If you need to take time off work or stop work altogether due to epilepsy, you can claim on any TPD or income protection insurance you may have, either inside or outside super. We have helped a number of people with TPD and income protection claims due to epilepsy.
Epilepsy effects on your daily living and your employment
Like most chronic illnesses, epilepsy impacts all people in different ways and treatment outcomes vary, although many people who receive the right treatment have a really good prognosis and can continue with work. For other people, the outcomes are less favourable.
For those people who experience ongoing symptoms after an epilepsy diagnosis and treatment, those symptoms can be very debilitating and impact on work capacity.
The symptoms we refer to are seizures, but also ongoing side-effects of the medications which are used to treat epilepsy, can also impact cognition and cause fatigue (along with other symptoms).
Put simply, seizures can present in a number of different ways and include absent seizures. In other words, seizures during which there is typically no excessive movement but maybe some twitching and a period of not being “present”. Seizures can also be the more obvious, movement-based or motor-based seizures.
Epilepsy can lead to successful TPD or income protection claims
Irrespective of how your epilepsy presents and how it impacts on you, seizures and other symptoms of epilepsy can lead to successful income protection and TPD insurance claims.
It’s important to be aware of your specific TPD or income protection policy wording. Under some insurance policies for TPD or income protection, being permanently or temporarily unable to do your normal job is enough to allow a claim.
Under other policies, if you are able to continue to work in a limited capacity or a different job, a TPD claim may not be possible, but it's still worthwhile to have a chat with us. We can check your policies for free and advise you on your options and the likely success of a TPD or income protection claim.
The following are some situations that would usually allow a disability insurance claim due to epilepsy.
Epilepsy and driving or operating machines
Many people who are diagnosed with epilepsy, even those who are effectively treated, must stop driving or operating machinery.
If your job requires you to drive cars (e.g taxi/uber driving or you are a tradie) or operate larger machines or vehicles (e.g trucks, trains, cranes, planes etc), an epilepsy diagnosis may mean that you are not able to continue to work in your normal job and could be entitled to claim TPD or income protection benefits.
Epilepsy and dangerous work environments
Epilepsy can prevent you from continuing to work in jobs that involve you being in dangerous environments, like mines, construction sites, on roofs and even in kitchens.
In such cases, you may be able to get back to work in other roles, but if you can’t or if your policy allows claims even if you continue to work in another capacity, a TPD and/or income protection claim may be possible.
Has your TPD or income protection claim for epilepsy been rejected?
If you’ve lodged a TPD claim and it has been rejected, there are options to appeal that decision. There are also options to appeal a rejected income protection claim.
We can assist you with appealing disability insurance claims that have been denied.
Get help from a TPD and income protection lawyer
If you have been diagnosed with epilepsy and the symptoms mean that you are temporarily or permanently unable to continue to work, you may be able to make a claim for income protection or TPD insurance benefits.
We are experts in TPD, income protection and trauma insurance claims. We have significant success with disability insurance claims and we offer free advice and “no win no fee” options.
Contacting Berrill & Watson
📞 Melbourne: 03 9448 8048
📞 Brisbane: 07 3013 4300
📞 Anywhere else in Australia: 03 9448 8048
How we charge
We are Australia's best-value superannuation/insurance law firm. Other law firms charge nearly double (& sometimes more than double) what we charge. So, if you get a quote from them, or have a cost agreement, ask us what we will charge you.