Depression & Mental Disorders
Mental health is an important part of being able to work and earn a living. If you suffer from a nervous or mental disorder, it may prevent you from being able to work. In these cases, you may qualify for long-term disability (LTD) benefits.
However, getting LTD benefits for depression, anxiety, or another mental disorder can be difficult. As there are no blood tests or imaging scans that definitively demonstrate that you have a mental disorder, insurers may fight LTD claims related to mental health disorders.
If you find yourself unable to work and wishing to get the disability benefits to which you are entitled, a lawyer can help. Contact a long term disability claims lawyer today to learn how to file a Toronto depression and mental disorder long-term disability claim.
Receiving Benefits
To get disability benefits, you will need to establish the existence of your condition and how it prevents you from working. The insurance company may evaluate your initial claim for short-term disability, and then a claim for LTD once your short-term disability runs out after a couple of months.
For the first two years of your LTD benefits, you must prove your disability prevents you from working in your current job. Then after two years, that it prevents you from working in any job.
The insurance company will analyze your disability at various stages, and may require medical evaluations to prove that you suffer from a disability and that it prevents you from working. Navigating this process and meeting these requirements can be difficult with any LTD claim, but a Toronto depression and mental disorder long-term disability claim can be especially hard to navigate successfully.
Difficulty of the Claim
Claiming that a mental health disorder creates significant disability starts with a solid diagnosis. You must have evidence from a psychiatrist or psychologist that you have the condition you claim. This diagnosis needs to conform to the insurance company’s definition of disability.
Even with a diagnosis, the insurance company might argue that you are still able to work despite your condition. The insurer may ignore the fact that chronic depression can cause sleep problems, low energy, and may even lead you to stop eating and caring for yourself, all of which can make it impossible to work.
A disability lawyer will make sure that your claim accounts for this and provides adequate proof that your disability prevents you from working. They will present your treatment records, testimony from your doctor, and any other applicable evidence that proves the extent of your disorder and how it affects your life and ability to work.
Building an LTD Claim
When building a depression and mental disorder long-term disability claim in Toronto, start keeping notes about your condition and how it affects you. It may help a lawyer build your claim if you keep a detailed journal throughout the day. Every day, take notes about:
- How you slept and for how long
- Your eating habits and times
- Your interactions with other people
- Any medications you take
- Events you miss due to your condition
- Physical effects of your condition
- Any time your condition affects your ability to perform job duties
These notes help paint a picture of the struggles you experience daily and how they keep you from working. We also encourage you to continue care with your doctors and to build a relationship with them.
Also, it is important to tell your doctors that you are filing for disability benefits so they are aware that a lawyer might ask them to provide supporting evidence for your claim.
Contacting a Lawyer
Meeting the insurance company’s criteria during each step of your Toronto depression and mental disorder long-term disability claim and over the life of your benefits can be complex, especially when seeking benefits for a mental disorder.
A lawyer can prepare your claim to address any obstacles the insurance company may present through solid case building and evidence gathering.
