Long-term Disability Lawyers Serving Canadians Nationwide

Available in ON, AB, SK, MB, NS, NB, PE, NL

Do you need to win long-term disability benefits? Are you struggling with your application or appeal? Do you have questions about working with long-term disability lawyers?

If you answered “YES,” then call us toll-free at (888) 480-9050 for a free consultation or fill out the form below to schedule a free consultation by phone or email. This consultation is free, and if you hire us, there are no up-front charges, and you only pay us if we win.

Fill out this form to book your free case review

How we help you

Our long-term disability lawyers serve clients across Canada, including Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, PEI, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

We represent clients at all stages of the long-term disability claim process, including the transition from work to sick leave, the initial application for benefits, appeals of denied claims and lawsuits for benefits.

For people on approved long-term disability claims, we offer a benefits protection program to help you maintain your benefits. This service gives you peace of mind and removes the stress of dealing with the insurance company on your own.

Finally, not everyone needs full legal representation. We also offer paid consultation services for legal advice, document review, and independent legal advice certificates.

We deliver 95% of our services remotely from our offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Moncton and Halifax. In some cases, you will never have to leave your home. We travel to your city or town when necessary. Any in-person meetings are held at our offices or other professional conference rooms in your area.

Sometimes your situation is complicated by overlapping disability claims. In addition to long-term disability, we represent people in claims involving short-term disability, workers’ compensation, employment disputes, critical illness insurance claim denials, and the disability tax credit.

What to expect from the free consultation?

Our free disability consults are done by phone or email. Whichever method you prefer. Your conversation starts with one of our disability claim consultants. They are disability support team members who are experienced with all types of disability claims. They will be able to answer most of your questions. We also have lawyers on our support team who can be brought in to answer more complex questions or to give legal advice.

Not ready for an consultation right now? Take a moment to download our Guide on How to Hire a Long-term Disability Lawyer. Click on the image below to learn the mistakes you can avoid.

Types of Long-term Disability Claims

We represent clients in a variety of long-term disability claims. Below I review common situations. I will explain how each long-term disability claim works and how we could help you.

Group Long-term Disability Plans for Employees

Many employees have long-term disability benefits through a workplace group benefits plan. This is the same plan that includes medical, dental and drug benefits. You file a claim for these long-term benefits through the group plan provider, which is usually an insurance company.

We can represent you in applying for long-term disability benefits through a group policy. This gives you the best chance to win immediate approval and avoid delays in payments. If the insurance company denies your claim, we can represent you in appealing the claim representative’s decision. If appeals are unsuccessful, we represent you in suing the insurance company for benefits.

Contact us for a free consultation of your group long-term disability claim.

Long-term Disability Policies for Individuals

Some people buy individual long-term disability insurance policies that are not tied to their employment. These indivdual polcies only cover the person who bought it. These policies are common with self-employed professionals and business owners.

Individual long-term disability policies are more technical than group plans. Insurance companies put these claims under greater scrutiny. Thus, you are more likely to receive a denial. Sometimes, you will have a group long-term disability plan and an individual policy. It is important to understand how the two plans will overlap. We represent you in applying for benefits, appealing a claim denial, and in suing the insurance company for payment of benefits.

Contact us for a free consultation about your individual long-term disability claim.

Group Long-term Disability Plans for Associations

Some group long-term disability plans are run by associations or non-profit organizations. The association has a fund from which it pays benefits under the plan. This is different from typical group insurance plans, where benefits are paid by an insurance company. The association fund is maintained by premium payments by members of the association and their employees.

Typically, associations will hire an insurance company to administer the plan for them. This creates confusion because many plan members think the insurance company is paying the benefits.

Association plans are more complicated than regular group insurance plans. They often have stricter language in the policy and may exclude claims for certain illnesses. They may have strict deadlines for appeals, and they may limit your right to legal representation. Some association plans take away your right to sue the plan if they deny your final appeal.

We have successfully represented clients in a variety of association group long-term disability plans. We can represent you in the initial application, internal appeals and in your hearing for a final decision. In most cases, you will not be able to sue the plan in court, so your last chance to win is at the plan’s hearing or arbitration.

