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Toronto Long-Term Disability (LTD) Lawyers
Our Toronto long-term disability lawyers have four words for you if you’re wrangling with an insurance company over long-term disability (LTD) benefits: “read the fine print.” Or better yet – you focus on taking care of yourself, and we’ll get out the magnifying glass. We know it’s frustrating; you paid for your insurance either through work or privately. Then, the worst happened. You need the replacement income, but the insurer won’t pay. Two words: contact us.
Verkhovets Law, Toronto long-term disability lawyers know that LTD is supposed to be your safety net. The reality is it’s more like the roadrunner yanking the net away from the coyote. LTD is meant to financially cover you if an illness or injury stops you from working. Frequently, insurers complicate matters and use delays as a stall tactic. This is why you need Toronto long-term disability lawyers to advocate on your behalf.
Why our Toronto long-term disability lawyers?
Verkhovets Law, Toronto long-term disability lawyers will tell you litigating disability claims is an extremely complicated process: many specialists to see, many forms to fill out, much waiting time in between. Talking to us before you make a claim is the best way to avoid being denied in the first place. We’re used to decoding policies written in such a deliberately convoluted language it’s no wonder they’re often misunderstood.
Insurance companies are in it to make money – not pay you – even if you make an honest mistake completing a claim form.
Would your insurer really deny your claim based on a technicality?
Yes, they would.
And, yes, they do.
Toronto long-term disability lawyers have gone to battle with insurers who lick their chops at the prospect of an individual slipping up on their claim and denying them their coverage. It’s estimated more than half of the claims in this country are turned down at the application stage. If that happens don’t try and go it alone; it’s important to have a lawyer involved who will appeal and, if they have to, sue the insurer as a civil matter in the Superior Court of Justice.
When your long-term disability claim has been dismissed by an insurance company, don’t get angry and don’t give up. The Toronto long-term disability lawyers at Verkhovets Law can help. We have helped hundreds of people with their denied long-term disability claims.
Don’t assume you understand everything the policy is saying. Our Toronto long-term disability lawyers will translate it for you into plain English. We know how insurance companies think and act. And what we need to do, to help you with your denied long-term disability claim.
Here are some interesting, if not frightening, facts about long-term disability in Canada, according to the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD).
- An estimated one in five Canadians aged 15 years and over have one or more disability that limits them in their
- The prevalence of long-term disability increases with age.
- Women are more likely to have a disability than men, according to the report.
- More than four in 10 Canadians with disabilities are classified as severe or very severe.
It’s tragic how many people needlessly live with the dire consequences of a denied long-term disability claim. Call or email the Toronto long-term disability lawyers at Verkhovets Law, to get the help you need.
the Toronto long-term disability lawyers at Verkhovets Law,
to get the help you need.
Toronto long-term disability lawyers outline
which conditions qualify
Toronto long-term disability lawyers outline which conditions qualify
Toronto long-term disability lawyers will tell you when it comes to LTD policies, it’s not an “if it quacks like a duck” situation. For example, they all have their own definitions of what is a disability. Some long-term insurance policies cover you no matter the type or severity of condition so long as you are unable to perform all or the core duties of your job. But others exclude some illnesses. And some may deny conditions covered by Workplace Safety and Insurance policies – in Ontario it’s the WSIB.
If it’s established your illness or injury type is covered, the insurer will typically arrange an Independent Medical Examination which you are required to attend if you want to collect LTD benefits. This medical professional’s role is to give an objective opinion on your level of disability, possible treatment, and prognosis – not to treat you. Verkhovets Law, Toronto long-term disability lawyers, will strongly advise you to be co-operative and honest as everything goes in the report. It’s not unusual for a claim to be denied if the IME finds you aren’t or are no longer disabled.
While your policy’s checklist is the one that applies, there are common injuries and illness that usually satisfy insurers as a disability:
- Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Back injuries
- Brain injuries
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular disease and Stroke
- Diabetes
- Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Fractures
- Gastrointestinal illness (Crohn’s, Colitis, Diverticulitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
- Infection
- Lupus
- Mental health problems
- Medical Equipment
- Mood disorders, including Bipolar, Anxiety, or Depression
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Nervous System disorders (ALS) and Seizure
Toronto long-term disability lawyers define key LTD terminology
Total disability – Toronto long-term disability lawyers see this all the time; an insurer is chomping at the bit to deny your LTD benefits, so they claim you’re not totally disabled. The Supreme Court of Canada set out the definitive meaning of the term in Paul Revere Life Insurance Co. v Sucharov that you are unable to reasonably perform the essential duties of the work you do. The court said, it’s not an “absolute physical inability to transact any kind of business pertaining to one’s occupation.” It’s about not being able to do the core duties for two years.
