Disability lawyer Albert Klein on LTD denials and awarding punitive damages

Interview Summary

A woman was awarded a record amount of damages from an insurance company after six years of refusing to provide long-term disability benefits. After suffering a stroke Sarah Baker was unable to work but Blue Cross Life Insurance denied benefits and conducted hundreds of hours of surveillance.

Albert Klein, a disability lawyer in Toronto and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP spoke to Rubin Ahmed-Haq on 640 Toronto to discuss the concept of punitive damages and the significance of surveillance and LTD.

Interview Notes

• Length of time to resolve a long-term disability legal claim: Insurance companies have an incentive to drag out cases as more individuals cannot afford litigation and cannot afford to be without income for years at a time. Insurers are waiting for claimants to simply return to work and forget their claim.
• The commonality of surveillance and LTD claims: It is not uncommon for insurance companies to conduct surveillance on claimants that are on long-term disability benefits. Surveillance often leaves claimants very unsure and unsafe and it can often develop into paranoia.
• The extent of punitive damages: This recent award of punitive damages will ensure that insurance companies consider the practicality of fighting certain legal claims and how they conduct the process of approving or denying benefits.
• Influence on future long-term disability claimant cases: This case reaffirms that surveillance does not always prove a lack of a disability. It is important for claimants to know that insurance companies can spend a great deal of time and money fighting a case but there is no guarantee that they will win. It is very rare that a case leads to trial and when a claim does make it to court, claimants should not be afraid to put pressure on insurers.
• The credibility of long-term disability benefits: Insurance companies are ultimately for-profit companies and do not want to pay out claims. Insurers will often deny legitimate claims as they believe that in most cases, claimants will give up on their rights to benefits.
• Advice for claimants denied LTD: Individuals who have the support of their doctors, should speak to a disability lawyer as soon as possible and seek out a lawyer with a known reputation who specializes in disability law. Many disability policies differ but it is far from impossible to put pressure on an insurer.