I have been off work on LTD for ankylosing spondylitis since Nov 2016. I was officially diagnosed in Mar 2017. I applied for CPP disability in July 2018. I received my denial letter on Jan 9, 2019. I was denied due to not severe and prolonged enough. I got my workplace physician to write an in depth explanation of my illness and my inability to work any job as well as stating i am completely disabled. My reconsideration information was received by service canada on Mar 7 2019. After waiting 120 days from the date they received my information(july 5,2019) I was told there is internal issues and they are very busy so they will put an escalation notice on it which means they will contact me within 15 business days(july 26,2019). I called service canada on july 12,2019 to see if there had been any progress since sending the escalation notice, I was told my information was sent to toronto on july 10,2019 due to the British Columbia adjudicators not being able to complete in time. It is now July 22 2019 and I still have not received an approval or denial letter. Why is this taking so long? and why can they just keep extending their deadline? Is there anything else I can do other than calling service canada? Should I expect to not recieve my letter by the end of the first escalation notice, or am I going to have to call again on July 26, 2019 and get them to submit ANOTHER escalation. ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!! THANKS IN ADVANCE
It is usually not good enough for a doctor to say a person is completely disabled.
A first denial is very common though, I wonder if they even read applications.
Best of luck.
I donât know what the timeframe is, I would get the free consult with a lawyer:
Maybe there are people there who can help:
https://arthritis.ca/about-arthritis/arthritis-types-(a-z)/types/ankylosing-spondylitis
PS
Being denied cppd is NOT a reason to stop getting ltd.
There can be many reasons for delay so it is hard to speculate. It is not always a bad omen. Keep calling and asking that it be resolved. It may be that they are waiting on some information or it could simply be a backlog.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.
I just received a call from adjudicator about my reconsideration request. They asked if anything had changed on my file as far as my medical history, I explained that my medication was reduced after being increased(it was reduced because of no further relief from pain). the initial CPP denial came when the first adjudicator called me and asked me a few questions about my medication being increased and said that because its being increased they take that as a sign I will get better. So this time I got the call from the adjudicator it was very similar they asked a few questions about my medical situation and asked if anything had changed. I explained any changes and also that I am no better than I was when first diagnosed if not worse. She also asked why my reconsideration information given by my doctor came from ontario (my specialist is from BC and my family doctor is from ON). I explained that I have a specialist in BC but my family doctor had a more lengthly understanding of my health situation as he has seen me for my anklosing since 2013. She then asked when the last time i physically saw him. I last saw my ON doctor in late 2018. She then said she will have a decision for me within the week. I asked her if she could speculate if I need more medical information and she told me that she wont require more medical information and a decision will be made within a week.
is this good news? or is not needing more medical information a bad sign.
Th
I think those tea leaves are unreadable but at least you will know in a week. Good luck.
I think the application says when you saw the specialist last.
Without being a doctor I donât know if the treatment you go from your GP in 2018 was âtypicalâ for your condition.
If there is 1 treatment and you got it then it probably doesnât matter that your GP is in Ontario.
If there are different treatments and the specialist has tried them then that is good (reducing the medication because more was innefective was probably good).
Did the specialist reduce the medication?
I would think that is more medical information.
Like Caro said, youâll know in a week. 
Try not to think about it.
I will echo what Caro says above. You really canât read into requests like this. It is normal for the medical adjudicators to reach out for more information â both to justify a decision to approve or deny. They get audited and they have to have detailed reasons for approval or denial.
If you get denied, donât give up. You will have a final chance at the Social Security Tribunal Hearing.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.
The adjudicator called Wed it rang for .5 seconds and then they hung up. I knew that It was the adjudicator as it was a ââ no caller idââ number, as well as this is exactly how she attempted contact the first time i spoke with her (.5 second ring and hangup from a no caller id number). So i left a message on the actual number I have of a ââbusiness advisor/team leaderââ asking if they could call me back because obviously there are some issues with their phone system. I sat with my phone in my hand for 8+ hours today and didnât receive a single call. So i called the regular service Canada number to see if the status had changedâŚThey informed me the adjudicator did in-fact call on wed and also TWICE today(rep said the note on file said a busy signal) . They also informed me that a decision was made on wed and a letter was sent and thats all he could say. he would not tell me if the decision was an approval or denial. I called the ââbusiness advisor/team leaderââ and left another message asking if someone could PLEASE contact me again as i sat with my phone for 8 hours without receiving a phone call just to find out they attempted the call twice. as well as I have waited over 165 days since my reconsideration was accepted by service canada and I am beyond anxious to find out the results. Do you think I will receive another phone call attempt or just wait for the letter? Should i expect a reasonable shipping time for the letter or in typical service canada fashion will it be weeks/months before i receive it? Thanks again for all the help I really appreciate it. This site has been the greatest help, I donât know what I would have done this past year if not for being able to access this forum.
Hi,
The Medical Adjudicators are required to make 3 phone calls to communicate a decision before mailing it out. They literally have to check a box saying they have done this, so it may be that this person was making a token effort to contact you so he or she could technically click the box to confirm 3 calls were made.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.