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If you were recently injured and you are finding it difficult to perform your daily tasks at work, you might be eligible for short term disability. Thousands of personal injury claims are filed every year, and many people are awarded short term disability benefits. In British Columbia, out of 103,940 disability claims submitted, about 48,000 were short term disability claims, which resulted in millions of dollars in compensation.
It is important to begin the process of filing a claim as soon as you believe that your injury will increase your work absence to more than the typically allotted 7 days. Here are the key things you need to do in order to file a claim successfully.
Consult Benefits
You will want to speak with the benefits department at your employer to see if they offer extended short term disability. They will usually have an application for you to fill out, along with a medical form that must be completed by your physician. It is also important to find out if there is a time limit to filling out the application, and how long the process will take.
Contact Your Insurance
If the disability claim is not handled directly by your employer, it is probably executed by the company’s private insurance policy. In this case, speak with an insurance company liaison to see what paperwork needs to be filled out, when the benefits will take effect, and what forms need to be turned into your employer. Filling out the paperwork carefully and making sure you keep copies of everything you sign is crucial to making sure that you dot your i’s and cross your t’s. You can then compare it to what the company handbook says about short term disability to make sure they are following protocol.
Get in Touch With Your Lawyer
While you may not think this is necessary, you never know when you will need a personal injury lawyer to help you. Personal injury law firms work with short term disability claims, as well as long term disability claims, and are well-versed in the compensation that you deserve based on your injury. As each province’s laws might vary, their expertise will be valuable. In addition, if your employer says that too much time has lapsed while filling out your application, a lawyer can help fight to get your claim filed.
Filing short term disability claims does not have to be a complicated process. As long as you ask the right questions, fill out and make a copy of all the paperwork, and verify everything with a lawyer, you will be on your way to getting the benefit you are entitled to.
