Bridgewater Long-Term Disability Lawyers
Are you struggling with a long-term disability? Have you been denied your LTD Application, or have your benefits been cut off? Are you thinking about going off work? If any of this is you, you’ll know by now that dealing with an insurance provider can be challenging. Their playbook has all the tactics to pay you the lowest possible compensation.
Luckily, our legal team of long-term disability lawyers in Bridgewater is here to help you. NOVA Injury Law knows no boundaries when assisting clients with their claims and ensuring they get the payout they deserve.
We want to ensure you have the proper protection to pay your bills and continue living comfortably without worrying about losing out on compensation that’s rightfully yours. You might also need to claim other medical benefits like therapy or equipment to help you cope with your condition.
For more information, please see our free and downloadable Disability Benefits Book.
Additionally, NOVA Injury Law also has offices and handles LTD cases in:
- Halifax
- Sydney
- Moncton
- Charlottetown
- Bedford
- Summerside
What Is Long-Term Disability?
Long-term disability is an income replacement system put in place for when someone has had a long-term injury or has been diagnosed with a medical condition that will take them an extended period of time to recover from or get treatment. These benefits support the victim and their family during their recovery and replace the income they usually receive from their employer.
Each person’s LTD benefits are different, but most people who claim them, on average, receive 60-70% of their total income with their plans. Insurance companies often pay up to two years to their customers as long as they’re deemed unfit to work their job’s essential tasks. Insurance companies can continue paying if the customer is injured or suffers from a chronic condition after two years that renders the worker disabled from performing the duties of any position for which they are reasonably suited.
Unfortunately, insurance companies use various methods to avoid paying long-term disability benefits. Some accept this outcome, while others contact NOVA Injury Law to help them fight back and win their long-term disability case.
If you’re in a situation where your insurance company is refusing to pay out your LTD benefits, you should contact an attorney to represent you.
For more information on what qualifies for long-term disability, read here.
Who Needs a Long-Term Disability Lawyer?
Trying to understand injury law after you’ve had an accident or fallen victim to a chronic illness is stressful. We’re used to people unsure whether they qualify or not contacting us for help.
If you find yourself in one of these situations, you might need a long-term disability law firm to assist you:
- There’s an ongoing legal dispute with your insurance company regarding LTD benefits after an illness diagnosis or an accident.
- You need the help of an experienced lawyer applying for LTD benefits to assist you with the application process.
- Your employer has decided to reject your application for LTD benefits after approving them or terminating your existing agreement.
What’s Involved in a Long-Term Disability Claim?
After you’ve contacted our team to help you with your long-term disability claim, we’ll start the claims process.
We’ll need to review three critical areas of your case. These include:
- The ruling made by your LTD insurer is to analyze their reason for the rejection and see if they upheld all the legislation.
- Your long-term disability insurance policy to determine your coverage, including the terms and conditions, and base it on why the insurer decided to refuse your claim.
- To assess medical evidence, your medical records and any other applicable health-related records from all treatment practitioners.
Why Some Long-Term Disability Claims Get Declined
LTD companies will do whatever they can so they don’t have to pay out on claims, even if you have a long-term disability policy.
- Lack of evidence to prove you’ve suffered an injury or have an illness. Suppose you need proof of diagnosis with the documentation to back it up or failed to give vital information to the doctor beforehand. In that case, this can result in an LTD application denial.
- You may not be covered under certain LTD benefits if you already have a prior health condition. In certain circumstances, insurance companies don’t have a rule with pre-existing conditions called an “elimination period.” These clauses can be vague and unclear in your LTD policy, so getting the help of a legal advisor like Nova Injury Law is essential to navigating this situation.
- You might not fall into the category of the insurance company’s disabled definition. They might see you as still being able to perform your essential duties, and they can use it against you not to pay out.
Which Health Conditions Could Meet the Criteria for Long-Term Disability Benefits In Bridgewater?
