Every Long-Term Care Home resident in Ontario is guaranteed rights  that every Long-Term Care Home must fully respect and promote.

Sadly, in reality these rights are often not protected.

Some of these rights include:

• the right to be treated with courtesy and respect and in a way that fully recognizes the resident’s individuality and respects the resident’s dignity.
• the right to be protected from abuse.
• the right not to be neglected by the licensee or staff.
• the right to be properly sheltered, fed, clothed, groomed and cared for in a manner consistent with his or her needs.
• the right to live in a safe and clean environment.
• the right to have his or her participation in decision-making respected.
• the right to keep and display personal possessions, pictures and furnishings in his or her room subject to safety requirements and the rights of other residents.
• the right to form friendships and relationships and to participate in the life of the long-term care home.
• the right to have his or her lifestyle and choices respected.
• the right to meet privately with his or her spouse or another person in a room that assures privacy.
• the right to share a room with another resident according to their mutual wishes, if appropriate accommodation is available.
• the right to pursue social, cultural, religious, spiritual and other interests, to develop his or her potential and to be given reasonable assistance by the licensee to pursue these interests and to develop his or her potential.
• the right to be informed in writing of any law, rule or policy affecting services provided to the resident and of the procedures for initiating complaints.
• the right to have any friend, family member, or other person of importance to the resident attend any meeting with the licensee or the staff of the home

Unfortunately, Long Term Care Homes in Ontario face unprecedented challenges today as the aging population continues to rise. Stricter eligibility requirements for admission into Long Term Care Homes also mean that the those admitted are older, weaker and more vulnerable.

58% of Long-Term Care Homes in Ontario are privately owned, and studies have shown that quality of care is inferior in most for-profit homes. This is hardly a surprise as many of these homes are operated by larger chains, and put investors before resident care needs.

According to the Ontario Long Term Care Association:

• 90% of Long-Term Care Homes residents have cognitive impairments
• 86% need assistance activities of daily living including getting in or out of bed as well as toileting; and
• 62% of Long-Term Care Home residents have musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis.

The Ontario Long Term Care Association 2019 Budget Submission states:

“Over the past decade, the profile of residents has changed to one of a population in need of more direct care. But funding has not kept pace. The investments that long-term care has been receiving have done little more than keep pace with inflation so that year-over-year increasing staffing costs have absorbed any annual funding increases.”

While the frontline workers may have the best of intentions, the reality is that most facilities are understaffed and the staff working are often overworked, over-scrutinized and overwhelmed  while the health demands of vulnerable residents only continue to climb. This is a recipe for disaster.

We have already seen first-hand how the Ontario Long Term Health Care System is strained, even allowing a Healthcare Serial Killer, Elizabeth Wetlaufer to go unnoticed within our healthcare system for years until her unexpected confession to the deaths of 8 victims (that we know of).

It is sad to see more and more vulnerable Long-Term Care Home residents and their families left with no answers after horrible things happen due to neglect and abuse which can include:

• Failure to give residents timely treatment
• Failure to prevent bed sores
• Malnutrition or dehydration
• Poor care plans and implementation resulting in falls
• Failing to protect residents from violence by other residents or staff
• Medication errors
• Failure to treat medical conditions such as wounds resulting in infection
• Inadequate security or supervision of residents.

The way in which we treat our society’s most vulnerable says a lot about our society as a whole. Hopefully your loved one is getting the highest quality of care that they deserve from their Long Term Care Home. If you suspect mistreatment, neglect or abuse, you should seek out the advice of a nursing home negligence lawyer to address the situation immediately before things get worse.

At Hennick Law, we’re here to help you and have experience handling negligent nursing homes to give voices back to vulnerable residents and their frustrated families who have been silenced for far too long. Feel free to reach us through our website, or e-mail us at lhennick@hennicklaw.com

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CPP-D serve as partial income replacement for those who are eligible after sustaining a disability that prevents them from working. This program represents the largest public disability insurance program in Canada.

Initial CPP-D decisions and reconsiderations are administered through Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and appeals are made to the Social Security Tribunal.

To be eligible for CPP-D, applicants must be under the age of 65 and must have either been making contributions in 4 of the last 6 years or for 3 of the last 6 years for those who have been making contributions for 25 years or more.

The disability test that applicants must meet to be approved requires that their disability be both “severe” and“prolonged,” and it must prevent them from being able to work at any job on a regular basis. “Severe” means that an applicant must have a mental or physical disability that regularly stops them from doing any type of substantially gainful work. “prolonged” means that an applicant’s disability is long-term and of indefinite duration or is likely to result in death.

If your CPP-D application is approved, you can expect to receive a lump sum of “back-pay” from the date of your disability onset to the present and future payments of between about $900.00 and $1,300.00 per month (as of 2018) depending on contributions made over your working career.

WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGES WITH GETTING APPROVED?

Even if you are legitimately disabled, that will not matter if you cannot convince the ESDC of your disability through a well-prepared application and supporting documents.

The “Severe and Prolonged” disability test is a hard test to meet let alone applying without consulting an experienced disability lawyer who can assist you with the process.

It is also taxpayer money that is being used to fund this program and there would be further incentive to vigorously screen all applications. More often than not, applications are denied as benefits will only be paid out to those applicants who can prove their case convincingly. Most people simply don’t.

If you have applied for CPP-D but were denied, you would have 90 days from the denial to date seek a reconsideration from the ESDC. New evidence can then be submitted to address any concerns raised in the initial decision.

BENEFITS TO BEING APPROVED

In addition to receiving monthly disability income, CPP-D approval provides other benefits, especially when it comes to justifying income loss claims in the course of litigation relating to your disability.

For example, in the course of tort claims against the defendants who caused or contributed to your disability (i.e. an at fault driver who rear ended you or an at fault property owner who failed to salt their property), receiving CPP-D can be persuasive, especially when trying to prove an income loss claim against the at fault party to top up any income shortfall. This is because CPP-D is such an onerous test to meet that it is often seen as the “Gold Standard” of Disability. When the defendant sees that you have been granted CPP-Disability, they will have a much more difficult time undermining the argument that you cannot work if you have been approved and are receiving these disability benefits.

Similarly, in disputes with Long Term Disability Carriers, many policies will require as a term of receiving such benefits that CPP-D be applied for. The reason for this would be so that the Insurer can reap the benefits of deducting CPP-D payments from its own exposure. On the other hand, if an applicant has been approved for CPP-D, the Long-Term Disability Insurer will have a much more difficult time denying that you are totally disabled.

CONCLUSION

There are many good reasons to apply for CPP-D. Whether it be the financial security of having some supplementary income coming in or using the CPP-D approval itself to command a greater economic payout in litigation relating to your disability, it is crucial that careful thought and preparation go into the application.

It is always advisable to speak with an experienced disability lawyer before embarking on an application, reconsideration or appeal that can have many significant implications on your life and ongoing litigation.

If you are no longer able to work because of a disability and are considering applying for CPP-D, challenging a CPP-D denial through reconsideration or pursuing an appeal, we welcome the opportunity to speaking with you.

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