CBC News – Why Disability Claims for Mental Illness Can Be Difficult to Navigate

One in five Canadians will experience a mental illness at some point in their life and many of those people may seek disability payments to help them cope, but experts say the process is often so complicated and mental illness is so misunderstood by employers that workers run into trouble getting the help they need.

According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, 70 per cent of disability costs in the workplace are attributed to mental illness, and one-third of short and long-term disability claims are related to mental health problems.

But mental illness disability claims can be difficult to navigate.

Disability Lawyer Sivan Tumarkin, co-founding partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, says many people who get cut off long-term disability (LTD) are forced to go back to work against medical advice. But he warns that “people should be very careful not to go back to work if they are not ready” because they can end up in a worse state.

Read more from Sivan Tumarkin in the CBC News article here.