Our Disability Lawyers help people who have survived a Stroke & have been Wrongfully Denied their Long-Term Disability Benefits. Always FREE Consultations and you NEVER pay upfront.
A stroke is a medical condition that arises due to an interruption in the brain’s blood supply. In Canada, the number of new stroke cases annually averages around 50,000, with approximately 40% of these patients enduring prolonged disabilities after survival. Moreover, a significant 10% of individuals suffering a stroke end up needing continuous assistance due to the severity of their disability.
Stroke survivors can develop physical disabilities, cognitive change and mental disabilities. It is a life-changing event which can mean reduced opportunity for employment and worsened quality of life. Survivors may face impaired mobility, muscle weakness, or coordination difficulties that make even simple daily tasks like dressing or preparing meals daunting. Cognitive functions such as memory, concentration, and problem-solving abilities can be significantly compromised, further complicating one’s ability to perform tasks at work or manage everyday responsibilities.
A 2017 report by the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada reports that there are now over 400,000 Canadians who are survivors of stroke, with that number expected to double over the next twenty years. Today, it is the leading cause of Long-Term Disability in the country.
For individuals who have survived a stroke and have been denied Long-Term Disability Benefits, they are often left with a daunting financial burden. When insurance companies deny Long-Term Disability claims, stroke survivors are often forced to confront the harsh reality of mounting medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and basic living needs without the essential financial support they anticipated. This denial not only exacerbates their financial distress, but it can also take an emotional toll on stroke survivors.
If you have been denied Long-Term Disability Benefits after surviving a stroke, don’t wait any longer. Contact Camporese Lalande Disability Lawyers to speak with our experienced stroke Long-Term Disability lawyers today, and let us help you get the benefits you deserve. Call our Disability Lawyers today at 1-844-4-DISABILITY for your FREE CONSULTATION or alternatively, send us a message through our website and we will be happy to get right back to you and schedule your FREE CONSULTATION and explain your legal rights to you, and what remedy you may be entitled to. Remember – if we work together, our stroke disability lawyers NEVER ask for money upfront, under any circumstances. Our disability lawyers only get paid if you get paid.
A stroke, alternatively referred to as a transient ischemic attack or cerebrovascular accident, is a condition that arises when the brain’s blood supply is obstructed. This blockage deprives the brain of crucial oxygen and nutrients, causing brain cells to die within minutes. Additionally, sudden intracranial bleeding can lead to a stroke by damaging brain cells.
Such an event constitutes a medical emergency due to its potential to cause persistent brain damage, long-term disability, or even fatality. Symptoms can vary widely, from mild debilitation to paralysis or numbness on one side of the face or body. Additional signs may include sudden, intense headaches, unexpected weakness, vision problems, and difficulty with speech or understanding spoken language.
In the event of a suspected stroke, it is crucial to call 9-1-1 immediately. Driving to the hospital or having someone else drive you is not advisable. Instead, an ambulance should be called so that medical professionals can commence life-saving procedures en route to the hospital, as time is of the essence in such situations.
Upon reaching the hospital, a specialized stroke team will evaluate your state and implement appropriate treatment, which could include medication, surgical intervention, or other procedures. Your recovery trajectory will depend largely on the severity of the stroke and the promptness of your treatment. A comprehensive rehabilitation plan may aid in reacquiring abilities that were part of your life pre-stroke.
A stroke is a medical emergency where oxygen is not able to reach the brain, resulting in brain damage. Normally, the heart pumps blood that is full of oxygen to the brain through blood vessels called arteries, but there are a number of situations that can result in that blood not reaching the brain.
There are a number of biological and behavioural risk factors that can lead to the onset of a stroke. These include:
For many individuals, experiencing a stroke is something unexpected. When the brain loses oxygen, there is damage done to the nerves. These nerves are what help control actions and the ability to do certain activities. Many of the symptoms associated with a stroke are a result of this lack of cognitive control:
There are three main types of strokes:
Ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot stops blood from reaching the brain, resulting in brain damage. Blood clots form when the artery hardens because of too much plaque from fat or calcium that builds up and creates blockages in the artery. This build-up of fat and calcium can be the result of lifestyle like having an unbalanced diet and not enough physical movement in daily life. This is the most common form of stroke, with over 87% of strokes identified as ischemic strokes.
A less serious form of ischemic stroke is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Ischemic strokes mean that there is complete blockage of the artery, but in cases of TIA, the flow of blood – and oxygen – to the brain is restored in a few minutes, meaning that the damage done is less than that of an ischemic stroke. TIA lasts only about 60 minutes at the most, but should still be considered a serious medical condition. Almost a third of people who experience TIA go on to have an ischemic stroke in the future.
Hemorrhagic stroke happens when there is a rupture or break in an artery, resulting in pressure on brain cells. Hemorrhagic strokes can come in two forms:
High blood pressure or hypertension is one of the most common reasons for a hemorrhagic stroke. There are a number of factors connected to hypertension, which include having a family history of the condition, lack of sufficient sleep, obesity or being overweight, maintaining an unhealthy diet that contains foods high in fat, salt, or cholesterol, and having other conditions that might affect your body’s ability to maintain lower healthier blood pressure.
While it is relevant to understand which type of stroke you have a higher than normal probability of developing, it’s important to understand the impact of any of the three types of strokes can be incredibly disabling for anybody.
Having a stroke can have a profound impact on an individual’s capacity to perform their job efficiently. The physical and cognitive impairments that may result from a stroke, such as weakened motor skills, memory loss, or difficulty with language, can pose significant challenges in a work environment. Consequently, a stroke survivor may have to stop working entirely.
