The rush to relieve the backlog of thousands is on at the Social Security Tribunal of Canada.
Minister Jason Kenny
said the backlog of thousands would be gone by this summer.
I emailed the Social
Security Tribunal and was informed that I had been given the wrong
number by them and it should have been 1-877-227-8577.
To make matters
worse the email he replied back to me with quoted someone else s case
number! Not mine!
Am I in the twilight
zone?
I was a MVA victim
in 2007 after a fatal 3 car crash. My application for CPP Disability
Benefits was launched in 2008. I still have not received a complete
copy of my file, and a lot of what they have sent me so far, is
unreadable to any human. At least they didn't leave my medical-legal
file on a bench in front of our house unattended this time.
The latest opinion
from xxxx the Medical Adjudicator at Service Canada in August was
that I have not established a Disability that is “Severe and Prolonged”.The (hired gun)
Adjudicator out of the Chatham office goes on to say that I did not provide any medical
documentation to support my Disability.
They have however
acknowledged receipt of my 105 page fax to them with the case file
number GD37-1. The fax included the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Mediation Brief that included medical documentation to support a
finding of a “severe disability”.
My submitted Doctors findings should
not be taken lightly as they come from respectable sources.
One
submission in the Brief is from a Doctor with a 25 year career in the
hospital sector focusing on neurological disorders, schizophrenia,
and pediatric brain injury and pediatric oncology including
consultation to the hospital MS Clinic an acute psychotic disorders
clinic. He has a long career in psychological research and scientific
publication and presentation. He has published in the areas of
chronic insomnia, neurohorrnoes in schizuphrenia, metabolic brain
imaging in schizophrenia (positron emission tomography), and
neuropsychology of schizophrenia. He carries out psychological
asssessment and treatment, supervises clinicians, and carries out
psycho legal and multidisiplinary-legal assessments and testifies at
Arbitrations and Court. He was the Director of the Hamilton
Medical-Legal Society and past President. He has been co-chairman of
the Ontario Psychological Association Task Force on Auto Insurance.
He was appointed by the Minister of Finance to the Accident Benefits
Advisory Committee for Bill 164. He was appointed by the Minister of
Finance to be a member of the Ministers Committee on the Designated
Assessment Center System for Bill 59 and held the position for a
year. He was appointed to the Expert Panel reviewing the Catastrophic
Impairment SABS. He was a founding member of the Canadian Academy of
Psychologists in Disability Assessment (CAPDA). He received the Karl
Heiser Presidential Award from the American Psychological Association
and the Ontario Psychological Association Award for his advocacy
efforts on behalf of professional psychology. He received the OPA
Lifetime Achievment Award.
Other medical-legal
documentation provided to the Social Security Tribunal was from a
doctor whos is a registered psychologist with areas of competence in
rehabilitation and clinical psychology. He is a partner at a
psychology clinic and assessment centre. His doctoral degree is in
Clinical Psychology, with a minor in Health Psychology. He has a post
graduate diploma program (DESS) through the University of Montreal
Faculty of Medicine in Insurance Medicine and Medicolegal Expertise.
He has a Master of Science in Community Counselling with specialized
training in vocational assessment and counselling. His doctoral
training included assessment, diagnosis and treatment of severe
mental and behaviour disorders in private and public psychiatric
inpatient hospital settings, as well as sheltered workshops. He has
also performed disability assessments for patients with severe mental
disorders applying for Social Security Disability. As a clinical
psychologist, he worked in several chronic care facilities,
assessing, diagnosing and treating patients with severe psychological
disorders, including psychotic and severe mood disorders. Upon
immigrating to Canada he has re specialized in rehabilitation
psychology. He since has performed hundreds of psychological
disability assessments in relation to M.V.A, WSIB, and other personal
injury contexts. He was on the FSCO roster for Post 104 and
Catastrophic disability assessors, and has performed hundreds of
Catastrophic, Post-I 04 disability and psycho-vocational
assessments. He has published scholarly works with respect to
catastrophic impairment, and created educational modules addressing
catastrophic impairment evaluation for psychological disability
assessors. disability and psycho-vocational assessments. He
delivered the 2010 Keynote Address to the British Psychological
Societys Division of Counselling Psychology on the intersection of
psychological assessment and the law. He has also edited two books on
the application of humanistic theory to psychological treatment and
has also published book chapters and articles in this area. He was
the President of the Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability
Assessment (CAPDA). He has been accepted as an expert witness in
Ontario courts. GD37-52
Their medical
documentation in the Brief supports a finding of a “chronic pain”
, “severe disability” , “severe depression” , “PTSD” ,
“suffers permanent and serious impairment” , I am “neither
exaggerating nor feigning” , “tends to minimize his complaints”
, “suffers a complete inability to engage in any employment for
which he is reasonably suited by education, training or experience”,
“is at a competitive disadvantage in the workforce”. GD37-33 /
GD37-34 / GD37-35 / GD37-37 /GD37-38
Also included was a
Chronic Pain Assessment from yet another doctor that states: “his
neck disability” , “suffered a significant functional, financial
and emotional loss” , “suffers from Degenerative Disc Disease in
his Cervical Spine, as well as debilitating Myofascial pain syndromes
in his cervical spine.” , “severe disability”, and “complete
disability” , “WADS III of the neck”. GD37 – 105 / GD37-23 /
GD37-25 / GD37-105.
Also included in the
Brief was yet another doctor report that states: “completely
disabled from any occupation to which he is suited by way of his
education, training or experience.” GD37-43
Another Doctors
report included in the Brief states: Overall, I am “not
employable”. GD37-32.
Rather that go long
winded in this post I submit that I have
provided enough medical documentation to establish my disability just
from the above doctors. You have the other reports and blog postings I will not duplicate them here.
Today I finally
received a date for my Appeal Hearing. The date on the notice was 39
days ago. The notice says that my hearing is not going to be until
2016, next year!
In this effort to
get rid of the backlog of thousands how many are getting run over.
What happened to the pledge to wipe out the backlog by this past
summer? How many Appellants are still backlogged at the Social
Security Tribunal of Canada?
If my Medical-legal
experts are good enough for the Ontario Superior Court, a mediator, numerous doctors and lawyers, and 4 insurance companies they should be
good enough for Service Canada and the Social Security Tribunal. I
hope that the Tribunal Member that decides my appeal takes into
account my medical-legal evidence submitted here in from real Medical experts, that
write the rules, and not Service Canada employees with an agenda.
Sincerely,
name removed
CPP Disability
Applicant since 2008,
MVA-Insurance-Victim
since 2007.
Thank you to all
those who help me with my writing and blogging and to those who
follow my blog. Unfortunately I have been diagnosed with astigmatism
and cataracts in my eyes recently. Advocating for MVA victims will
have to be less frequent. Seeing (reading and writing) has now been
added to my list of Medical problems.
THIS POSTING WAS SENT TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRIBUNAL OF CANADA NAME INCLUDED
Cc: undisclosed
