While some disabilities are obvious, many are not. As a disability lawyer, I often get questions from people who aren’t sure if they qualify for disability benefits because they don’t look sick. But I always encourage them to file a claim if their disability keeps them from working.
Many common conditions, such as chronic pain, mental health issues and brain injuries are not always physically apparent. They may not even be objectively measurable by any diagnostic tests currently available. Nevertheless, they can be severely impairing for the people they affect.
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As a disability lawyer, I’ve represented many clients who have suffered from invisible illnesses. One client, John (not his real name), suffered serious head trauma and was diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury.
His psychological and cognitive issues stemming from the injury never fully went away, and he was eventually diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and left permanently disabled.
By all outward appearances, he was still the same person as he had been before the injury. He looked and sounded the same, and even had the same sense of humour as before. As his brain injury was mild, all of his diagnostic tests like MRIs and CT scans appeared clean.
But John’s injury left him a shell of himself. He struggled to remember even simple things, sometimes dialling friends and forgetting why he called. He accidentally left his kitchen stove on so frequently that he had to stop cooking for himself. John also suffered extreme headaches, which were exacerbated by light and sound.
These symptoms meant John could no longer work, forcing him to claim long-term disability benefits through his job. But his claim was initially denied.
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Although John’s illness was invisible at first, this wasn’t the case for long. He was able to gather extensive evidence that brought his condition to light, in the form of clinical notes, medical records, witness statements, psycho-cognitive evaluations and more.
As a result of this evidence, my firm, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, successfully secured a long-term disability settlement in the form of a large payout from the insurance company.
What should you do if you are denied long-term disability for an invisible illness?
Long-term disability claims for invisible illnesses are often denied because they’re harder to prove than claims for more obvious conditions.
To start, I suggest trying to get support from as many of your doctors and treatment providers as possible. Next, you should get treatment recommendations from those doctors and providers, follow their recommendations closely and be able to provide proof that you’re following those recommendations.
Finally, read the correspondence from your caseworker at the insurance company very carefully. Often their letters and emails will tell you what evidence they believe they need that they don’t have yet. If you can provide the evidence they’re missing, you may be able to fill in the gaps for them.
READ MORE: Long-term disability claim denied? This is why you need a disability lawyer
Unfortunately, no matter how well you advocate for yourself, many applications for long-term disability will be denied anyway.
If that happens, an experienced disability lawyer, like those on my team, can review the facts of your case, let you know what your rights are and help demystify the disability claim process. A lawyer can then present all of your options and explain how they’ll fight the insurance company on your behalf to get the compensation you need.
Has your long-term disability claim for an invisible illness been denied?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from a long-term disability lawyer in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve — from the most positively reviewed disability law firm in the country.
Michael Gerhard is a disability lawyer and senior associate at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm specializing in long-term disability claims and employment law. The firm provides free advice as a host of Canada’s only Disability Law Show on TV and radio.