The physical symptoms and effects of a stroke can have serious, long-lasting effects on someone’s ability to continue a job. These include:
A stroke not only affects someone’s physical abilities and function but can also result in permanent damage to their cognitive and mental capacity as well. For the few individuals fortunate enough to not have any lasting physical disability as a result of their stroke, other mental disabilities may create different obstacles to ever returning to work.
From the surprise experienced at the onset of a stroke to experiencing symptoms and effects of the condition to learning about any disabilities that the condition has caused, living through a stroke is a stressful situation. For someone in this continued state of stress, mental fatigue can develop, which is a condition that makes someone physically tired and mentally drained.
Mental fatigue makes it difficult to find the motivation to learn, make plans, identify problems, and create solutions. It arises in cases of stroke because of the amount of mental stress someone is put under during the entire process. It can be similar to depression in the different signs that people with mental fatigue and depression show, like low energy and lack of drive.
Stroke survivors may also have reduced ability and cognitive skills, which can mean a lessened ability to resolve problems, deal with people’s issues, and create solutions to challenges faced at work and in life. This can affect someone’s working life in two related ways: their ability to return to their position and industry of work, and their ability to retrain and find new work opportunities.
Cognitive disabilities are extremely damaging for individuals who work in positions that require a high level of ability. This could affect any number of individuals working at skilled positions in any number of industries, for example:
This disability is harmful to someone’s ability to return to employment not only because it affects a person’s ability to figure things out on the job, but also because it makes it many times more challenging for someone trying to retrain for an alternative position to do so as well. The ability to gain new knowledge can even be more cognitively demanding than recalling memorized practice or knowledge, and people who have experienced strokes may discover that they aren’t mentally able to learn new skills and remember information as easily as they were able to before the stroke.
People who have survived a stroke may also have disabilities that affect their ability to perform basic functions in the workplace.
Can you get long term disability benefits for stroke related symptoms? The answer is most yes. Stroke survivors often face many challenges in their long journey to recovery – if they in fact able to recover – with many finding themselves reliant on Long-Term Disability Benefits for many years, if not permanently..
After the onset of your disability, and for the first two years thereafter, you will be able to qualify for long term disability benefits if you are unable to complete the substantial duties of your own occupation. This means that if – because of your stroke related symptoms – you cannot fulfill the main duties of your own job you will qualify for long-term disability benefits. This is known as the “own occupation” provision.
At the two year junction, most policies change the definition of “disability”. At the two year mark – in most cses – you have the burden of proving that your stroke related symptoms prevent you from completing the substantial duties of “any occupation” for which you may be qualified or suitable, by way of your experience, education and training. This is known as the “any occupation” provision. This shift broadens the scope of what is considered suitable employment and makes it more challenging to prove the inability to work, thereby making it harder to qualify for continued benefits.
If your disability benefits have been terminated or denied, It’s very important that you engage the services of a long-term disability lawyer to help prove that you are unable to complete the substantial duties of any job for which you were reasonably trained. Unfortunately many disability adjusters do not properly understand the theory of this definition from a legal perspective. At this point many disability adjudicators will simply put claimants through a transferable skills analysis or some sort of vocational test – and then have one of their insurance company paid doctors review your file. More times than not it will be determined that no matter what a claimant si suffering from – he or she will be able to go back to work and “do somethin”g. This is not the law nor is it how a court would determine whether or not you are “totally disabled” within the particular meaning of a long-term disability policy. Call us today to schedule your free consultation it your disability benefits have been terminated at the two year mark.
Your disability insurance company may try to refer you to their internal appeals committee. Remember – you most likely have the right to submit “fresh” or “additional” medical eviudence to substantiate your disability. The reality is that you are appealing the denial of your disabiilty benefits to the same insurance company that denied your benefits in the first place. Instead of submitting and internal appeal, contact our Long-Term Disability lawyers to get the FREE information you need to make a better and more informed decision about how to handle your Long-Term Disability Benefits denial after a suffering from and living with symptoms of a stroke.
The effects of a stroke can greatly affect work productivity and can put even more mental strain on you. If your Long-Term Disability claim has been denied due to a stroke, you have rights, for example:
If you have been denied Long-Term Disability insurance after suffering a stroke, don’t wait any longer. Contact Lalande Disability Lawyers to speak with our experienced stroke Long-Term Disability lawyers today, and let us help you get the benefits you deserve. We are here to protect your rights so you can move forward with your recovery without added financial stress.
Our stroke disability lawyers understand that surviving a stroke can be difficult to discuss. We are here to help you secure the disability benefits that you need and deserve so that you can focus on your recovery without added financial strain.
There are several ways to book your free consultation with our Long-Term Disability Lawyers:
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In most cases, yes, so long as you satisfy the definition of “total disability” as it is set out in your Long-Term Disability policy.
In most cases, total disability means that for the first two years of Long-Term Disability, you must be unable to complete the regular or substantial duties of your own job – which is often called the “own occupation” test. After two years, you must be unable to satisfy the duties of any occupation for which you may be qualified by way of your education, training or experience – which is often called the “any occupation” test.
In most cases, you can qualify for Long-Term Disability Benefits if you have survived a stroke, so long-as you meet the definition of “total disability” within your disability insurance policy.
In Ontario, you can qualify for disability benefits if you are following a proper treatment plan and you satisfy the requirements of the definition of a “total disability” within the meaning of your disability insurance policy.
If the symptoms you experience after your stroke prevent you from engaging or completing the substantial duties of your employment and you meet the definition of “total disability” within your disability insurance policy you can qualify.
No, appealing to the same insurance company that denied your disability claim is a waste of your valuable time, you need benefits now. Contact one of our disability lawyers now.
Yes, talking to a disability lawyer about your case should always be free. At Camporese Lalande Disability Lawyers, we never charge anyone to talk to us about their case. We understand that another bill is the last thing you need while suffering and being cut-off disability.
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