As Orlando attorneys, we’re sharing the effect of COVID-19 on our clients and the community.
COVID-19
For many people, the pandemic of COVID-19 and mental health have gone hand in hand. Starting in January, as news of the potential effect of this illness has spread and it began affecting Americans in a significant way, a tolling has taken place on the mental health of our citizens. The news caused an immediate panic and fear that has increased with time. The anxiety around job security, child care and our economy grew. When most Americans became quarantined in March of 2020, a new kind of toll on our mental health settled due to a lack of human interaction and time spent outdoors.
These symptoms can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”). Some individuals were more prone than others to this kind of diagnosis, whether they are first-responders or individuals or themselves or loved ones are immuno-suppressed and at higher risk for contraception of COVID-19.
Some individuals already suffer from mental health conditions, like depression, which makes them more susceptible to other mental health conditions like PTSD. Fear that you will not be able to financially care for your family in the near future is traumatic, there is no question.
If you find that you are unable to work as a result of your mental health, speak to your doctor. Even if you have been let go from your previous position and were planning to (attempt to) file for unemployment, that action requires that you are “ready, willing, able, available, and actively ready to seek work.” If you are suffering from PTSD at a severity level that disqualifies you from this requirement of unemployment, it may be time to consider applying for short-term disability benefits.
Those individuals who have suffered from PTSD during this time are eligible for short-term disability benefits and even long-term disability benefits depending on their individual diagnoses and situations. Short-term disability benefits are intended to bridge the gap for a short period of time, usually, three months, during which an injury or illness prevents you from being able to perform work.
If you feel the above information applies to you and you have short-term disability insurance, you may want to consider making a claim for the benefits during a time that you need them most. Give our office a call to speak to Orlando attorneys, we would be glad to help walk you through the process.
Call Your Orlando Attorneys Today
If you have any questions about your short term disability or long term disability claim, please give Herbert M. Hill, P.A. a call and we would be glad to answer any questions you may have. We are available at 407-839-0005 or, toll-free, 844-454-59995, If you would like, after discussing your case, we can set a conference. In most circumstances, that conference would be free of charge but in no circumstance would you be under any obligation to hire me nor would you feel any pressure from me to do so.
Herbert M. Hill, P.A. is a law firm located in Orlando, Florida with a practice extending throughout the state of Florida. While the vast majority of cases handled are for disability insurance benefits, areas of practice include employee benefit claims of all sorts. The firm handles any claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) for disability benefits, medical benefits, retirement benefits of any sort, including pension, 401k, termination agreements or the like as well as claims arising under private disability policies.
