Success Story: Baxter Kerr

As a bank teller, he took new tellers under his wing. As a bank manager, he gained renown for good training. Once a Certified Human Resources Professional, he focused on training for his region. By age 32, Baxter Kerr had become a sought-after trainer in financial services. Then his peers lost their jobs to cutbacks.

Chronic Anxiety Plus Acute Stress

His workload increasing while his colleagues looked for work, Baxter’s friends and family were proud of his endurance. Yet, he felt that he could endure no more. A lifetime sufferer of stress, diagnosed at age 20 with an anxiety disorder, Baxter was now having panic attacks daily. He feared that he could not sustain the stress of his job. His was no longer a rewarding career.

Accustomed To Coping

In past years, Baxter managed to keep his anxiety problem to himself and had coped fairly well. Because of his involvement in Human Resources, he knew enough to consult a psychologist through his employer’s group benefits plan. Each year he had used his allotted number of free counselling sessions.

No Longer Able To Cope

This year, he had reached the limit and still felt needy. Just thinking about applying for insurance benefits for further relief caused him lost sleep. He was not coping.

Combination Disabling

Baxter’s family doctor knew about his anxiety problem and, after assessing his worsened condition, wrote a letter supporting his application for disability insurance benefits. The doctor’s letter stated that the pre-existing condition of the anxiety disorder, compounded by recent workplace stress with no relief in sight, amounted to a disabling condition.

Insurance Benefits Denied

The insurance company flatly denied disability benefits. The denial letter said that workplace stress is not covered and that Mr. Kerr ought to continue coping as he had done before.

Gets Legal Help

Struggling to go to work every day, this denial of benefits emboldened him. He became so determined to convince the insurer of his need for relief that, after discussing it with close friends, he contacted Share Lawyers.

Was workplace stress enough to claim a disability? Would it be enough if he could prove his history with an anxiety disorder? What evidence would be necessary to prove that workplace stress was disabling him?

Evidence Gathered

When Share Lawyers accepted his case, the fight for entitlement began with amassing evidence. Records from new assessments would complement notes from his family doctor and from the psychologist he had seen. With these would go statements about the increased demands on him and the anxiety-inducing effects of his peers losing their jobs. The case would go through an extensive discovery process.

Insurer Blinks First, Pays Settlement

When the insurer argued that Baxter had been coping for years and that workplace stress should not disable him all of a sudden, Share Lawyers countered with considerable evidence that he had indeed been brought past a reasonable limit and could not continue so disabled. Though mediation failed to resolve it, when the matter proceeded to pre-trial before an Ontario Superior Court Judge, the insurer finally agreed to pay a substantial settlement.

*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.