Covid-19 Long-Haulers and Disability Benefits

Personal injury lawyers aim to help long-term disability clients access the benefits they deserve. Long-term disability clients typically have severe spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, chronic pain, cancer, various mental/emotional disorders and similar conditions that make work very difficult or impossible. “Long-haulers” experience persistent COVID symptoms that can last for months. Unfortunately, insurance companies have been unable to provide benefits to these individuals.

“Long COVID” or “Covid Long-Haulers”

Three strains of COVID include acute COVID-19, ongoing symptomatic COVID-19, and post-COVID-19 syndrome, according to The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The symptoms of Post-COVID-19 syndrome: acute COVID-19 is the classic strain, with signs and symptoms lasting up to one month. Ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 presents as signs and symptoms lasting one to three months.

• develop during or after an infection;
• correspond to COVID-19 symptoms;
• continue for more than three months; and
• cannot be explained by alternative diagnoses.

“Long COVID” generally refers to the latter of these three strains. According to England’s National Health Service (NHS), its symptoms can include:

• Pins and needles
• Joint pain
• Depression and anxiety
• Tinnitus and earaches
• Changes to the sense of smell and taste
• Rashes
• Extreme fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain or tightness
• Brain fog
• Insomnia
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness
• Feeling sick, diarrhea, stomach-ache
• Loss of appetite
• High temperature, cough, headaches, and sore throat

At this time, physicians do not know what percentage of COVID patients suffer from Long COVID.

Patients’ Access to Long-Term Disability Benefits

At this time, there are no established criteria for diagnosing Long COVID, thus making it difficult to prove what an applicant is experiencing.

Next Steps

Once Canada has officially recognized COVID and issued diagnostic criteria, it may be possible for physicians to diagnose their patients and provide diagnostic proof to insurance companies.

Contact a Long-Term Disability Lawyer at McNally Gervan

If you or someone close to you is struggling to access long-term disability benefits, contact the Ottawa injury lawyers at McNally Gervan today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Our experienced team has helped many people access their duly-entitled compensation.