It is not uncommon to receive both WC and SSDI benefits, but it is uncommon to wait so many years to apply for SSDI since you last worked.

In regards to the monthly benefit amount, here is a link that explains how Workers Comp benefits offset SSDI benefits: http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/res...s-offset-socia

"In most situations, Social Security requires that Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits be reduced so that the total monthly amount that a disabled worker receives is no more than 80% of the amount she earned when she was fully employed. The process of Social Security reducing disability benefits to account for worker’s compensation is called a worker’s compensation “offset.” "

When you applied for SSDI what did you list on the application as your Alleged Onset Date? How old were you at the Alleged Onset Date? BTW, the maximum amount of time you can retain eligibility for SSDI is 5 years after you stop working--depending on your age and work history, it could have been shorter. So you last worked in 2006? It's been 8+ years since you last worked?

Even if you listed a date while you were still insured for SSDI, you have to have medical documentation that proves you qualified back then. When you add Work Comp issues in, like reports from doctors that are fighting the extent of your injury for financial reasons (defensive doctors that you saw in person and other's that you never even met!), it makes it an uphill battle to refute those claims--trying to do so years afterward might be impossible.

Generally speaking, SS only sends you to a ME if you don't have sufficient medical records, or if there is some confusion about those records. If you've been seeing doctors regularly for treatment continuously since 2006, there should be a mountain of medical records going back all 8+ years that should help document the severity of your disability--even if there are some BS WC reports thrown in as well.

BTW, when you settled your WC claim, did you also take your medical benefits in a lump sum? If so, did Medicare approve the medical set aside? (Did you have an attorney at the time? Was that issue ever brought up? Do you have a SSDI attorney now?) Did you spend the money only on medical care, or did you live off of it? Do you still retain any of it? http://www.medicare.gov/supplement-o...-payments.html

If you are denied SSDI benefits, you can of course exhaust the appeals process. At some point, you might want to consider applying for SSI, depending on your finances and assets (and those of your spouse if you're married) with a later Alleged Onset Date, but the monthly benefit is fairly modest--roughly $700 per month.