Following are association group long-term disability plans in Canada:

• 3S Health Disability Income Plan (SK)
• British Columbia Government Employees LTD Plan (BC)
• Healthcare Benefits Trust (HEB) LTD Plan (BC)
• HEB Manitoba Disability & Rehabilitation Plan (MB)
• Hospitals of Ontario Disability Income Program (ON)
• New Brunswick Public Service LTD Plan (NB)
• Nova Scotia Public Service LTD Plan (NS)
• Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations LTD Plan (NS)
• Ontario Public Service (OPS) Long-term Income Protection (ON)
• OTIP Long-term Disability Plan (ON)
• SSIP Long-term Disability Plan (National)

Contact us for a free consultation of your association’s long-term disability claim.

Long-term disability claims for medical conditions

You may wonder what medical conditions qualify for long-term disability. Or if your medical condition affects how you should handle your long-term disability claim.

The short answer is that any medical condition can potentially qualify for long-term disability. The focus is on how much disability the medical condition causes. And if the disability is temporary or permanent.

The type of medical condition does affect how you should approach a long-term disability claim. For example, if you have an “invisible” illness, like chronic pain or chronic fatigue, then you must use certain strategies to prove your disability because others won’t be able to see your disability or measure it with a medical test.

The following are articles where we discuss how to win long-term disability for specific medical conditions:

• Long-term Disability for ADHD
• Long-term Disability for Anxiety
• Long-term Disability for Autism
• Long-term Disability for Back Pain
• Long-term Disability for Bipolar Mood Disorder
• Long-term Disability for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Long-term Disability for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Long-term Disability for Chronic Pain
• Long-term Disability for Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
• Long-term Disability for Crohn’s Disease
• Long-term Disability for Depression
• Long-term Disability for Fibromyalgia
• Long-term Disability for Heart Disease
• Long-term Disability for Migraines and Headaches
• Long-term Disability for Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS)
• Long-term Disability for Knee Disorders
• Long-term Disability for Long COVID
• Long-term Disability for Lupus
• Long-term Disability for Lyme Disease
• Long-term Disability for Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Long-term Disability for Neck and Cervical Disorders
• Long-Term Disability for OCD
• Long-term Disability for Psoriatic Arthritis
• Long-term Disability for Schizophrenia
• Long-term Disability for Vestibular Disorders
• Long-term Disability for Visual Disorders

How Our Lawyers Can Help You at all Stages of your Long-term Disability Claim

Starting a Disability Leave

The decision to start a disability leave will be one of the most difficult decisions of your career. You have worked hard and don’t want to throw away all you have accomplished. You don’t want to lose your job or medical benefits. You face an uncertain financial future if there are delays or problems with your applications for disability benefits.

We help you by removing the uncertainty. We provide you with educational materials to help you create a plan for transitioning from work to going on sick leave. At this stage, our educational resources (guides, checklists, etc.) can help you identify any weaknesses in your case from the insurance company’s point of view. And help you fix these weaknesses so you can present a strong case for disability benefits when you go on sick leave.

Please, take a moment to download a copy of our Sick Leave Guide: How to Avoid the 4 Most Common Mistakes.

Waiting Period for Long-term Disability & Short-term Disability

All long-term disability plans have a waiting period. It is also sometimes called an elimination period. This is the length of time you must be continuously disabled in order to be eligible for long-term disability benefits. The most common time is 17 weeks, but it can be as long as one year.

During the waiting period, you may qualify for short-term disability benefits under a group disability plan. If you don’t have group benefits, you may also qualify for short-term disability from the Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Program. If you want more information, check out our article that explains the difference between short- and long-term disability benefits.

While our long-term disability lawyers don’t represent you in applying for short-term disability. We provide educational materials to aid you through the process. Please visit our Learning Centre to explore all articles published on short-term disability benefits.

We do, however, represent you in short-term disability appeals. We also offer long-term disability application services. Our strategy at this stage is to reduce your stress, help you avoid common mistakes, and get your claim approved as fast as possible.

Applying for Long-term Disability Benefits

As you near the end of the waiting period, you can apply for long-term disability benefits. How this works will depend on your situation.

If the same insurance company handles both your short- and long-term disability claims, then it may be an easy transition because they already have your information from the short-term disability claim. In this scenario, you only fill out a single benefits transition form.

However, in most cases, there will be different organizations handling your short-term disability and long-term disability claims. This means you will have to submit a full application for long-term disability. This is because they won’t have the information from your short-term disability claim.

A long-term disability application package includes three forms:

• Notice of Claim Form (You fill out)
• Employer’s Report Form (Employer fills out)
• Attending Physician’s Report (Your doctor fills out)

If you are a self-employed professional or have an individual insurance policy, you must be extra careful with your application. Mistakes, at this stage, can cause big problems going forward. And make it difficult to have your claim approved.

