What to do when your Disability Claim is Denied
Every day, many Canadians rely upon disability benefits to continue living their lives after an accident. Unfortunately, there are times where a person living with a disability’s claim is denied.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services:
“You have the right to ask for an Internal Review of any decision about your case that you do not agree with. For example:
- your application for ODSP Income Support has been denied
- the amount of your ODSP Income Support has been changed, or
- your ODSP Income Support has been stopped.
Please be aware that there is a time limit for asking for an Internal Review. You have 30 days from the day you receive the decision. Check the letter that told you about the decision for the exact deadline.
If you miss the deadline, you can still ask for an Internal Review, but you will need to explain why you needed more time. In some cases, we can do an Internal Review even if the deadline has passed.
Your request for a review has to be in writing. (You can call first to let us know that you want an Internal Review, but you still have to follow up with a request in writing.)
You should receive a letter telling you the result of the Internal Review, within 30 days of your request being received.
How to ask for an Internal Review
How you ask for an Internal Review depends on the type of decision that you would like reviewed.
- How to ask for a review of a decision about your disability status
- How to ask for a review of a financial decision
If you’re not sure which type of decision it is, check the letter you received about the decision.
The decision is about your disability status if the letter:
- refers to your status as not a person with a disability, and
- was sent to you by the Disability Adjudication Unit.
The decision is about your financial eligibility if the letter:
- refers to the amount of income support or benefits that you receive
- refers to money that you owe (e.g., an overpayment),
- says you are not eligible for income support for a financial reason, or
- was sent to you by your local ODSP office.”
If you’ve followed all of the aforementioned steps to no avail, contact us today for a consultation of your case and we’ll get the ball rolling on retrieving you the benefits you deserve.