylvania Temporary Disability?

Because temporary disability in Pennsylvania is provided through private companies, the terms of each policy vary, including the length of time you must be disabled before you can make a claim, the amount of the premium, the percentage of your weekly income the policy will pay, and the length of time during which benefits will be paid.

Generally, a person must wait between 5 and 14 days to file a temporary disability claim. This is sometimes referred to as an elimination period. Depending on the terms of your policy, the purpose of the elimination period is to avoid temporary disability claims being filed for an illness or injury that only causes a few days’ absences from work.

Once you file your temporary disability claim in Philadelphia, the claim typically takes approximately two weeks to complete processing. Then, you should begin to receive your regular benefit payments according to the terms of your policy.

How Much Will You Receive in Temporary Disability Benefits?

The amount of your temporary disability payment in Pennsylvania depends on the type of claim you file and the policy covering your claim. If you file a worker’s compensation claim under Pennsylvania law, you will be paid about two-thirds of your usual pay. But if you file for benefits for a non-work-related injury or illness, your claim will be with a private policy.

Private temporary disability policies can pay benefits equal to half to two-thirds of your usual pay.

How Do You File a Temporary Disability Claim in Pennsylvania?

Filing the necessary documents to ensure your claim is properly approved can be challenging. If you fail to include one of the necessary documents, your benefit payments may be unnecessarily delayed or even denied.

For most temporary disability insurance policies, you need to include the following information with your claim package:

• Disability Policy Number
• Employer Name and Job Title
• Social Security Number
• Nature of the Disability
• Medical Records & Test Results
• Full Contact Information of Your Doctors
• W-2 Copy
• Evidence of Usual Earnings (Paystubs, etc.)

What Should You Do If Your Temporary Disability Claim Is Denied?

Here at London Disability, our expertly trained disability advocates help disabled Philadelphians fight for the disability benefits they are entitled to every day. Our firm was established by Attorney Scott London, who had devoted his entire legal practice to representing and advocating for disabled people and their families.

Whether you have a short-term temporary disability claim or a more permanent disability, we can guide you through the claims process and take your appeals to the next level of either the government or private administrative process.