To learn more about the application process, see our article on how to apply for, and what qualifies for long-term disability in Canada.

We represent people applying for long-term disability benefits. We fill out the forms and collect the medical evidence needed to support your claim. We work with your doctors to get the best possible medical reports. We also refer you for more medical testing if needed to support your claim. We prepare you for your interview with the insurance company as well as any early independent medical examinations they schedule for you.

We proactively review your situation to identify red flags or issues from the insurance company’s perspective. We then help you fix these problems before they become an issue with the insurance company. This gives you the best chance of having your long-term disability claim approved. The earlier we can help with your claim, the less likely you are to experience preventable delays in getting benefits approved.

Our strategy is designed to:

• Reduce your stress
• Help you avoid common mistakes
• Ensure you have strong evidence to support your claim
• Protect you from the insurance company’s tricks
• Maximize your chances of claim approval

If you are looking to hire a lawyer at this stage, please contact us for a free consultation.

Change of Definition of Disability

If the insurance company approves your long-term claim, there is a strong chance that they will try to stop your payments after two years. This happens because most group long-term disability insurance policies have a change of definition of disability that happens after two years.

For the first two years, most group long-term disability plans will pay as long as you prove you can’t do your “own” job or occupation. However, after two years, the criteria change and they only have to pay if you can prove you can’t do “any” job.

If you are on an approved long-term claim, you should expect a lot of activity in the 12 months leading up to the change of definition. They will arrange for you to undergo medical assessments and have you fill out forms. They are consulting with their own medical experts to see if they can prove you should be able to work in “any” occupation. They will do lengthy interviews with you about your current status, improvements, upcoming treatment, and plans for return to work.

We help you at this stage with our Benefits Protection Program. With this program, we represent you in communications with the insurance company. We help you fill out forms. We prepare you for interviews. We help you avoid making mistakes that allow the insurance company to deny your claim on legal technicalities, even if you continue to be disabled from any occupation.

The lead-up to the change of definition is one of the most stressful times of any disability claim. Our goal is to reduce your stress as much as possible. If you are at this stage, please contact us to learn about our Benefits Protection Program.

Appealing a Denial of Long-term Disability

At some point, you may have to appeal a decision from the insurance company. This may be the decision to deny your application for benefits. Or it could be a decision to stop the payment of benefits. Either way, you will have to submit a formal appeal to the insurance company.

The first step is to decide if you will do the appeal by yourself. Or if you should have a lawyer represent you. We have discussed when it is appropriate to hire a lawyer in our article on denial of long term disability.

If you are thinking about representing yourself, check out our article on the 7 Steps to follow when appealing a long-term disability denial.

However, you should reach out to us for a free consultation, even if you are thinking of representing yourself. We can review your situation to identify if you are on track to win your claim on your own. Or, we may encourage you to hire a lawyer. This will all depend on your situation.

We have great success in representing clients in appeals of long-term disability. For 95% of situations, there are no up-front costs, and you only pay us if we are successful. With us by your side, you give yourself the best chance to get benefits approved more quickly.

Lawsuits for Long-term Disability Benefits

When all internal appeals fail, the last resort is to bring a lawsuit against the insurance company or disability benefits provider. We refer to the lawsuit as doing a legal appeal.

We find there are many misconceptions about what it means to file a lawsuit. Many people assume it means they are in for years of fighting. And that they have to wait for a judge to make a decision. This is only half true.

When we file a lawsuit, the insurance company assigns new people to review and manage your claim. They appoint a lawyer to review it as well. These new people often bring a fresh perspective and can immediately approve your claim. We also negotiate lump-sum settlements. Also referred to as out-of-court settlements.

Lump-sum settlements are not right for everyone, but in some cases, they are the best option. With a settlement, the insurance company pays you a one-time payment rather than approving the claim and pay monthly benefits each month.

We represent clients in lawsuits for long-term disability benefits. Our goal is to reach the best outcome for you. Often, this means we use the lawsuit to pressure the insurance company to approve your claim. However, we can also negotiate a lump sum settlement if that makes sense for you.

Less than 1% of long-term disability lawsuits actually end up in court. I don’t have the exact statistics, but that is my best guess based on my experience. Most cases will be resolved before trial with a claim approval, a lump-sum settlement, or in a minority of cases, the person will drop the lawsuit.

FAQs about long-term disability lawyers

Next Step – Download Our Free Guide on How to Hire a Long-term Disability Lawyer

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