What does a lawyer usually do once being retained to pursue a Canada Pension Plan disability appeal?
The first thing that Allan Bayda and James Ludwar do is consider relevant time periods. An appeal for a review tribunal must be filed within 90 days of the final denial. If a Review Tribunal is denied, the application for leave must be filed within 90 days of the communication of the Review Tribunal decision. The next step is to obtain copies of the complete CPP file. In cases of an appeal, or initial application, once the lawyer has considered the time limitations, the next stage is to gather all relevant medical evidence. The lawyer usually writes all medical professionals that have seen the client since the commencement of the injury or disability being considered and will requisition copies of all medical documentation in existence. These can be quite voluminous but must be gathered. Once that is done, the lawyer may or may not requisition further medical reports and/or a vocational consultant report. Often, a written brief will be filed for the Review Tribunal and for the Pension
