Long term disability means you should be filing on the federal level for disability as well. If you have unemployment coming (or you worked in the correct last quarter as they calculate it) then you would file for that first. But you have to wait until you have no income (the disability insurance you are getting is income) Unless you have more coming to you than the disability insurance pays. Your best bet is to go to the Unemployment office and file and/or talk to a case worker about your options. Usually if you are still disabled by the time unemployment runs out (it eventually will, it is based on when you worked and how much you made in the highest paying quarter of your last work period) then you file for state disability. All of this time you should be pursuing Social Security Disability. A heads up on that - You can be pushed in in a wheel chair and obviously be disabled and you will be denied the first time - you might also be denied the second time, those who persevere to the judge usually get disability. It is a process that takes 20 months or a tad bit more. So you need to get that filed - of course you are paid nothing during that long period however once accepted you will get all of the funds you were supposed to get retroactive to the day you filed for SSI.