Toronto Long Term Disability Lawyer

When a person finds that they are unable to work, they should submit their disability claim to their carrier without delay. A lot of it is based on dates of denials. It is what is outlined within the policy. Generally, a person has two years from the day of the denial, but that person should be pursuing their denial right away as opposed to waiting until two years because of course things can change.

A person’s medical condition can get worse and that person may want to try to obtain the benefit as soon as possible. It is important to have the assistance of a Toronto long-term disability lawyer who might be able to help their client understand the scope of long-term disability claims in Toronto when beginning their case.

Types of Claims

The most common types of long-term disability claims in Toronto are disability insurance and life insurance. The scope of coverage is based on the ability to do any job, but it also depends on the amount of money that a person can get for insurance. A larger benefit means that that person has to pay higher premiums as a result.

Premiums can range from $25 to $200 a month, as an estimate, but a person would need to speak with a professional who offers these policies.

Nobody anticipates sustaining a severe injury, developing a chronic illness, or being diagnosed with a mental health disorder. But throughout the city, many people find themselves unable to continue engaging in routine activities, participating in social events, or completing the duties of their jobs because of disabling medical conditions.

In these overwhelming, nerve-wracking situations, people living with a disability often face physical challenges, emotional difficulties, and financial precariousness. Unable to continue earning their regular salaries through no fault of their own, people with disabling medical conditions often struggle to afford basic costs of living.

However, provided they have sufficient insurance coverage, people who are unable to carry out the tasks of their job because of their newly acquired medical condition might be able to collect long-term disability (LTD) benefits. LTD benefits could be available through an employer’s group insurance plan or through a privately held insurance policy, provided the plan includes an appropriate level of coverage.

Most LTD plans provide recipients with between 60-70% of their regular wages. Although LTD benefits only replace a portion of a recipient’s regular earnings, they often provide injured or ill workers with much-needed financial assistance during an extraordinarily difficult time in their lives.

Although eligibility requirements for LTD benefits varies between policies, conditions that may entitle an insurance policyholder to receive them often include:

• Heart disease
• Back problems
• Chronic pain or complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Lupus or Lyme disease
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Paralysis
• Depression
• Bipolar mood disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• And possibly more

Unique Aspects of Claims

There are lots of unique aspects of long-term disability claims in Toronto. What is very important for a claimant is that they have the duty to mitigate their damages. When applying for any type of insurance that they may have access to, i.e., Canadian Pension Plan Disability, a person should know the insurance companies often get a credit from the government for accepting that an individual is long-term disabled. If the claim is accepted, the government is going to give them a certain amount of money.

This decreases the amount the insurance company has to pay per month. There are a lot of provisions within these policies requiring people to make certain applications and the lawyer could help the individual claimant with those applications as well. The application also needs to be completed by a physician that has been caring for the person for an extended period of time. It is important that a person finds a lawyer that navigates or has the ability to navigate these sometimes interrelated policies. There is a lot of interplay between government sources and the policies of which a disability lawyer needs to be aware of.

Duty of the Insurance Company

The duty of insurance company is to consistently review all documents that come into their possession. They need to review them and keep an open mind and really try to match the abilities of the individual now versus their capabilities from before their disability set in.

Claim Denial

Insurance companies can deny a qualified claim if there is a misrepresentation. They might state that in a person’s application that individual did not note a preexisting injury or that an individual was on benefits before, or they did not disclose that they were involved in a car accident when that individual made their application. A denial can be based on these types of misrepresentations.

Bad Faith Claims

If there is a bad faith claim, if for example, the medicals have not changed and somebody missed something that is imperative, someone can seek a punitive award against the insurance company for purposely denying their claim. A person would probably need to go to trial in that case as proving bad faith is very difficult to do.

For example, in a case where a truck driver gets a leg amputated. Clearly that person cannot drive a truck without a prosthetic if they do not have the training, so the insurer denying that coverage would be something that is considered bad faith.

Pre-Existing Injury Exclusion

If a person has a preexisting medical issue that that person did not disclose to the insurance company, the insurer would have the right to exclude that person from coverage. Policies are granted to new employees based on their medical history.

If an individual misinformed the insurance company, the company may not want to give that person insurance based on the application. If that person forged the application or omitted something they might exclude them based off of that.

Working with a Lawyer

After signing with the lawyer, the next step of dealing with a long-term disability claim in Toronto is to obtain all the medical records from all the treating physicians that the person or the client has seen and then writing a notice letter to obtain the employee’s complete file from the insurance company.

Reviewing those documents will enable the long-term disability lawyer to assess the claim and to carry out a strategy in order for the person to obtain the long-term disability. An attorney will also send a notice letter to the company saying that they have been retained to represent this person based on the denial.

Toronto Long Term Disability Claim Denials

The process of collecting LTD benefits should be simple, straightforward, and hassle-free. People struggling to cope with disabling medical conditions should not be forced to endure undue aggravations or anxieties.

Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, insurance providers may decide to deny a policyholder’s claim for LTD benefits. Furthermore, even those workers who initially qualified for LTD benefits may have their income replacement payments prematurely terminated, even though their medical conditions still prevent them from doing their jobs.

If your claim for benefits was denied and the payments you should be entitled to were withheld, our long-term disability lawyers serving Toronto may be able to help. Our Toronto long-term disability lawyers have a history of standing up to unfair insurers and fighting on behalf of the clients we represent.

Beginning a legal battle against an insurance company may seem like an impossible task. However, if successful, our Toronto long-term disability lawyers may be able to help you recover compensation for:

• Previously denied benefits payments
• Legal fees
• Damages you have incurred as a result of your claim’s initial denial
• Punitive damages
• And possibly more

To schedule a free initial consultation with our long-term disability lawyers serving Toronto, contact us today.

Call Our Toronto Long-Term Disability Lawyers Today

Receiving a denied claim for LTD benefits can be more than demoralizing. For those with extremely limited options, the inability to collect disability may make their situation feel hopeless. However, by working with our long-term disability serving Toronto, unfairly treated policyholders may be able to fight their insurance provider’s decision to withhold the benefits they are rightfully owed.

To receive personalized legal advice and learn how our long-term disability lawyers serving Toronto may be able to assist you, take advantage of your free initial consultation by calling 1-800-JUSTICE today.