Traumatic Brain Injury and Long-term Disability Claims

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are life-changing events and can have serious long-term effects. TBIs can disrupt your daily life in many ways, and they can greatly impact your ability to work. If you think you’ve suffered a brain injury, seek medical attention immediately. If you can’t work due to a TBI, and you have purchased a benefits plan individually or through work, you can apply for long-term disability benefits.

Read on to learn more about traumatic brain injury, and how you can get the help you need if your long-term disability claim for TBI is denied in Canada.

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Understanding traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury can be the result of even slight bumps to the head, but are more often the result of falls, car accidents, sports injuries, violence, or injury during combat or military service. Because your brain is integral to your daily functioning, any damage or injury to your brain can leave you unable to cope or function in your daily routines and tasks. The result of a traumatic brain injury is often memory and concentration problems, mood swings, depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, or sleeping more than usual.

If you or your doctor suspect that you experienced a traumatic brain injury, your doctor will recommend a CT scan or an MRI. Sometimes these tests can be used to identify bleeding in the brain, blood clots, or brain tissue that is bruised or swollen.

Symptoms of traumatic brain injury

Traumatic Brain Injury can include the following symptoms:

Physical symptoms:

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Sensitivity to light and sound
• Seizures or comas

Cognitive symptoms

• Confusion
• Impacts to speech, or slurred speech

Emotional symptoms

• Agitation
• Combative behaviour
• Mood swings

What you can do to improve your chances of getting your disability benefits approved

Medical test results

The most important component to a successful long-term disability claim will be objective medical evidence and medical test results. As mentioned, doctors will use a CT scan or MRI to check the brain for damage, swelling, or bleeding. These test results are proof of your disability, as well as some of the residual mental and cognitive symptoms that are preventing you from working. Another important test result could be a neuropsychological assessment, often used to attempt to identify the areas of the brain that are damaged as well as the extent of the impairment.

Medical evidence

Aside from test results, medical evidence will be required, and a simple note from your doctor is not enough. Important documentation includes hospital records, diagnostic imaging results, proof of medical and follow-up visits, as well as lists of medications and prescriptions. You will also need records of visits to any specialists you may have seen for physical or cognitive rehabilitation.

Evidence of disabling symptoms

Brain injuries can have devastating effects, and the impact of your physical and cognitive symptoms should not go undocumented. Report all of your symptoms to your doctor, as documented symptoms are important to proving the significance of your impairment. When possible, keep a personal record of your symptoms in a journal to demonstrate a timeline of events. Clinical findings need to corroborate your symptoms, but a well-documented timeline of events will help explain the impact of your cognitive and physical symptoms on your ability to function.

Demonstrate that you are receiving appropriate treatment

Insurance companies will look to see if your treatment is appropriate to lend credibility to your claim. If your treatment isn’t appropriate to your injury or disability, they could deny your claim. This means taking a focused approach to recovery from your disability and seeing qualified specialists, as well as following any of your doctors’ referrals or recommendations laid out in a treatment plan. If you can demonstrate that you are following your doctor’s recommendations and trying to improve your situation, you can reduce the chances of your claim being denied.

Was your long-term disability claim denied?

We know that traumatic brain injuries are debilitating, and that claims for TBIs can be complex. Our disability lawyers have years of experience challenging insurance companies on behalf of clients to secure payments they are legally entitled to receive. We will help you understand your insurance policy, compile evidence and, most importantly, work quickly to get you the compensation you deserve during a difficult time.

Don’t walk way from your rights. That is what the insurance company wants you to do. They may also encourage you to appeal the denial. Do not go through the insurance company’s appeals process! In most cases, your appeal will be unsuccessful, and your insurer will use this tactic to run out the clock on your time limit to file a claim for full compensation.

If your disability claim is denied in Canada, you need to contact the experienced long-term disability lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP immediately at 1-855-821-5900 for a FREE CONSULTATION. We will review the facts of your situation, tell you if you have a case, and take the fight to the insurance company on your behalf. Don’t let them walk away with the money that they owe you in your time of need.

Get the advice you need, the compensation you deserve.

Additional Resources

• Brain Injury Canada
• Community Head Injury Resources Services (CHIRS)
• Brain Trust Canada – BC
• Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured – Alberta
• Brain Care Centre
• Ontario Brain Injury Association