Disability Law Show: Ontario – S4 E70

Episode Summary

Does a loss of employment affect LTD benefits? Disability lawyer, national practice leader and Partner James Fireman and Tamar Agopian, at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, answer this question and more on the Disability Law Show on Newstalk 1010 in Toronto.

Listen below to discover important information about your rights and a guide through the proper steps to take when your insurance provider cuts off your long-term disability or denies your insurance claim.

When you need a disability lawyer in Ontario, James can get you the advice you need, and the compensation you deserve.

Listen to the Episode

Show Notes

• Awaiting surgery and likely unable to return to work but LTD cut off: Often at the two-year mark insurance companies cut off long-term disability benefits as the change in definition occurs. At the two-year mark of long-term disability, claimants are often pressured to return to work by their insurers but should primarily listen to the advice of their treating medical team. It is the insurance company’s responsibility to find a comparable job for claimants they believe can work in another occupation that they have the skill set for.
• An increased cost of living while on LTD and no longer employed: Claimants are entitled to an increase in disability benefits depending on their long-term disability policy. Some disability policies have a cost of living term and others do not. It is important to remember that most disability policies have a provision that includes an offset of benefits to the insurance company in the event of termination and severance pay.
• Assessing a claim for punitive or further damages: Punitive damages are not awarded as compensation but as punishment. A court will determine whether or not an insurance company has operated in bad faith with claimants; whether or not the process was deliberated unfairly. This can occur in the event an insurance adjuster has clearly ignored the advice of a treating doctor.
• Process of independent medical examination: An IME is an independent medical evaluation conducted by a doctor in a field relevant to a particular claim, i.e. a psychiatrist in the event of a claimant with a mental illness. Typically an assessment does not take more than one day however there can be several sessions over a period of a few days.