Success Story: Lorraine Stanley
Lorraine started working as a postal worker when she was in her early 20s. She loved the job - she had a flexible schedule, the job was physical, and it kept her up and moving where other desk jobs didn’t. Lorraine had lived with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) for most of her life. She appreciated that her job helped her spend more time outside, active, and on her feet. The increase in physical activity truly helped her cope with her SAD, and made life infinitely easier. The condition still persisted, but she felt in control of it.
When she had her daughter, however, things seemed to change. She started to notice changes in her mood that she wasn’t able to account for. She’d spent years getting used to her SAD,
she knew how to identify it and its symptoms. This was something different. She felt lethargic, constantly sleep deprived - as if she were walking through a haze. Getting out of bed felt impossible. Lorraine and her partner at the time wrote it off as mild postpartum depression and assumed she would be able to handle it the way she had taken care of her SAD all these years.
Eventually, her relationship disintegrated, and she found herself a single mother of a five-year-old working a full-time job. She started suffering from panic attacks that would strike in the middle of the day and leave her feeling nauseated or even vomiting while on her route. Lorraine consulted her family physician who suggested that she had been suffering from postpartum depression (PPD) all these years without adequate treatment, leading to severe, prolonged depressive episodes. She was prescribed SSRIs (serotoninreuptake inhibitors) for the depression, but the medication started to affect her in profoundly negative ways, actually worsening her nausea, and having little to no effect on her anxiety. She found it progressively more difficult to function at work and at home, needing her mother’s help to function on a day-today basis.
Eventually it became clear that Lorraine could not keep working full time the way she had all these years. She needed to take some time to truly cope with her PPD and recover so that she could lead a normal, happy life with her daughter. She applied for long-term disability and had her claim accepted. After a month and a half, however, that decision was overturned. Through surveillance, the insurance company noted that she should still be able to continue working as her mother was helping out at home. What this failed to take into account was that she was struggling on a daily basis just to get out of bed. The help at home would make no difference if she couldn’t take the time off the job to truly recover and be there for her little girl.
One day, her mother got frustrated and started searching online for options for Lorraine. That’s when she stumbled upon Share Lawyers. Thankfully, we were able to fight the insurance company on Lorraine’s behalf. We assisted Lorraine is getting more medical treatment and arguing that just because her mother is helping her at home does not lessen Lorraine’s legitimate claim. After a fight with the insurance company that lasted many months, Share Lawyers was able to negotiate a settlement whereby Lorraine was compensated for all her back benefits and several years into the future. This allowed her to continue to get the help she needed to move on with her life.
*All names and identifying details have been changed to protect the confidentiality of all involved.
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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.
