Am I Eligible for Railroad Retirement Board Disability Benefits?
Are you a railroad employee unable to work because of an injury or illness? If so, you may be eligible for disability benefits through the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).
Railroad carriers employ thousands of people in the Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri areas and nationwide. These include employees of Union Pacific (UP), Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), and Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSRC). If you are employed by one of these railroads, and you are unable to work, you may be entitled to benefits.
The RRB offers disability benefits to employees whose medical conditions keep them out of work. There are two different kinds of programs.
If you have at least 20 years of service, you may receive benefits if your medical conditions keep you from working your own occupation.
If you have at least 10 years of service, you may receive benefits if your medical conditions keep you from working any occupation.
With both programs it is important that your disability be supported by medical records. Without documentation, it is almost impossible to win a disability claim (even if you are, in fact, disabled). In other words, it’s not just about your medical conditions – it’s about the documentation of those conditions.
For example, the RRB requires that medical records have exam findings. So calling in your complaints over the phone won’t be enough. It’s important to be physically examined. This is true even if you have been examined before and your condition will not improve.
Documentation of your visits will be helpful to your claim, even if it isn’t helpful to you as medical treatment. This is a frustrating truth about disability law and disability claims.
If you are disabled due to a non-physical condition (such as a mental health impairment or a cognitive problem), it is crucial to see a psychiatrist and/or psychologist. These medical professionals can appropriately document those conditions.
The RRB uses roughly the same standards as the Social Security Administration. Because of that, RRB claims can be similar to Social Security disability (SSDI) claims.
If you are a railroad employee unable to work, our office of disability attorneys welcomes the opportunity to speak with you. We can help you in an initial application or an appeal of a RRB decision.
You may also be eligible for other types of disability benefits, including short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD). The railroads offer group plans (sometimes administered by insurance companies, such as MetLife) that may provide benefits.
Contact our office (located in North Kansas City, Missouri) for a free consultation. We have handled Railroad Retirement Board disability claims nationwide.