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Reasonable Doubt: why you should attend your disability hearing

Every day throughout the province, hundreds of people have hearings for disability benefits. There are a number of different types, along with many different kinds of hearings. Regardless of the benefit and hearing, you should do everything in your power to attend. Your testimony is important evidence that an adjudicator can use to grant you the benefit for which you applied.

But it is a long process. My main area of practice at Waterloo Region Community Legal Services is disability law. My clients typically wait for 10 to 18 months for their hearings. That’s in addition to the time they waited from submitting their application to the time they got a decision from ODSP or CPP-Disability (or WSIB or Private Short/Long Term Disability Plans, which are areas I don’t practice). That’s also in addition to the time it took to apply after becoming sick. And the whole time, my clients are ill, most are suffering in pain, and they are fighting to survive on their meager Ontario Works allowance.

It can be a disheartening process. There are multiple levels of rejection before the tribunal hearing takes place. For example, my clients’ ODSP applications were rejected when they applied, when they requested the mandatory internal review and again just before the hearing, when ODSP looked at the additional medical evidence we submitted.  Many clients feel discouraged, especially when they receive the last ODSP rejection letter just before their hearing at the social benefits tribunal. It can be difficult to maintain hope that their application will be accepted at their tribunal hearing.

It can also be complicated. For CPP-Disability for example, if your initial application is denied, you have to request a reconsideration within 90 days of receiving your first denial letter from Service Canada. If your reconsideration request is denied, you have 90 days to appeal to the social security tribunal. Each time, you have the opportunity to submit new medical evidence, which you should try to do to bolster your case. However, between keeping track of the various deadlines and chasing down medical evidence, many folks with disabilities become tired and confused by the process.

When the time arrives to have your matter heard, you should go to that hearing. Up to the point of the hearing, you and your medical issues are just words on paper. Your social benefits and/or social security tribunal hearing is the first time any decision-makers in the process meet you face to face. The hearing is your opportunity to paint a picture for the adjudicator of what it is like for you to live day to day with your pain, your depression, or your illness. No one else can better describe what it is like for you to do your basic daily tasks within the confines of your limitations and restrictions than you.

The tribunals are completely independent from CPP and ODSP. The adjudicators have the power to overturn their decisions. 

The process can be less daunting and complicated if you navigate it with a lawyer or legal representative. If you have applied for ODSP and/or CPP-Disability and your application was denied, contact your local Community Legal Clinic and ask to speak to a lawyer about your application. This service is free if you qualify financially. A lawyer can advise you on the strength of the application and whether you should appeal to the appropriate tribunal. Your lawyer will explain the process and can assist with gathering additional evidence to submit to ODSP, CPP and the tribunal to strengthen your case. If your lawyer thinks that your case is strong enough, they can attend the hearing with you and represent you at the hearing.

Briefly, there are other important reasons to attend your disability hearing. For ODSP, if you have appealed to the social benefits tribunal and you do not attend your hearing on the scheduled day (without requesting an adjournment or withdrawing your appeal), you are barred from appealing to the tribunal on the same issue for two years. Of course, if you are feeling extremely unwell, or your child care arrangements fall through last minute, you can always call on the day of your hearing (and follow up in writing) to request an adjournment.

Contact your local Community Legal Clinic as soon as possible after you receive a denial letter. A lawyer can help with the necessary work of gathering additional medical evidence prior to your hearing, and can represent you at your hearing if your case is strong enough. Even though the process of applying for disability is long and can be disheartening and complicated, going to your hearing is the best thing you can do to convince the tribunal that you qualify for disability. It is the only chance you have to appear before the decision-maker and describe your situation to her/him in your own words.

Rachael Lake is a staff lawyer with Waterloo Region Community Legal Services, practising in the areas of Disability and Employment Insurance Law. Reasonable Doubt appears on Mondays. 

A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain or formally seek advice from a lawyer. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Waterloo Region Community Legal Services.

website@nowtoronto.com

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