Below is an extensive list of health conditions that qualify as long-term disability. Please be aware that your private insurance policy or plan with your employer will determine whether you’re eligible or not. We advise you to confirm the criteria before moving forward to the next step.
Factors like how serious your health condition is, the duration of your diagnosis, and how it affects your essential job duties will be deciding factors in whether you can receive long-term disability benefits or not. Getting the help of a legal counsel can help you with this.
These are some medical conditions our long-term disability lawyers in Bridgewater can help you with:
Musculoskeletal Disorders:
- Back injuries or chronic back pain
- Arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Degenerative disc disease
- Joint disorders
Neurological Disorders:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Epilepsy
- Stroke
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Mental Health Conditions:
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder)
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Cardiovascular Disorders:
- Coronary artery disease
- Congestive heart failure
- Arrhythmias
- Hypertension (severe and uncontrolled)
Respiratory Disorders:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Asthma (severe and persistent)
- Interstitial lung disease
Cancer:
- Various forms of cancer that limit the ability to work
Autoimmune Disorders:
- Lupus
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative colitis
Chronic Pain Syndromes:
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Chronic migraine headaches
- Neuropathic pain disorders
Vision and Hearing Impairments:
- Blindness or severe visual impairment
- Profound hearing loss
Organ Transplants:
- Individuals recovering from organ transplantation
Genetic Disorders:
- Huntington’s disease
- Muscular dystrophy
- Cystic fibrosis
HIV/AIDS:
- Advanced stages of HIV infection
Are Long-Term Disability Benefits Taxable?
In most cases, if you decide to pay the total disability payment without the help of your employer, then you won’t have to pay any taxes on it. However, in some cases, employers choose to pay for a portion or the entirety of the benefits premium, which can result in employees being responsible for paying income tax.
How Should You Respond if You’ve Had an LTD Claim Denied or Discontinued?
When you get a notification that your application for LTD benefits has been refused or terminated, you might initially feel like you’ve been left behind. But there’s no need to worry because the legal team at NOVA Injury Law has your back.
You should keep all the information you’ve been sent by your insurance company safe and get in touch with a long-term disability lawyer like NOVA Injury Law right away. Giving serious attention to your rejection is essential, or you risk never receiving the LTD benefits you deserve.
Your denial or cut-off notice will state that your application doesn’t fit the criteria of a “total disability” in the way your long-term disability insurer describes it in your contract. Fortunately, these decisions are eligible for appeal, but the process is very complex and shouldn’t be undertaken by anyone who doesn’t have in-depth knowledge of the legal procedure. That’s why getting the help of an LTD lawyer gives you the best possible chance of securing your LTD benefits.
To get started with the lawsuit, you should send all copies of the notice to our Bridgewater office or email it to the lawyer you have your consultation with. We can proceed with your appeal after our team gets all this information.
How Can NOVA Injury Law’s Bridgewater Team of Disability Benefits Lawyers Help You?
Insurance companies employ various deceptive tactics to manipulate claimants. These include delaying communication to induce impatience, feigning empathy to gain trust for later exploitation, offering lowball settlements under the guise of convenience, twisting claimants’ words to diminish their claim, and discouraging legal representation despite its potential for higher settlements and protection against exploitation.
Thankfully, our professional team of long-term disability lawyers knows how to handle these insurance companies’ crafty tactics. We understand the step-by-step process of what’s involved in the claims process and how to get through it from start to finish. Our lawyers are experts in presenting cases where our clients are severely suffering from an injury or disability and need their income to get by.
Call Our Bridgewater Long-Term Disability Lawyers Today!
Contact NOVA Injury Law’s office in Bridgewater today for a free consultation, where we’ll go through your claim and find out how to proceed with an appeal.
Our team is available to contact 24/7. You can reach us anywhere in Bridgewater or throughout Nova Scotia by calling our phone number, 902-702-3042, emailing us at info@novainjurylaw.com or booking a FREE case review here: https://backup-nova.mysites.io/contact-us/