Hello. I’m not quite sure if this has been asked before or something similar. But I received a denial letter from SC today that I cannot be given benefits because I am currently not on treatment because I am pregnant and it is reasonable to believe that after I give birth and resume treatment, I will see an improvement in my symptoms and can find suitable work then.
I was disabled before I became pregnant and had to leave work because of it. I applied for CPPD in Sept and got pregnant in Nov/Dec. I plan to appeal this decision. Is there anything in particular that I should say or do? This is really discouraging.
I never needed to appeal.
Read all the articles: Blog - Resolute Legal Disability Lawyers
Hopefully someone that has done an appeal will comment.
I would explain why you left work and why medication didn’t help then.
I think the deniel letter gives the exact reasons for the denial.
Make sure you explain exactly why each point is wrong (give medical evidence?).
I think you can request your file from SC.
Someone will hopefully say why you should and how to (maybe one of the articles says:-)).
Good luck.
Thank you @jammer! I read through the article and it’s very helpful. I am in the process of trying to request my file so I can see exactly which reports they are basing their decision on. In the time that I had applied and received a decision, I was hospitalized for multiple infections which heightened my symptoms and was seen by a social worker and care coordinator where a walker was ordered for each floor of my house and aids for the washrooms. I plan to put all of this in my appeal and I hope it gets attention.
I forgot but my friend had to appeal.
He said it seemed like they didn’t read his application.
Ir was “x was answered on page y of the original application”.
I think appealing is fairly common.
The point I was trying to make is his appeal was successful.
So have hope (but write a good appeal).
I think there might be good resources for people with MS. https://mssociety.ca
This is just a standard reason for denial based on the idea that your disability doesn’t meet the “prolonged” criteria. We see this all the time and this is one of the easiest types of denials to get overturned.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
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Thank you @jammer for all your help! I’ll keep you updated
@David_Brannen Thank you for your response. Is there anything that you can suggest I do? I’m current reading through all of the articles that @jammer sent me. I’ve sent in my request for my file from S.C. I’ve asked for my file from the social worker and care coordinator that prescribed my walkers and aids. I’ve also asked for a letter from my physiotherapist that was referred by my neurologist. I plan to get updated medical records/letters from my family doctor and neurologist. Did I cover it all? Should I also ask my OB for something? The high risk clinic that I was referred to is referring me to a neurologist that works specifically with pregnant women who have MS. Should I also ask for a letter from her? My apologies for all of these questions. I’m just afraid my appeal will get denied again .
My best advice for someone in your situation is to give the denial letter to your doctors / health professionals and ask them to respond to the reasons given for denial. That will allow them to give more focused comments on the exact issues that are raised in the denial letter.
We have been down this road with my husband he was denied first time and then we appealed it and where they had reasons of denial example not prolonged I wrote how it was prolonged how it may not effect him this moment but it will only
Get worse . I also wrote a day in our life how is illness effects everyone it was overturned right away and letter written that he was accepted . However remember when you do get approved you do not get any monies for 4 months meaning they use that as a waiting period . Best of luck and follow advice from this site jammer was very helpful to me and we won
Thank you so much for your response @Heidinsky! It gives me hope knowing that I actually have a fighting chance. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with me
I’m sorry you are going through this. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like they are discriminating against you because you are pregnant. You may have a valid human rights complaint as well.
As for the appeal, I do think it’s common to have to appeal…which is unfortunate and not something that you should have to worry about during this happy time.
As jammer said you should reach out to the MS society. They may have some good resources.
Do you have a union? If so, they may be able to assist with the appeal.
Thank you for your response @glog88! I took my denial letter to my doctor and he said their reasons for denying me are horrible and I most likely won’t see a positive outcome until baby is out. He said their logic is I can resume treatment after the baby is born and it MIGHT work.
As for my appeal, my doctor said they have every report and even letters that they had requested. There is really nothing more. So I guess it all will solely rely on my words. I have read through everything and hoping that the advice given here and through the links everyone has provided will see a positive outcome.
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