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Stroke is a life-altering medical condition that poses enduring and significant challenges for the affected individuals. One of the most profound changes it can bring relates to an individual’s ability to perform routine tasks. Often, stroke survivors become unable to carry out the essential activities of daily living (ADL), such as feeding themselves, bathing, clothing, toileting, and transferring (moving to or from a bed or chair). In some cases, these individuals may even be unable to return to work.
This is where long-term disability benefits come to play. For stroke survivors who can no longer work, these benefits become a crucial support system. However, obtaining these benefits is not always straightforward.
Challenges Faced While Availing Long-term Disability Benefits
Typically, long-term disability benefits are offered through employer-provided, group disability plans. The unfortunate fact is that most of these plans fall under the federal law known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This law, in many ways, gives the advantage to insurance companies at the expense of the claimant.
Within this framework, a denial of disability claims often receives the benefit of the doubt. What this means is that if the insurance company has a plausible reason for denying your claim, they will most likely get away with it, regardless of whether it’s in your best interest.
Do Not Lose Hope: Seek Assistance from Recognized Legal Experts
However, a denial should not be taken as a finality. Stroke survivors and their families can and should challenge these denials.
Unraveling the Mystery Behind Strokes: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options
Strokes, characterized by an abrupt interruption of constant blood flow to the brain, rank amongst the primary contributors to death and long-term disability across the United States. The sudden halt in blood supply to the brain, mainly due to a ruptured blood vessel or a clot, leads to damage or death of the brain cells in the affected area.
Two prominent types of strokes are Hemorrhagic Strokes and Ischemic Strokes. Hemorrhagic Strokes result from a sudden rupture of a brain blood vessel, whereas Ischemic Strokes arise due to blocked vessels or blood clots.
Recognizing Stroke: A Checklist of Symptoms
Identifying the onset of a stroke quickly is integral to effective treatment and recovery. Key symptoms to be aware of include:
- Unexpected weakness or sensation of numbness in the face, leg, or arm – mostly focussed on one side of the body;
- Unexplained difficulty in walking;
- A sudden loss of balance or coordination, presenting as dizziness;
- Unexpected confusion or trouble understanding speech or articulating words;
- Sudden visual impairment in one or both eyes;
- A severe headache without any identifiable cause.
The diversity in stroke symptoms is due to the specific brain area impacted. Hence, any sudden, unexplained symptoms require immediate medical attention.
Life-Saving Measures: Responding to a Stroke
Prompt medical intervention during a stroke can significantly enhance a person’s survival odds and minimize subsequent impairments. Immediate action, such as calling 911, enables medical professionals to initiate life-saving treatments en route to the hospital. Noting and relaying the time of symptom onset is also vital, as it provides valuable information for medical personnel.
Modern Stroke Treatments: Medication & Surgery
Present-day stroke treatments underline the importance of timing and include medications and surgical interventions. Certain drugs, known to dissolve blood clots, could prove effective if administered within the first four hours following the onset of symptoms.
In acute cases, surgical procedures may be deemed necessary. Regardless of these treatments, stroke survivors may still experience short-term and long-term cognitive and physical impairments.
The Detrimental Aftereffects of Strokes
Despite breakthroughs in treatment options, strokes often lead to short-term or long-term disabilities in both cognitive and physical dimensions. Even after extensive treatments, the aftermath of a stroke might leave a survivor with permanent impairment.
Decoding the Lingering Impact of Strokes
Strokes can bring about dramatic changes in the survivor’s life, translating into a myriad of physical and cognitive complications. The severity and variety of these complications often depend on the magnitude of the stroke and the amount of brain tissue affected. Here is a comprehensive list of potential post-stroke complications:
- Paralysis or Muscle Weakness: Depending on the extent and location of the stroke, survivors may struggle with partial or complete paralysis, usually concentrated on one side of the body. This may also manifest as muscle weakness, leading to mobility limitations;
- Cognitive and Memory Disturbances: Stroke survivors might face cognitive disruptions, ranging from mild concentration issues to intense memory problems. These can significantly impact daily activities and overall quality of life;
- Speech and Communication Challenges: Stroke can affect language abilities, leading to problems with speech, writing, and understanding language, a condition medically referred to as aphasia;
- Visual Impairments: Visual disturbances, including blurred vision, double vision, or even loss of vision, are common post-stroke complications;
- Fine Motor Skill Deficits: Stroke can compromise the survivor’s ability to perform tasks involving fine motor skills, such as typing, writing, or grabbing objects;
- Emotional and Behavioral Issues: Mood changes, frustration, anxiety, and depression are common emotional repercussions of stroke, primarily triggered by the overall trauma and the struggle to adapt to new physical and cognitive realities;
- Coordination Issues and Slowed Movements: Stroke can lead to severe disruption in coordination and balance, making routine tasks like walking or standing upright challenging;
- Tremors and Involuntary Movements: Some survivors may experience uncontrolled movements or tremors, which can contribute to coordination difficulties;
- Chronic Headaches and Pain: Chronic headaches and other forms of pain can be a result of the physiological effects of stroke or the secondary effects of resulting disabilities;
- Loss of Bodily Functions: In severe cases, stroke might lead to a loss of fundamental bodily functions, such as bowel and bladder control.
Given the depth and extent of these potential complications, stroke survivors often warrant extensive therapeutic interventions. This could span:
- Vocational Rehabilitation: To help regain job skills and prepare for a return to work;
- Occupational Therapy: To assist in relearning everyday activities like eating, dressing, and bathing;
- Physical Therapy: To restore strength, balance, and coordination;
- Rehabilitative Therapy: To take on overall recovery, encompassing physical, mental, and even social aspects.
Despite these measures, a full recovery may not be possible in all cases. Some survivors may continue to experience lingering symptoms or permanent impairments that require long-term support.
Navigating the Intricacies of Long-Term Disability Claims Following a Stroke
The aftermath of a stroke often lingers far beyond the initial medical crisis, leading to long-term disabilities that may affect one’s ability to return to work. When such situations arise, your long-term disability insurance policy might prove to be a lifeline. However, securing these benefits is not always smooth sailing.
Claiming long-term disability benefits can be an uphill task, with insurance companies extensively reviewing medical records for evidence of the claim’s validity. They seek concrete proof of stroke occurrence and the resulting continuing impairments, usually through diagnostic test results. A validation from a physician, detailing your functional limitations and ongoing impairments, is a crucial component of the review process.
Your claim may also necessitate an evaluation from a specialized medical expert to convincingly establish the disabling complications resulting from the stroke. Additionally, the insurance company can request a separate independent medical examination conducted by a medical examiner appointed by them. It’s pertinent to note that these examiners are compensated by the insurance company, often leading to less claimant-friendly evaluations. Their interpretations could downplay symptoms and evidence, potentially triggering a claim denial.
The claim review process often includes monitoring updated medical records to track improvement or deterioration in stroke-induced symptoms over time. This is chiefly to ascertain if you can perform any tasks that would enable you to hold a job, a determination that could result in termination of disability benefits.
Being persistent with your prescribed therapeutic regimen is critical not just for your recovery, but also for your claim. Non-compliance with prescribed treatments could jeopardize your claim, with insurance companies using it as a justification for denial.
Conclusion
Surviving a stroke is not just about the initial brain attack but also about thriving in its long aftermath. The journey might be challenging, filled with physical limitations, cognitive disruptions, and potential financial hardships. However, by securing rightful long-term disability benefits, pursuing consistent therapeutic interventions, and adopting a resilient outlook, stroke survivors can navigate this journey with grace and strength. They can rebuild their lives, transforming adversities into opportunities for growth and resilience.
