Depression & Anxiety

For many of our clients, depression and anxiety are the primary cause of their disability. However, nearly all of our clients suffer some degree of anxiety and/or depression as a result of the psychological and financial toll of dealing with a serious medical condition while not being able to work and earn an income.

We understand that being disabled and disputing the denial of disability benefits causes extreme stress that can aggravate our clients’ physical and psychological conditions. At MK Disability Lawyers, our goal throughout litigation is to lessen our clients’ stress through personalized legal representation, allowing clients to focus their energy on their treatment and recovery. We understand that clients with anxiety and depression require special care on our part. We will do our best to accommodate clients in any way we can, whether it be arranging in-person meetings, scheduling calls for times when our clients are most cognitively functional, making home visits when necessary and if possible, and confirming important information in writing. We always encourage questions and ongoing communication with our clients. We understand how important it is for our clients to know the status of their file, and as a result, we provide timely and frequent updates. We aim to respond to questions the same day we receive them, or if a quick answer is not possible, we will arrange a call or meeting in order to provide our clients with detailed answers to their questions.

What is Depression & How is it Diagnosed?

Depression, otherwise known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a common mood disorder resulting in both physical and emotional symptoms that persist for more than two weeks. As symptoms worsen, depression can make working untenable, resulting in a serious and legitimate claim for long-term disability.

While symptoms can vary from person to person, there are some common symptoms to look for, including:

• Trouble concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions;
• Fatigue;
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and helplessness;
• Pessimism and hopelessness;
• Insomnia, or sleeping too much;
• Irritability;
• Restlessness;
• Loss of interest in things once pleasurable, including sex;
• Changes in appetite;
• Aches, pains, headaches, or cramps that won’t go away;
• Digestive problems that don’t get better, even with treatment;
• Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings; and
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts.

Depression is diagnosed by carefully reviewing the range, severity and ongoing nature of the symptoms. Unfortunately, there is no single diagnostic test for depression, but an experienced medical professional familiar with depression can analyze a patient’s symptoms and make an effective diagnosis this way. If you suspect that you are experiencing depression, it is crucial to seek medical advice and be forthright with your provider about any symptoms you may be experiencing.

What is Anxiety and How is it Diagnosed?

Anxiety, or General Anxiety Disorder, is diagnosed when a person experiences excessive anxiety or worry more often than not over a period of at least six months, about a range of issues. Anxiety shares some similar symptoms with depression, such as trouble sleeping and concentrating, but also includes the following:

• Muscle tension or muscle aches;
• Trembling or twitching;
• Becoming easily startled;
• Sweating;
• Nausea;
• Panic Attacks;
• Diarrhea and Irritable Bowel Syndrome;
• Inability to relax, overthinking things; and
• Having difficulty making decisions.

Anxiety is diagnosed similarly to depression, in that there is no definitive “test”. Your doctor will ask a series of questions about your symptoms and will likely run some tests to rule out other factors. The physical symptoms of anxiety can mimic other issues, and so your physician will likely want to ensure that they don’t miss anything. Once diagnosed, anxiety is treated similarly to depression, with one or a combination of medication and therapy.

Both conditions can make working untenable if they become serious enough. Both conditions result in a large number of long-term disability (also known as LTD) claims. However, given the relative “invisibility” of these disabilities, insurance companies can be quick to deny or terminate related LTD claims. This is why it is important to seek out experienced legal representation from someone who understands how these claims are denied and can mount a successful lawsuit on your behalf.

Empathy and Support Throughout Your Claim

We are very experienced in working with clients facing anxiety and depression.  We understand that depression and anxiety can be aggravated or even triggered by litigation. As a result, we are sensitive to our clients’ needs and aim to tailor our approach accordingly. For example, we are mindful not to place time limits on preparatory meetings for such things as Examination for Discovery or Mediation. Our primary concern is that we succeed in making our clients feel comfortable and prepared so that litigation does not cause them added stress or anxiety. We also regularly make use of technology to lessen our client’s administrative tasks; rather than having a client travel to the office to sign paperwork, we can send everything to them via email and have them sign electronically instead.

From our initial consultation through to the resolution of our client’s disability claim we make every effort to ensure that our clients feel comfortable, heard, secure and confident in our representation. We want to allow them to focus their limited emotional and physical resources on their recovery, while we focus our efforts and skills on resolving their disability insurance dispute.

Contact MK Disability Lawyers for Experienced Advocacy in Your LTD Dispute for Depression or Anxiety

At MK Disability Lawyers, we do our best to take on the stress of dealing with our clients’ long-term disability disputes, so they don’t have to. For clients suffering from anxiety or depression, we are sensitive to their individual needs and will accommodate them to the best of our ability. If you have had a long-term disability claim for depression or anxiety denied or terminated, we can help. To arrange a complimentary consultation with one of our experienced disability lawyers, please complete the online form, or call us at 844-241-3832.