Success Story: Sonny Costa
Sonny was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when he was just 14 years old. He spent his whole life being careful, a necessity given concerns around the long-term ramifications of the disease. Despite his best efforts, by the age of 42, he started to develop diabetic nephropathy, also known as kidney disease.
By this point, Sonny was a father of two kids, had a great home, and a wonderful partner in his wife, Denise. They’d built the life they’d always wanted, but now things were going to get more complicated.
A mechanic, Sonny had to start making some concessions at work. Due to the kidney disease, he was having difficulty keeping up with the day-to-day activities that used to be a breeze. At first, the symptoms were manageable but as things progressed, he started to feel nauseous, suffered from shortness of breath, weakness, and started to become easily confused. He was retaining a lot of fluid which made moving around uncomfortable and sometimes painful. Sonny tried doing desk work, but eventually, he just had to stay at home.
As the kidney failure progressed, Sonny applied for long-term disability in order to go on dialysis and get on the transplant list for a new kidney. His claim was approved, and he was able to stay at home and conserve his energy while he went through treatment. Fortunately, Denise was a perfect match, and able to give him a kidney. They went ahead with the transplant, which gave Sonny a new lease on life, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet with a long recovery process. Unfortunately, his insurance company didn’t see it this way.
Six months after Sonny had the transplant, he was now deemed ineligible for his long-term disability benefits. They were to stop immediately. Because he’d had the transplant and no longer needed to be on dialysis or live with the symptoms of kidney failure, they believed he should be good to return to work. The insurance company closed his file.
Sonny and Denise wasted no time in finding help. They asked around, trying to find a disability lawyer. One of Denise’s coworkers suggested Share Lawyers and they came in for a consultation. Immediately we knew they had a case.
Cases like these are often dependent on having strong medical evidence to prove that the condition does, in fact, merit continuing time off work. There are also strict time limits to fight the insurance company’s decision. Thankfully, Sonny and Denise came to us in time. We assisted Sonny in gathering more medical information to support that he cannot return to work as a mechanic. After a very difficult fight, we were able to get Sonny his benefits going back to when he was cut-off and several years into the future. Sonny is hoping to get back to work in the next few years, but his health is the families number one concern.
*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.
