We’ve seen it time and time again. Claimants receive the phone call or letter notifying them of their impending termination of disability benefits. You’re fine to go back to work, they say. You’re not sick enough to stay home – or your condition has improved – they say. They might have a “medical assessor” look at your file and based on a paper medical review, the insurance company doctor will suggest that benefits should be terminated. We get that at first you are stunned, then convinced some kind of mistake has occurred. You start to panic, and try to get a hold of your adjudicator, the insurance company, your HR department, insurance agent – someone who will listen…to no avail. You can forsee that you and your family will soon be in financial trouble. Should you call a disability lawyer? How much will talking to a disability lawyer cost me? Even more important, how much will it actually cost you to hire a disability lawyer ? You continue to panic because you know that your personal funds will soon be depleted.
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100% of our Consultations with Disability Claimants are Free. When you contact our disability lawyers we will schedule an in-person office meeting, phone meeting or a virtual video meeting to discuss the facts of your case – for free. You will never pay to talk to us about your case. When your call is scheduled, please make sure to have all the relevant information ready to discuss with us, including where you worked, how long you have been off on disability, a summary of your medical condition, whether your disability policy is a group or individual policy, and a copy of your denial letter that was sent to you by your disability insurance company.
After you’ve arranged a consultation, the first step is to make sure you have your disability policy handy to discuss with our disability lawyers. If you purchsed an individual policy, please call your broker for a copy of your policy. If you are a part of a group employment plan, please speak to your benefits administrator. Don’t rely on your disability insurance company to find or produce the policy. It is important that we have a copy of your disability policy, especially if it was purchased some time ago. Disability Policies have changed quite dramatically in the past several years so it is important that we review the individual particulars of your policy in order to provide you the best advice we can.
It’s important to understand the disability process prior to understanding how legal fees are structured. There are two ways to settle a long-term disability case – reinstatement or lump sum.
When we claim that your benefits were wrongfully denied, we will be asking a Court for a declaration – meaning that we want the Court to order that you satisfy the definition of “Total Disability” in your policy. We want the Court to essentially “declare” you disabled and that your benefits should be reinstated. If the insurer agrees to do reinstate your benefits, then some or all arrears or past benefits owed will be paid to you, and your future benefits will be reinstated on a monthly basis as they were prior to termination, subject to all normal terms of the policy, with the potential for being cut off in the future again. If a lump sum settlement occures at any point during the claim, the insurer will pay some or all of the arrears, prejudgment interest and an agreed amount for the future risk of the insured remaining disabled, in exchange for a full and final release of all obligations under the policy.
Absolutely nothing unless we win your case.
Our disability lawyers work on contingency – meaning that we don’t charge you anything up front and we will not send you a bill until the case is settled, or a verdict is reached in court. If we cannot reach a settlement or we lose your case, you will not have to pay us for our legal services. A contingency fee basis means that your disability lawyer will charge you a percentage of the settlement you receive when you are successful. This is also known as a no-win, no-fee retainer agreement. The agreement will be explained in full and provided to you in writing, so rest assured that there will be no additional hidden fees throughout the process. We are always transparent about the process in order to maintain clear, efficient communication with all of the clients we represent.
The major benefit to proceeding by contingency is that you do not have to pay our disability lawyers upfront. You gain access to justice and have the benefit of accessing our disability lawyers with no upfront cost. There is also incentive and motivation for your disbility lawyers to do the utmost on your case to win. Another advantage is to using a contingency fee arrangement with your disability case is that if the case does work out, you do not have to worry about paying legal fees to us. (although you may still be responsible for some administrative costs). This may provide some people with peace of mind–if the lawyer is willing to risk not collecting a fee for the work they put into things, you probably have a good chance of winning your case.
If we are successful at getting your benefits reinstated and a settlement is not achieved in your case, typically the insurer will provide full or partial payment of our legal fees, based on an hourly basis.
During the course of representing you, our law firm will likely incur costs that are called “disbursments“. Disbusements are expenses incurred by our disability lawyers for the purposes of advancing the plaintiff’s claim.. Such disbursement that are often incurred are (for example) the costs of filing your claim, your hospital records, therapists records, doctor records, employment records and other such documents needed to prove your case. In addition, we will likely incur costs for paying specialists to review your file to provide us with an independent medical opinion or other types of opinions required. For example, if you suffer from serious mental health issues that prevent you from maintaining a job, we often will retain the services of a psychologist or psychiatrist to prove your disability, as well as a vocational expert to assess your work intolerances based on the opinion of the psychologist or psychiatirist.
Some firms will require you to provide payment of disbursements no matter if you case is won or lost. With our firm, and with disability cases only, we do not require such a guarantee. If we lose the case, we will absorbe the costs of your disbursements and you will owe us nothing.
If you’ve been denied disability, it’s important that you work with an experienced disability lawyer in order to advance your case through the claims process A disability specialist will no doubt provide you with the best chance to obtain the reinstatement or settlement of your disability benefits. The first step is always a free consultation with our legal team, where we will inform you of your legal rights, the options you may choose from, or the course of action we believe is necessary to recover your benefits. Call us today – nationwide at 1-844-LALANDE or local at 905-333-8888 to speak with us today – and remember, Lalande Disability Lawyers will never ask our new or existing disability clients for any money up front.
We Can Help. Contact us 24/7
start your case905-333-8888VOTED BEST LAWYERS IN CANADA 2018, 2019 & 2020
Yes, you do. It is imperative that you retain an experienced disability lawyer who will fight for your rights, and protect your interests throughout the complex and difficult claims process.
Yes, talking to Matt Lalande or anyone at Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers is 100% free. We never charge for consultations. We understand that disability insurance claims are very complex contractual disputes that require epxert legal assitance which not everyone can afford.
If we win your case, we will be paid a pre-determined part of your settlement or Court verdict. This is called a contingency arrangment.
It can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, generally, depending on the complexity of your case and risk on the insurer.
No – unless your neighborhood lawyer is specialized in the disability field. Location does not matter given the ability to meet virtually and engage our services remotely. We have represented disbility claimants as far North as Kenora and as South as Niagara Falls.
We understand that this is new territory for you and that you are most likely overwhelmed with emotion due not only to the wrongful denial of your benefits, but also concerning not knowing who to hire. We would suggest speaking to several disability lawyers that specialize in the field, and retain the lawyer you have the best feeling about, who answered your questions clearly and consicely, and whom you felt most confident representing your best interests.
I was a dental hygienist that suffers from really bad scoliosis. My insurance company ignored my doc & cut my benefits off & told me I could do “something”. Matt got me CPP Disability and and LTD settlement – I don’t know what I would have done without him.
My daughter was killed by a drunk driver and it forever changed all of our lives. It seemed that for two years time stopped. This was no an easy journey. Matt let me sit in on the discovery of the driver and boy, he never let up. In the end, our grand-daughter was taken care of and we were compensated for our loss – which we then donated to a cause we believed in.
I call Matt my knight in shining armour. After I was struck by a car while cycling and permanently crippled, he fielded all communications with my especially difficult and downright nasty insurance adjuster. Every step of my care was a battle and I did not have the strength to fight alone.
I lost my leg in a terrible motorcycle accident and Matt help me recover compensation I need because I could not work and the cost of prosthetics and rehab are out of this world. I don’t know what I would have done without him.
My brother ended up paralyzed after a car accident and Lalande did SO MUCH to help get things straight from him getting out of the hospital to all his care for life. We are so grateful for Matt & Heather. I don’t know how my family could have done this without them.
