Burnout and long-term disability

Posted on April 24, 2020June 14, 2024 by Walter Law Group

Workers across Ontario are facing employment challenges that most would have never expected. And as stressful as the job market already is, it can be even more overwhelming to navigate if you suffer from a severe and long-term disability.

In some cases, extended periods of physical and mental anxiety due to work actually cause or contribute to serious health problems. This could be the situation for workers struggling with burnout.

What is burnout?

Workers in some occupations experience immense exhaustion due to high-stakes performance requirements, long hours or exposure to dangerous conditions.

Over time, this environment can take a devastating toll on a person’s mental and physical health. They can become cynical, careless and anxious.

Further, according to the Mayo Clinic, a person suffering from job-related burnout can have several different symptoms of this condition, including:

Depression
Difficulty sleeping
Fatigue
Irritability
High blood pressure
Increased risk of becoming sick
Heart disease

Without addressing the work or expectations causing the burnout, these and other serious symptoms can persist and become worse over time.

Is burnout disabling?

Although job burnout can affect workers in several severe ways, it likely would not be considered disabling in the context of disability benefits.

That said, it is possible for burnout to cause or contribute to conditions that do prevent a worker from performing his or her current job or a similar job. If this sounds like your situation, depending on your insurance, your condition could meet the definition of disability.

Seeking support for burnout

If you are experiencing mental or physical exhaustion due to your job, it is crucial that you seek support. Such support can include therapy, medical care, job accommodations or a new job altogether. These options can help you cope with stress and treat your symptoms.

Unfortunately, in some cases, burnout and the illnesses it exacerbates or causes makes it impossible for a person to continue working. And being unable to work and collect an income can only make things more stressful. In these situations, it can be critical to examine the options for pursuing disability benefits to help you through this difficult time.

What to expect from long-term disability benefits

Posted on March 14, 2019June 14, 2024 by Walter Law Group

Suffering a serious injury or illness can be upsetting for numerous reasons. This includes the toll it can take on your ability to work and earn an income. However, there may be benefits available that can make the situation a little easier, like long-term disability.

Below, we explain a few basic aspects of long-term disability benefits and what you might expect in terms of filing a claim.

Types of insurance

There are different types of insurance when it comes to disability, including short-term and long-term disability benefits. There can also be benefits available if an injury occurred on the job.

Regarding long-term disability, there are two types of plans: group plans and individual plans. Understanding the type of coverage you have will be crucial in determining the benefits that may be available. If you are unsure of your coverage, you can talk to a lawyer.

What you may receive in benefits

Though specific benefits and calculations will depend on the type of coverage you have, generally speaking, long-term disability replaces a percentage of a person’s income for a specific amount of time.

As this article notes, most plans will cover between 60-70 percent of a person’s regular income. Benefits may last approximately two years, but they could end sooner or last longer, depending on the details of a claim.

Eligibility requirements

In order to collect long-term disability benefits, a person must meet eligibility requirements. This includes:

Having a condition that meets the insurance company’s definition of disabling
Having appropriate coverage
Being unable to work in either a specific occupation or any occupation, depending on the policy

Problems that can arise

Long-term disability benefits can be crucial to the lives of those who collect them. However, there are issues that can arise and make it difficult for a person to access these critical benefits. This can include wrongful denial of benefits and premature termination of benefits.

Should complications arise involving your long-term disability benefits, it is important that you take steps to understand your legal options. Too often, people assume they have no recourse or they hope the matter will resolve itself. However, these can prove to be costly assumptions, so it is important to discuss your case and possible remedies with your lawyer.

Were you fired while you were on medical leave?

Posted on July 16, 2018June 14, 2024 by Walter Law Group

Losing a job can be one of the worst things to happen to anyone in Ontario who is fighting to recover from an illness that caused a disability. If this happened to you, it could bring about financial hardship for you and your family. The lack of income along with mounting medical bills can cause undue anxiety that might even exacerbate your poor health.

This is where LTD comes into play. If you have suffered an injury or contracted a disease that prevents you from returning to work, you might be entitled to long-term disability benefits.

An employer’s duty to accommodate

Except under limited circumstances, your employer may not terminate your employment while you are on medical leave. While sadly some employers do fire workers purely because they are unhappy that the employees take medical leave, provincial and federal human rights laws protect workers from such discrimination. No one’s disability may be the grounds for dismissal.

Exceptions

Employment laws require an employer to provide accommodation if you become disabled due to ill health or an injury. Your boss could either modify your duties in a manner that would allow you to continue working or he or she could grant you medical leave. However, if an employer can prove any of the following circumstances, it might justify dismissal:

Cost: If your employer must spend unreasonable amounts of money to bring about modifications to accommodate you, the court might agree that there was no other option than to dismiss you.
Undue hardship: If your employer claims that accommodating you during your illness will cause unreasonable hardship for the company, he or she will have to meet a high threshold to motivate such claims.
Health risk: If you have a condition that is highly contagious, your employer might use that to justify dismissal. However, granting you medical leave would prevent exposure of other employees to your illness.
Disruption: Some employers claim accommodating an employee’s ill health can hamper workflow, but proving that could be tough.
Unrelated firing: Your boss might even attempt to convince the court that your termination had nothing to do with your debilitating injury or illness.

Your rights during this trying time

If your employer fires you while you are on medical leave, you have the right to launch a complaint. The employer will then have the burden to prove the need to terminate your employment. Fighting for your rights at a time when you are also battling an illness might be overwhelming, but help is available. The support and guidance from an Ontario lawyer who has experience in dealing with both wrongful terminations and long-term disability insurance may prove to be an invaluable asset to your cause.