Marijuana Usage and Insurance Claims

Posted by Share Lawyers on June 2nd, 2017

One Sunday morning, Vik woke up and set about his usual Sunday routine. He kissed his wife Priscilla who slept in on Sundays, freshened himself up then proceeded to start making breakfast for his family of four. Vik’s job as head of IT at the local college kept him busy during the week so Vik, a stickler for good work-life balance, tried to make the most of the weekend. He spent his Saturdays with his wife doing different activities around the house and the neighborhood, then took the family out to dinner at a restaurant often chosen by his 16-year old daughter Zahra. On Sundays, he cooked the family breakfast before heading out with his son Rohan for a game of football with friends at the local college’s field.

This particular Sunday, Vik was in the middle of his football game when he felt a sudden tightness in his chest, followed by intense chest pains and shortness of breath. Vik was just able to signal for help before he became light headed and collapsed from the pain. An ambulance arrived within minutes and took him to the hospital, but Vik was unconscious.  Vik suffered a heart attack which resulted in his inability to return to work.   His wife Priscilla immediately contacted work to arrange for Vik’s Disability Benefits, and she applied within a few weeks.  Vik received his short term disability benefits, but when he applied for the Long Term benefits he did not get any response for several weeks. 

Vik phoned to find out what was going on, and the insurance company said that they were investigating and needed to see all of Vik’s medical records from his family doctor. Vik immediately arranged to get all the records and forwarded them to the insurance.  Vik had been told by the cardiologist that he would not be returning to work any time soon, so he needed the benefits urgently.

Finally the insurance company responded saying that Vik was not eligible for his Long Term Disability benefits because his records showed that he smoked marijuana regularly and that he did not disclose that information when he applied for the insurance.

Vik and Priscilla felt like they were running out of options.  A colleague of Priscilla’s came across Share lawyers on Facebook and advised her to give them a call.  She made an appointment for a free consultation during which Share Lawyers informed her that as a result of marijuana’s growing normalization in Canada and globally, they felt they could fight and win the non disclosure of this information. 

Share Lawyers fought the case and eventually Vik did receive his Disability benefits.  Vik will never return to work full time again, but they were thankful to Share Lawyers for helping them get the insurance benefits they deserved.

This information is brought to you by Share Lawyers, Ontario's Leading Disability Insurance Lawyers.

[All names and identifying details have been changed to protect the confidentiality of all involved.]