Long Term Disability Claims Attorneys for Seizures

Seizure in a park Seizures can negatively impact your quality of life. They can be debilitating and can prevent you from being able to perform the daily functions you need to live, including working and holding down a job.

If you’re suffering from seizures that have affected your ability to work, you may be entitled to long term disability benefits. Call the disability attorneys for neurological and cognitive disorders at Capitan Law today. We can help you apply for benefits so that you can focus on dealing with your seizures without worrying about the financial costs. Call us at (267) 419-7888 to schedule a free consultation or contact us online.

What Are Seizures?

Seizures occur when your brain activity is interrupted by a random electrical disturbance. Seizures can happen in different parts of your brain, and may not be isolated to only the area of the brain where the seizure starts. There are two types of seizures, focal and generalized. The classification of a seizure is based on what part of the brain the seizure starts in.

What Are the Symptoms?

The symptoms of seizures can vary based on the type of seizure you have.

Seizures are focalized when they occur only in one part of the brain. Focal seizures are further categorized by whether they are associated with a loss of consciousness or whether you are partially alert.

Many people who suffer from focal seizures that occur while you’re partially alert actually don’t know that they are experiencing a seizure and may not remember that they had one. Common symptoms of these types of focal seizures include:

Derealization, where you feel like you are dreaming
Staring into space
Being unresponsive to stimuli
Experiencing uncontrolled, repeated movements like pacing, saying the same words, and rubbing your hands

Focal seizures where you experience a loss of consciousness affect all of your senses and your emotions. You are alert enough that you know what’s happening, but you don’t feel like your usual self. Other common symptoms of these types of focal seizures include:

Sudden change in emotions, like going from being happy to sad, anxious, or mad
General fuzzy feeling, disorientation
Nausea or stomach upset
Uncontrolled body movements
Visual disturbances, like flashing lights
Dizziness
Tingling throughout the body
Slurred speech
Confusion

woman with a headache The other type of seizure, a generalized seizure, can occur anywhere in the brain. There are several types of generalized seizures:

Clonic seizures – These seizures cause constant, uncontrolled jerking of the face, neck, and both arms.
Tonic-clonic seizures – These seizures appear to be the most violent of the different types of seizures. Sometimes referred to as grand mal seizures, tonic-clonic seizures cause you to lose consciousness for up to several minutes and cause your body to suddenly shake uncontrollably. The sudden shaking may cause you to bite your tongue. Your body may stiffen and you may even experience temporary incontinence.
Myoclonic seizures – These seizures present as random twitching of the legs and arms.
Tonic seizures – These seizures cause an overall muscle tightening throughout the body. The muscles in your limbs and back stiffen, and you lose consciousness, causing you to fall.
Atonic seizures – With these types of seizures, your body loses control of its muscles. This causes your head to fall or your whole body to suddenly collapse to the floor.
Absence seizures – These seizures primarily affect children. Commonly known as petit mal seizures, children experiencing these seizures may suddenly start staring into space or they may begin making random, repetitive movements like rapidly blinking their eyes or smacking their lips.

What Disability Benefits May Cover

If your doctor determines that you are disabled due to a medical condition that prevents you from working, you may be entitled to receive disability benefits from your employer’s LTD insurance coverage. These benefits are long-term, so your condition must prevent you from working for an extended period. Depending on the policy, your employer may pay you a monthly benefit of up to 80 percent of the salary or wages you were earning pre-disability.

After you’ve applied for benefits and are approved, you won’t get your benefits right away. There’s a waiting period before your employer starts paying you your disability benefits, known as an elimination period. The length of the elimination period, as well as how long you may receive disability benefits, varies based on your employer’s policy.

You must continue getting treatment for your seizures even after you start receiving benefits. The insurance company, through your employer, will require you to submit updated medical documentation showing the status of your condition and how it affects your ability to return to work.

How to Apply for Disability Benefits

One of the first steps you should take to receive disability benefits is to build a medical record that fully documents the diagnoses and treatment you’ve received for your seizures. Your doctor or medical professional should document your medical record and include a written statement that they have diagnosed you with seizures, describing the symptoms of your seizures, and how those symptoms have prevented you from being able to perform your job functions any longer. Included in your medical records should be a listing of any prescription drugs you’ve been prescribed or have taken.

Next, inform your employer that you are suffering from seizures, and your seizures are impacting your ability to work. Depending on your employer’s disability insurance policy, there may be a period within which you have to report your medical issue and apply for benefits. Your employer will process your application and send your claim to their disability insurance provider for review.

You must understand the role of your employer’s disability insurance provider. Your employer pays to offer you disability insurance coverage. Disability insurance companies make money by charging employers premiums and paying out the least amount of money possible for disability claims. The insurance companies have an incentive to deny your claim. The stronger your disability claim, the harder it is for the insurance companies to come up with a reasonable excuse to deny your claim.

Reach Out to Capitan Law

If your seizures are preventing you from working, you should apply for long term disability benefits. The disability insurance attorneys of Capitan Law can help you get the disability benefits you deserve. If you’ve previously applied for disability benefits because of your seizures and your claim was denied, we can help you appeal your claim. We are experienced in helping those who suffer from debilitating seizures just like you get the long term disability benefits they’re entitled to so they could focus on taking care of themselves. Call us today at (267) 419-7888 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.