Success Story: Annie Martin
Living with borderline personality disorder (BPD) wasn’t something she openly discussed with others, but family, friends and colleagues always had the sense that Annie Martin wasn’t well.
Annie was diagnosed with the disorder at age 18, after suffering from the symptoms her entire life. As Annie grew older and entered the workforce, she had a difficult time adapting to conventional work environments, even while she received ongoing treatment from her family doctor and psychiatrist.
Flexible Career
She became an independent real estate agent because the job offered moments of respite to manage her disorder. She worked only during periods when she felt well. In order to protect her children financially, Annie purchased life insurance from Empire Life at the age of 34, as well as longterm disability coverage.
Disorder Affects Ability To Work
A string of personal tragedies caused Annie’s BPD symptoms to spiral out of control, including intense mood swings, panic attacks and an addiction to alcohol. Consequently, her work suffered, and her client-base began to dwindle. Annie’s doctor referred her to an addiction specialist.
Annie stopped working and filed a claim with her Empire Life for long-term disability benefits while she waited to start treatment. Unfortunately, she had a long wait ahead of her. There weren’t many addiction specialists in her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, so she was put on a waiting list for a specialist in Toronto.
Claim Denied
Empire LIfe took months to review her medical records and requested numerous updates throughout that time. They finally came back with a denial. According to them, Annie had failed to seek appropriate treatment for her addiction.
Share Lawyers Takes The Case
Annie was in a fragile state and she knew she needed help.
She hired Share Lawyers after reading positive online reviews from past clients who had also dealt with addiction issues and denied disability claims.
After reviewing her file, Share Lawyers determined that Annie had at all times fulfilled the terms of her policy by seeking appropriate treatment on an ongoing basis and following her doctor’s advice. Empire LIfe’s denial of her claim on the basis that she was still waiting for a specialist disregarded their obligations to their claimant.
Recovering Her Benefits
Share Lawyers gathered the necessary medical evidence to strengthen Annie’s case against her insurer. Once
Empire LIfe received the compelling evidence gathered by Share Lawyers, they were ready to negotiate, and Annie received a significant lump-sum settlement.
Annie was grateful to Share Lawyers for negotiating the settlement on her behalf. It gave her the time she needed to seek treatment and come out on the other side a healthier, happier person.
*Names have been fictionalized to protect the privacy of our clients.
Denied your long term disability claim?
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A note from our long term disability lawyers
Taking a medical leave from work is not an easy decision to make. Concerns about providing for yourself and your family and keeping your job may cause you to want to push through your pain, but this won’t make your problems go away. Stopping work is often the smartest decision for your long term health and well-being, and your disability benefits are there to provide you with financial support until you can return to work.
If you have made the tough decision to stop working and apply for your short term disability or long term disability benefits, you may feel overwhelmed by the process and have questions that your employer and your insurance company are not able or willing to answer. Share is There to see you through and answer your questions.
Our Disability law firm knows what you have been going through
We understand that things have not been easy for you over the last little while. Your health has been suffering, you are unable to work, and now your insurance company, who was supposed to be there in your time of need, has decided they will not pay your disability benefits or respect your disability claim. These benefits exist to provide you with the financial support you need so that you can focus on your health and rebuilding your life. It is unfortunate that your insurance company has not lived up to its promise. If your disability claim has been denied, we will fight to get you the benefits you are entitled to. Our disability lawyers have helped thousands of Canadians get their long term disability benefits over the past 35 years, and we can help you too.
Our experienced disability lawyers can fight back on your behalf
Share Lawyers believes that every client who is dealing with a disability claim deserves superior personal service. To achieve that goal, we have developed our team of experienced, compassionate, and caring long term disability lawyers, law clerks, and administrative staff to meet all of your needs. Our team of experienced long term disability, life insurance, employment, and critical illness insurance lawyers have made successful claims against many insurance companies, third-party administrators and employers.
If you are unable to work, your disability benefits should be there to provide you with the financial support you need. While your insurance company may be focused on finding ways to avoid paying your claim, our focus is on what is in your best interest. When Share Lawyers gets involved, you have an entire team of lawyers that are there to support you and to fight for what is yours.
Our disability claim lawyers fight for your disability insurance claim by relying on our many years of experience to apply the best strategic planning and approach in each case, using the latest technology available. Experience matters, and with Share Lawyers, you are in the best hands with 35 years of success on your side.
In this video, we explain the role of a long term disability lawyer and how we can support you when you have been denied your long term disability benefits.
