ILO Members serving North York

Getting your Rightful Disability Payments

 As cynical as it may sound, when you have had an accident, insurance companies are not your friends. The objective of an insurance company adjuster who works for a disability income insurance company, is to delay or deny paying claims, as this adds profits to the bottom line of the insurance company. There are many tactics they may use to do this, including drafting disability income policies with ambiguous and confusing legal terms that a lay person could not hope to fully understand. This tactic alone encourages many people with legitimate claims go away, never pursuing their legal rights to disability income.

If you have a disability income claim, you need to speak with a North York disability income lawyer who understands the legal jargon of disability income insurance policies and can help you to fully understand your rights.  Our North York ILO (Injury Lawyers of Ontario) team can document the disability income cases we have tried and give you referrals to clients we have helped receive full and prompt benefits. We have helped hundreds of Canadians just like you settle their disability claims quickly and for the best compensation possible.

It's our job to be knowledgeable in all aspects of Canadian disability income law and to be intimately familiar with all available strategies to maximize your claim. Not only are we familiar with Canadian disability insurance firms, but we also follow disability income lawsuits that are filed, in order to have the knowledge to best prepare and deliver claims for those who seek our help. 

Personalized Legal Representation

Even though you may be reading about our firm on the internet, that's where the impersonal nature of our relationship ends. We want to speak with you one on one and set up a meeting wherein we can get to know your individual circumstances. In this way, we can tailor a one of a kind legal strategy to you as an individual, based on our experience with successful strategies and any relevant case history that applies  to your specific circumstances.  Contact us if you are thinking about applying for disability income benefits or if you have already applied for them and have been denied for any reason.

In addition to your disability income insurance policy, individuals may qualify for the Canadian Pension Plan. The Canadian Pension Plan pays a monthly income to people who have become disabled and are not able to continue to work. There are a few criteria that you must meet to qualify for the payments. You must have a "severe and prolonged" disability, you must be under age 65, and you must meet certain criteria as to how much money you have contributed to the plan.

1. You must have a Severe and Prolonged Disability

The term ‘severe’ refers to your ability to do work. If your disability is such that you are regularly unable to perform well enough to earn a reasonable income, your disability will be considered severe. The term ‘prolonged’ means that you are permanently unable to work. You must meet both severe and prolonged definitions of disability in order to be considered for income under the Canadian Pension Plan. We have many clients who have successfully applied for and are receiving CPP monthly income. We have access to doctors who will determine whether or not you have a case to apply for CPP monthly income, based on an examination of you and the reports from other doctors and treatment centers.

2. You must be under age 65

This is self-explanatory but as an interesting note, if you are between the ages of 60 and 65, you may qualify for the Canadian Retirement Pension. While you can't have income from both plans, the CRP could provide you with an income while you are waiting for your CPP case to be settled.

3. You Must Meet Certain Income Criteria

If you have made contributions to the plan for a total of 25 years or more, you need only to have contributed to the plan for 3 out of the last 6 years. Otherwise, if you have paid for less than 25 years, you must have contributed in 4 of the last 6. There are situations where the contribution requirements can be waived, such as, if you had low earnings because you had to stay home and raise children or were physically or mentally unable to apply.

Appealing a Denial of your Application for Disability Income

Many applicants are denied disability income benefits on their first attempt, and then simply quit trying. That is the worst possible strategy, as an insurance company has little to lose and everything to gain by denying your claim. Appealing a disability income request denial is one of the best reasons for hiring a disability income lawyer, as we have the expertise to press your claim and get your disability income approved. We have helped many clients complete successful claims for disability income and know what does and doesn't work. When you have as much experience as we do, there are few, if any surprises.

The first step in the appeals process is information gathering. Our firm contacts the Human Resources Development section of the Canada Pension Plan in order to obtain the forms needed to request your file. Your file will contain the reasons why your claim for income was denied, as well as your initial application and medical reports. This information will guide us in developing a strategy to re-apply for benefits as well as alert us to correct any errors on the form or errors or inaccuracies that your doctors may have made in your diagnosis or in reporting your condition. If warranted, we'll seek the opinion of other health care professionals in ascertaining your true physical condition and why it's preventing you from working.

Whether or not you are making an initial disability claim or need to appeal a denied claim, our North York ILO legal team stands ready to assist you.  Call us to set up an interview. There is no cost or obligation and we will quickly let you know if you have a valid claim for Canadian disability income benefits or any other damages arising from an accident.