Why Should Long-Term Disability Benefits Not Be Denied?
A woman recently told her story of struggling through six long years of an unnoticed handicap, fearing being unable to continue her job and health insurance. She was experiencing vestibular problems caused by an injury to the brain that occurred in an accident on the trail.
She has tried to hide her impairment for the past six years. She refused to divulge her health condition to her employer as the attacks became more severe over time, more intense, and more frequent. She visited numerous doctors to find out the cause of her problem and find some relief.
A majority of her earnings went to medical treatment. A neurologist informed her that she could be disabled if she did not immediately stop the triggers, which led to her vestibular disorders. She began making adjustments. One of the changes she made was to become an expert in career coaching, specifically targeting people who work in the corporate world and allowing her to prioritize her health.
Our clients frequently try their hardest to work and push themselves past the point where they should have stopped working and filed a long-term disability insurance claim. However, they cannot last for more than six months, let alone six years. We don’t know how this woman was high functioning. She maintained her professional development in a very competitive work environment that required a high degree of cognitive ability for the past six years while suffering from an invisibility impairment.
What Is an Invisible Handicap?
An invisible disability is a term used in medicine to describe any medical issue that is not evident to other people. Hidden disabilities cause a range of challenges for claimants with long-term disabilities. Their claims usually get delayed in the claim process. If the claimant appears “normal,” their impairment is caused by an illness with symptoms that get not easily observed in a lab test or x-ray MRI or CT scan. The default response from the insurance company that covers long-term disabilities is to reject the claim. It makes no difference if your current year’s worth of diagnostic tests, doctor’s notes, or vocational expert studies explain. Why are you unable to complete the obligations and responsibilities of your job? The claim you make is as obscure as the disability.
What Exactly Are Common Invisible Disabilities?
Even though many invisible disabilities now have diagnostic tests (such as the presence of specific germs or antibodies that reveal the origins of an illness that is not readily apparent). People who suffer from the conditions get occasionally mistaken for suspects.
- Asperger Syndrome
- Asthma
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Chronic Pain
- Crohn’s Disease
- Depression
- Epstein-Barr Disease
- Extreme Sleep Apnea
- Fibromyalgia
- Lupus
- Lyme Disease
- Migraines
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
- Schizophrenia
- Tinnitus
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
Blindness and Long-Term Disability Demand Denials
Claiming a long-term disability for an invisible condition or disability can cause frustration. You’ve probably had more doctor’s appointments and diagnostic procedures than individuals with disabilities because your particular disability is more difficult to define.
“Insufficient medical documentation” is usually the reaction to an invisible disability. The necessary “objective evidence” isn’t there because it’s not visible in an X-ray or MRI. In diagnostic imaging, chronic pain that is crippling and due to nerve inflammation might be invisible. However, the insurance company continues to maintain its position: you’re not disabled, and you can perform the work required by your job.
What Can You Do to Ensure the Security of Your Long-Term Disability Insurance Claim?
Suppose you’ve been the woman featured at the beginning of this blog, attempting to work despite suffering and pain. Begin by taking a fair review of your capabilities to work. Are you using a mix of PTO or sick days and family leave days to be able to work but not be public because of your handicap? Have you asked your employer to provide special accommodations for you because of your handicap? In that case, you should start preparing your disability claim.
Suppose you’ve prepared to talk about your disability to your employer. In that case, you’ll need to begin to document the impact your disability has on your work performance.
If you’re unable to work, you’ll need to apply for short-term disability in most cases. If you’re eligible and receive short-term disability benefits already paid, don’t become too comfortable. In the short term, paying for only a few months of disability payments is simple. Moving to long-term benefits isn’t. Often, businesses self-insure for short-term benefits; However, long-term benefits get paid out of insurance companies in their pockets. It is when benefits cease.
If you are suffering from an invisible disabling condition and need help with your long-term disability insurance, contact the Ottawa Life Insurance office at (613) 454-1424 or info@ottawa-lifeinsurance.ca.
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