Own occupation – This means you are unable to perform the essential duties of the job that you did before the onset of an illness or injury. Toronto long-term disability lawyers use the example of an orthopaedic surgeon who crushes his hand. Cutting into a patient and repairing their spine is his own occupation – and he can’t do that anymore. This is the ‘own occupation’ test. So, he qualifies to collect benefits for the next two years, the own occupation period, even though he can work as a doctor performing other duties.
Any occupation – Toronto long-term disability lawyers warn this hurdle comes after two years and the definition changes. Now a claimant is totally disabled if they can’t perform the essential duties of any job for which they are reasonably suited. So, the example of the surgeon in the preceding paragraph – who still can’t operate but works as a doctor, would have to be disabled to the point of not being able to work as a doctor due to an injury or illness. This is the ‘any occupation’ test. If you qualify, payments end if you can work; die; or hit 65 when you move to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
Toronto long-term disability lawyers explain
why LTD gets denied or cut off
Toronto long-term disability lawyers explain why LTD gets denied or cut off
The message from our Toronto long-term disability lawyers about insurance companies is clear: just because you paid for benefits through insurance premiums and qualify to collect, doesn’t mean that’s what actually happens.
There are many reasons for a denied long-term disability claim, or a cancelled one. It is not uncommon for insurance companies to hire a private investigator to verify that you indeed need long-term disability benefits. In the same vein, some people tell the insurance company one story and a different story appears on Facebook. Your credibility is key.
Verkhovets Law, Toronto long-term disability lawyers, make sure their clients know it’s important not to disqualify yourself without realizing the ramifications of one of the following:
- Absence of documentation
- Bad adjuster
- Biased medical expert assigned by the insurance company
- Caught by a private eye doing something that affects your credibility
- Change of definition
- Insufficient medical evidence beyond just a diagnosis.
- Not showing up to the independent medical examination
- Not showing up to or complying with rehabilitation or treatment
- Operating a small business at home under the radar
- The M word: misrepresentations in a claim, including not revealing everything about a condition or any pre-existing issues
- Unmet time limits for forms submissions including proof of claim or notice clauses
- Wrong documentation supplied by employer Your lack of communication with the insurer
Our Toronto long-term disability
lawyers handle these types of
disability claims:
Our Toronto long-term disability lawyers handle these types of disability claims:
Our Toronto long-term disability lawyers handle these types of disability claims:
Our Toronto personal injury lawyers
also handle these types of claims:
Our Toronto personal injury lawyers also handle these types of claims:
Our Toronto long-term disability lawyers know how insurance companies work
Verkhovets Law, Toronto long-term disability lawyers, have seen all the maneuvers LTD insurers use to avoid paying benefits. The main one is that time is on their side. So, they delay, delay, and delay some more. When they do finally agree to pay, most typically provide a monthly benefit at rates of 80%, 70%, or 66% of your net pre-disability income.
Insurance companies aren’t in any hurry to cut your cheques either. Without Toronto long-term disability lawyers to press your case, delays tend to continue. Delays can sometimes drag on for months (or even years) before you see any money. Insurance companies stall even if you cleared all hurdles.
Here is a mistake that many people make when they don’t hire Toronto long-term disability lawyers: they settle for pennies-on-the-dollar. It plays out like this: if you have not been able to work due to a disability and have exhausted your savings, your inclination might be to accept less than the amount you’re entitled to on the grounds that some money is better than none. Insurance companies know this, too.
The tortoise approach is also in their favour if you sue them. The Ontario civil court system is notoriously slow, so time is in the insurer’s favour because they don’t have to pay while you wait. When our Toronto long-term disability lawyers handle the matter successfully, you could have your benefits reinstated and awarded past denied benefits, damages for stress, some of the legal fees, and punitive damages on top.
Meanwhile, most insurers demand you apply for CPP Disability (CPP-D) after the first two years of LTD payments. They can deduct that amount from the gross of your CPP-D monthly payment. If CPP-D is halted, LTD payments will increase back in full.
Most LTD policies will do the same with any other benefit payments you are receiving including from:
A helping hand from our Toronto
long-term disability lawyers
A helping hand from our Toronto long-term disability lawyers
All experienced car accident lawyers will tell you that, unlike the U.S., there isn’t a personal injury magic fairy in Canada doling out massive cash awards. Nor is there a handy dandy guideline to consult. We’ll figure out what your claim is worth by keeping the upper limit in mind, and knowing the ranges awarded in previous personal injury cases. But there are common elements that come into play: the type of action, negligence factors, and the nature and extent of your damages.
Contact our Toronto long-term disability lawyers today
Our Toronto long-term disability lawyers know it’s a nightmare scenario – you have an illness or injury and can’t work. But your insurer wrongfully denied your claim, and you don’t understand why.
Contact us now and we’ll start work on your behalf.