LTD Claims for Blindness or Visual Impairment Can Be Particularly Difficult

October 29, 2019, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Blindness, Vision Loss, and LTD

Long term disability claims are often challenging to make. Insurance companies are not eager to pay out for long periods of time and will regularly deny them unjustly. Some claims are much easier to make than others, and visual claims are among the most difficult to make.

Vision loss or disorders can have profound impacts on the quality of life and ability to earn a living for anyone suffering them. They have been challenged as not being ‘true medical conditions'. Often you must be totally blind or meet the definition of legally blind in order to make a successful claim.

Legal blindness can occur from a variety of medical conditions or from trauma in car accidents (airbags impact causing retinal detachment), assaults, or workplace injury. People who are legally blind may still have some vision but it in a very narrow field or extremely blurry.

Getting Disability Benefits for Impaired Vision

An important consideration is that it’s your best eye that is measured for the assessment of legal blindness. You will not be considered blind if only one is meets the criteria for ‘legally blind’. Vision impairment is any measure that falls less than 20/20 and most of us have some level of impairment. The only way you will be able to get benefits for visual impairment is to be legally or completely blind in both eyes.

LTD benefits are available for blindness but what insurance companies consider blind will vary from company to company. If your loss of vision limits your ability to work, then you may qualify for a monthly benefit. In order to claim the benefit, you will be required to document the severe visual impairment. It will be up to your eye care professional to determine what your best corrected vision is.

Visual Impairment and Functional Assessment

If you have some loss of vision that you feel is inhibiting your ability to work you may have a functional assessment to document accommodations that you may require in the workplace. Even if you don’t qualify for LTD benefits you may be able to request accommodations from your employer if you have the following conditions:

• You are unable to process written materials
• You only have vision in one eye
• You suffer colour blindness
• You suffer from both hearing loss and vision loss
• You have certain medical conditions like macular degeneration, glaucoma or cataracts.
• You are considered partially sighted (you have low vision)

All of these conditions require a doctor’s assessment. Once that is in place you should be able to work with your employer to establish an environment in which you can work successfully. This may include accommodations in equipment, or adjustments to your work activities or tasks.

If you or a loved one suffer from blindness or low vision and you are fighting for LTD benefits, or you require help getting accommodations from your employer contact us today at Deutschmann Law.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.