Removing the pain from claiming Long-Term Disability.
Having a long-term disability claim denied is a lot like adding insult to injury – especially when short-term disability runs outs. Yet, there are several ways to take the pain out of long-term disability (LTD), starting with how you gather information.
According to Auger Hollingsworth co-founder Brenda Hollingsworth, clients can increase their chances of receiving LTD by being proactive about the required forms.
“One of main reasons LTD is denied is there is insufficient or missing information when the form is filled out by a family doctor,” she says. “It’s very important to let the staff at the doctor’s office know the nature of the appointment, and to bring as much information and evidence of your symptoms as you can. Some family doctors do a wonderful job of filling out the forms, but others are very rushed and busy, and that’s where the problems start.”
She also notes that LTD claims require patients to be under the care of a family doctor, which many people do not have. In those instances, she says it’s a good idea to proactively visit the same walk-in clinic over time and when booking, attend the clinic in the hours the same doctor is working, so when it comes to filling out the forms, the physician has a bit of history.
In some cases, LTD will be approved for someone suffering with cancer, but denied for a person with debilitating sleep apnea. As soon as LTD is denied, Brenda urges Ontarians to immediately call a personal injury lawyer, because there are often very specific timelines in place for application.
“Sometimes, it’s an easy fix for us. Otherwise, when a personal injury lawyer gets involved, the long-term disability companies can often want to resolve the matter quickly. When we start a lawsuit, the in-house defence lawyer might call us immediately and we can often get a settlement or mediation meeting straight away.”
Want to learn more? Check out these informative interviews about long-term disability.
