Most people don’t think it’s as hard as it is to get long term disability(LTD) benefits in East Gwillimbury. We’ve helped a lot of people who thought their insurance company would help them when things got tough only to have their claims denied or delayed. When you can’t work and the money you were counting on to protect you suddenly disappears the stress gets even worse. At Longo Lawyers we help people whose insurance company hasn’t kept their promise get the benefits they deserve.
If you can’t work because of an illness or injury long term disability insurance will pay you your income. But insurance companies are businesses and their main goal is to make money. This means adjusters will look for any reason to deny or lower payments and legitimate claims are put under a lot of scrutiny. We know how this system works and can help you make sure your rights are protected and your insurance company does what it says it will do in your policy.
To make a successful claim you need to know exactly what your disability policy covers. These contracts use technical language and exact definitions that have a big impact on whether or not you get benefits. Words like “total disability”, “own occupation” and “pre-existing condition” have specific meanings that can help or hurt your claim. We read your policy and explain in simple terms what coverage you have. This information is the foundation for making a plan that fits your situation.
Medical evidence is the most important part of any disability claim but getting the right paperwork is more than just going to the doctor. Insurance companies want detailed reports that explain your diagnosis, treatment plan, ongoing symptoms and most importantly how your condition keeps you from being able to work. It’s not enough to just say you’re disabled. We help you work with your doctors to get all the medical records you need to answer all of your insurance company’s questions. This often includes functional capacity evaluations, specialist consultations and reports that clearly show how your medical problems affect your ability to do certain jobs.
When you’re trying to get benefits for car and motorcycle accidents that leave you with long term disabilities you face unique challenges. Insurance companies will say the first accident happened but later they’ll say you should have gotten better enough to go back to work. They’ll say the ongoing symptoms are exaggerated or not related to the first event. We work with doctors who know how serious accidents can affect people for a long time and can explain why your recovery isn’t going as quickly as the insurance company thinks it should. Expert testimony is often what makes the difference between a claim that’s denied and one that’s approved.
There’s a lot of paperwork, strict deadlines and detailed forms to fill out for long term disability benefits. If you miss a deadline or don’t give all the information you need your application could be denied automatically. We help with every part of the application to make sure it meets all the requirements. This includes helping you write down your job duties in detail, getting the right medical paperwork and turning everything in on time and in the right format. Your chances of getting approved go up a lot if you start with a well prepared application.
Even for claims that seem simple denials happen more often than most people think. Insurance companies give many reasons for denying benefits such as not having enough medical proof or disagreeing with your doctor’s diagnosis. Some denials come from insurance company doctors who look at your file but never see you in person. These paper reviews look at your medical records from a distance and come to conclusions that are often different from what your doctors say. We challenge these unfair reviews by pointing out their flaws and stressing that doctors who know your case better are better able to help you.
There’s no time to waste in the appeals process for denied claims. Most policies only give you 30 to 90 days to file an appeal and this deadline is strictly followed. We make sure your appeal is filed on time and includes strong arguments that address each reason given for the denial. To win an appeal you need to do more than just say you disagree. You need to give more proof, fix any mistakes in the original application and give legal reasons why you qualify for benefits under the specific terms of your policy. Personal Injury Lawyer Fabio Longo is dedicated to helping clients recover the compensation they deserve with professionalism, integrity, and proven results.
Many disability claims in East Gwillimbury are for conditions that can’t be proven with objective tests. Chronic pain disorders, fatigue syndromes, cognitive impairments and mental health conditions often rely on symptoms that can’t be measured. Insurance companies are skeptical of these claims and will say the symptoms are exaggerated or you could work if you really wanted to. We have found ways to present these cases by using detailed symptom records, statements from family and coworkers that back up your story and medical opinions that support your experience.
Insurance investigators use invasive methods like surveillance to investigate disability claims. Companies may hire people to follow you, watch what you do in public and look for inconsistencies in your online presence. This is legal but it makes you anxious and makes you feel like you’re being treated like a fraud instead of someone who’s trying to get real benefits. We help you understand that being able to do a few things doesn’t mean you can work. You can’t work 40 hours a week just because you go to the store or a doctor’s appointment. We make sure any surveillance evidence is put in the right context instead of being twisted.
When you can’t work and your expected disability benefits are denied the financial pressure becomes too much to handle. During this tough time the cost of hiring a lawyer seems too high. We work on long term disability cases on a contingency fee basis which means you don’t pay us anything unless we win your benefits. This setup means everyone can get good legal help no matter how much money they have right now. Your success is the only thing that will make us successful which is exactly what we want.
Keeping in touch with you throughout your case is still very important. You have the right to know what’s going on at every step of the legal process which can be confusing. We use simple language to explain what’s going on and we’re always here to answer questions. You should never be unsure what’s going on with your case or what to do next. Regular updates and clear explanations can help ease anxiety during a time that’s already stressful.
Your doctors who are treating you are important to your disability claim but they may not know exactly what information insurance companies need. Doctors are more concerned with diagnosing and treating illnesses than with writing down disabilities for insurance purposes. We work with your medical team to get full reports that go into detail about your functional limitations, work restrictions and prognosis. This may mean asking for extra evaluations or setting up specialized tests that give you objective proof to back up your claim.
Another common problem we see is when benefits are stopped after they have been approved. Insurance companies may say yes to a claim at first but then later say you have healed or can do other work. These terminations often happen without warning and may be based on medical reviews that don’t make sense or a misunderstanding of what you did. We fight against unfair benefit terminations by showing the person is still disabled with new medical evidence and by pointing out flaws in the insurance company’s decision-making process.