If you have disability insurance with a private insurer or have contributed to the Canada Pension Plan disability, you are entitled to make a claim when you are unable to work due to an injury or illness. Making a disability claim may be rather tasking during your illness. Even if you had the energy, the application process could still overwhelm you. The claims process starting with your initial application to an appeal requires a lot from you. Sometimes, it may be necessary to seek help, especially where your initial application has been denied. You do not want to get a denial at the appeals stage as well. It is actually advisable to seek help when making your initial application. This ensures that you get it right and obtain your benefits as quickly as possible.

Where to get help with your Disability Claim

1. Disability Claim Lawyers Insurance deals with legal concepts. An argument involving a denial of a claim is purely a legal argument. This means that the best person to help you with your disability claim would be a lawyer, otherwise, it will be difficult for you to prevail. An experienced and competent disability attorney can increase your chances of success significantly. The lawyer has been trained to read the fine print and make logical arguments. Additionally, making disability claims is the day to day activity of a disability lawyer. The lawyer has come across many cases similar to yours that they would know how to approach your case. Even the mere inclusion of an experienced disability lawyer on record for you would make the process much quicker. On the contrary, if you make an application by yourself, your insurer may try to take advantage of your unfamiliarity hoping that you can give up on the claim.
2. Association of Canadian Disability Benefits Professionals The Association of Canadian Disability Benefits Professionals (ACDBP) is made up of 14 organisations across the country working to ensure that the rights of disabled people in the country are respected and protected. The organisation’s primary objective is to help Canadians living with disabilities to access disability tax credits and Canada child benefits. That means that the organisation can only help you to a limited extent as it does not deal with disability insurance claims and the CPP disability benefits.

How to Choose a Lawyer to for Your Disability Claim

As you have noted, a disability lawyer is the best person to help you with your disability claim. In Canada, we have many lawyers handling both long term and short term disability claims. Choosing a good lawyer entails getting the best fit for you. It’s not just about the lawyer’s credentials, however it is also about the best lawyer for you. Some of the ways of finding a lawyer for your disability claim are:

• Ask family, friends or colleagues if they have dealt with one before or are otherwise in a position to advise you on the best choice
• Seek referrals from a member of the social service agency or a settlement worker
• Check on the Directory of Certified Specialists from the Law Society of Upper Canada
• Contact the Law Society Referral Service

The Law Society Referral Service

The Law Society Referral Service is an online service helping residents of Ontario with online referrals. The service is available 24 hours a day and you can make an online request, go through the referral process and get a 30 minutes initial consultation for free. The purpose of the consultation is to help you determine your rights and options. It does not include legal representation or any free legal work. However, you can make enquiries on the estimate amount of legal fees that you may be asked to pay if you engage a lawyer.

You are free to request for a referral of a lawyer who speaks your first language. You should know what you want before asking for a referral because if you fail to hire the lawyer referred to you, you cannot ask for a second referral for the same claim.

Other ways of identifying a good disability lawyer

The referral process is the easiest way because you are not required to do anything other than contacting the service. However, if you want to be more actively involved in identifying a lawyer for your disability claim, here are the steps to follow.

• Start by speaking to a family member or friend who is a lawyer, if any
• Prefer a lawyer who specialises in long term disability to a general practitioner
• Make sure the lawyer is actively involved in long term disability law
• Ask for an initial meeting, most lawyers will not charge you for this
• Ask the lawyer as many questions as possible and gauge their confidence in the law
• Consider your budgetary constraints- although many disability lawyers will work on a contingency basis, you do not want half of your settlement to go to legal fees.