Long-Term Disability Lawyers in Ontario
Most long-term disability denials in Ontario are not about whether you are ill. They turn on a change in the policy definition of disability, usually at the two year mark, from being unable to do your own job to being unable to do any job.
Deadlines that apply to you
These are the dates that end claims. Check them first.
In most Ontario claims you have two years from the day you knew, or ought to have known, that you had a claim.
Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B, s. 4
How this actually works
Long-term disability claims get denied at two predictable moments, and neither has much to do with how unwell you are.
The first is at the start, usually over paperwork or a treatment gap. The second is at roughly two years, when most policies quietly change the test. Up to that point you qualify if you cannot do your own occupation. After it, you have to be unable to do any occupation you are reasonably suited to. Insurers time terminations to that switch.
Knowing which of those two things happened tells you what the case is actually about.
Read the policy, not the denial letter
The denial letter tells you what the insurer decided. The policy tells you what they had to prove. Those are rarely the same document and the difference is where the case lives.
Find the gap in their file
Denials usually rest on a paper review by someone who never examined you, a surveillance clip, or a treatment record that stops. Each of those has a known answer.
Build the medical case properly
Not just a note saying you are unwell. Functional evidence about what you can and cannot do for a working day, from people who actually treat you.
Appeal or sue
Internal appeals have their uses, but they also run time. Sometimes the right move is to stop appealing and issue a claim.
What this costs you
We fight for the maximum compensation your claim will carry, and you do not pay a dollar unless we win.
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, we act on contingency, and we advance the costs of building the case so a claim is never held up by money. If we do not recover anything, you do not owe a fee.
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We advance disbursements
- Home and hospital visits across the GTA
Questions we get every week
Almost certainly because the policy definition changed from your own occupation to any occupation. That is a contract term doing the work, not a medical finding.
Generally two years, but the date it starts running can be argued about, and it is not always the date on the denial letter. Do not assume you are out of time without checking.
Sometimes. It is free and occasionally works. But it can also run down the clock while producing nothing, so it should be a decision rather than a default.
No. Surveillance shows a few minutes of a person's week. Being filmed carrying groceries is not evidence of the ability to work a full week, and it is regularly overstated.
No. The consultation is free and disability claims are taken on contingency.
Related areas
Insurance Disputes
Ontario insurers owe policyholders a duty of good faith in how they handle a claim.
Read moreAccident Benefits
Accident benefits are paid by your own auto insurer regardless of who caused the collision.
Read moreTraumatic Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury can be severe and permanent while every scan comes back normal.
Read moreFurther reading
Plain-language guides on the parts of an Ontario claim people ask about most.
You Are Being Watched: Surveillance in Ontario Injury Claims
Surveillance captures a few minutes of a person's week and is presented as though it captured their life.
Read the guide AFTER AN INJURYWhy Long-Term Disability Claims Get Denied, and How to Fight Back
Benefits usually stop at two years for a reason that has nothing to do with your health.
Read the guide MONEYThe LTD Change of Definition: Why Benefits Get Cut Off Mid-Claim in Ontario
Your claim was approved and the payments arrived on schedule. Then a letter says the definition of disability is changing and your benefits are under review. That switch is written into your policy, and you can prepare for it.
Read the guideWhere we act in Ontario
The limitation period, the statutory deductible and the tort threshold are provincial, so they are identical in every city here. What changes is who must be served inside the 10-day notice window, and that is decided by the city.
The lawyer on your file
A lawyer reads every enquiry. Not a form.
Send us what happened and Shawn Sidhu reads it himself, then replies the same business day. The first conversation is free and there is no obligation.
If we do not think you have a claim, we will tell you that too. You will know where you stand before you decide anything.
Shawn Sidhu, Lawyer
Called to the bar in British Columbia, 2013
University of British Columbia · University of Birmingham
- Free consultation, no obligation
- Not a dollar unless we win
- We come to you at home or in hospital
Your fight becomes ours the day you call us.
Consultations are free and there is no obligation. If we take the case you pay nothing unless we win, and if we think you do not have a claim we will tell you that too.
Start your free case review
Tell us what happened. A lawyer reviews every enquiry, and we reply the same business day.
Thank you. We have your request.
A lawyer is reviewing what you sent and will call you the same business day. There is nothing else you need to do right now.
If you would rather not wait, call us now.
(416) 678-8765Free consultation, and no fee unless we win.