Disability Lawyers Ottawa

Servicing Ottawa and all of Ontario

It’s the same routine every work day. You get up, get dressed, eat, start the trek to the office. Perhaps you drive in from Kanata, the O-Train from South Keys, bike along the Ottawa Canal pathway, or even walk if you’re close enough. After a full day of work, you make the same trip home again. You’ve always loved your job, but you’re finding it more difficult to make this trip. You can’t seem to concentrate at work anymore. And you might even start spending time crying alone in a washroom stall. You start calling in sick more often; and then eventually you can’t bear to go at all.

Spiraling into a depressive state or depression can significantly impact your ability to work. Many people with these mental health conditions and other mood or anxiety disorders require time off for self-care and to get treatment to help manage their conditions. Other reasons for seeking an extended period of time off include: fibromyalgia (chronic pain), or experiencing sexual abuse or sexual harassment. When taking a sick day is no longer enough, these employees may be able to take short-term or long-term disability leaves.

Short-Term and Long-Term Disability

If you or your employer contributes to a health insurance plan and a condition such as depression prevents you from working for an extended period of time you may be able to take a short-term disability leave while still accessing all, or more likely a portion, of you salary (the average is 70%) and other health benefits. After a qualifying period, these short-term disability benefits usually last for between 15 weeks to a year, and are dependant on reports from your medical practitioner.

If there appears to be no immediate likelihood that you will be able to return to your job after this period of time, you may qualify for long-term disability after completing additional applications and medical evaluations from the insurance provider. In some cases, there may be policy exclusions that require your disability to prevent you from working at “any occupation” in order to draw benefits, even if would not choose to work at another occupation.

If You Are Having Difficulty With A Claim, Or A Claim Is Denied

When your disability prevents you from doing usual day-to-day work, pursuing a disability claim can be overwhelming. And if an insurance provider denies your claim, it can be devastating.

Common reasons for denying claims include insurance company findings that:

• An applicant is not disabled
• An applicant is not sufficiently disabled to entitle them to benefits
• An applicants made misrepresentations about their medical conditions on their insurance applications

Howie, Sacks and Henry’s disability and critical illness lawyers can help you in Ottawa when your insurance company has unfairly denied your application. Our experienced and knowledgeable team has the expertise to skillfully handle disability claims cases by seeking out medical experts and compiling documentation to bolster your claim. Insurance providers know that HSH lawyers come into settlement negotiations with a court-ready case and that we’re prepared to go to court if they don’t offer a fair and just settlement that meets our client’s needs.

HSH’s disability and critical illness lawyers are pleased to meet with you in your own home or at a nearby consultation office in the Ottawa area, so you’ll never need to worry about travelling great distances to access high quality legal representation. We will listen to your story and hope the legal advice and advocacy you’ll need to try to change the outcome.

Among our clients, we have proudly earned a reputation for caring, compassionate and empathetic service. We never want you to feel as though you are just a file to us or that we are insensitive to the incredible difficulties you may be facing.

If you live in the Ottawa area, your claim has been denied and you are wondering where to turn, trust HSH’s disability and critical illness lawyers to help you access the benefits you need and deserve.

News You Can Use

• “Finding Help For Those Who Feel Helpless.” Read More on the Inside Ottawa Valley Website.
• “Female PS Workers’s Disability Claims Outnumber men’s two-to-one.” Read More on the Ottawa Citizen Website.
• “The CRA Makes It So Hard to Get The Disability Tax Credit, Many Don’t Even Try.” Read More on the Global News website.

Looking to work with a disability lawyer in Ottawa? Contact Us.

We service the Ottawa and surrounding area, including Lanark, Carlton and Renfrew counties. When you think Disability Lawyer Ottawa, Think Howie, Sacks & Henry.