CPPD Denial After “Grave” Case Tag — Denied in 4 Weeks,

CPP Disability
1

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for guidance on a confusing situation. I applied for CPP Disability recently, and to my surprise, I received a denial just 4 weeks after applying.

When I called Service Canada, they told me that my application had been marked as a “grave” case, which I understand is usually reserved for serious or urgent files.
However, despite that classification, they still denied my application, stating that I do not meet the “severe and prolonged” criteria.
The letter also mentioned that while I have limitations, they believe I should be able to do some type of work in the future.

At the time of applying, I hadn’t even submitted a personal doctor’s letter — only documents submitted on my behalf by my LTD insurance provider including all my medical documents and most recent medical reports and my doctor reports to the insurance company.

I plan to request a reconsideration and will include updated medical evidence, doctor letters, and other support documents. But I’m confused about how they can flag a file as “grave” and still deny it without a full review.

My questions are:

  1. Has anyone else had their case marked as “grave” and still received a fast denial?

  2. What does “grave” actually mean to Service Canada?

  3. Any tips for strengthening my reconsideration request?

Thanks in advance to anyone who shares their experience or advice.

3

Autoimmune Encephalitis and Inflammatory Brain Disease

4

Here’s what the government website says:

A “grave condition” is a rapidly progressive medical condition. A list of grave conditions was developed based on extensive research by ESDC. These medical conditions have a high probability of meeting the CPP disability eligibility criteria.

  1. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
  2. Acute Myeloid Leukemia
  3. Adrenocortical Cancer
  4. Alzheimer’s Disease (early onset, less than age 60)
  5. Amyloidosis
  6. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
  7. Anal Cancer
  8. Appendiceal Cancer
  9. Bladder Cancer (Metastatic, Stage IV)
  10. Brain Cancer
  11. Breast Cancer (Metastatic/recurrent)
  12. Cervical Carcinoma
  13. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
  14. Chronic Liver Disease
  15. Colorectal Cancer
  16. Endometrial Cancer
  17. Esophagus Cancer
  18. Follicular Lymphoma
  19. Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)
  20. Gallbladder Cancer
  21. Huntington Disease
  22. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
  23. Kidney Cancer
  24. Liver Cancer
  25. Lung Cancer
  26. Malignant Melanoma
  27. Malignant Tumours of Small Intestine
  28. Multiple Myeloma
  29. Muscular Dystrophy (Adult onset)
  30. Ovarian Cancer
  31. Pancreatic Cancer
  32. Parkinson’s Disease
  33. Post-inflammatory Pulmonary Fibrosis
  34. Primary Cerebellar Degeneration
  35. Progressive Polyneuropathy
  36. Quadriplegia and Quadriparesis
  37. Schizophrenia
  38. Stomach Cancer
  39. Thymus Cancer
  40. Uterine Sarcoma
  41. Vascular Dementia
5

Thanks for your reply,
I know my symptoms is not in this list this is why I am asking how they marked my application as grave

6

I agree that seems odd. How long have you been in LTD? Did you apply at the request of your LTD insurer?

7

I am grave (severe) but not prolonged. I ve been off work since 2020 for several orthopedic surgeries. I am on LTD and was denied reconsideration level. I am now moving to tribunal level. It s overwhelming especially my surgeries are on my hands. My knees were replaced. My spine is severe degeneration. I have no answer for you. I would apply for reconsideration and try to obtain additional information.

8

There is a separate application form for “gave condition” applications for CPP disability. This is just a guess, but maybe you submitted that application form by mistake?

David Brannen

Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal

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