Her insurance company refused to pay her disability benefits for six years — and spied on her. A jury has now awarded a Canadian woman a record $1.5 million in damages

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After a five-week jury trial, Sara Baker was awarded $1.5 million in punitive damages from Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada.

Hospital director Sara Baker suffered a stroke in 2013 that her doctors said left her unable to work, but for six years her insurance company refused to pay her long-term disability benefits and spent 375 hours covertly surveilling her.

The jury also reinstated Baker’s benefits and awarded her $40,000 in aggravated damages for her mental distress. “The trial was scheduled three times,” Baker said in the press release. “The first time it was delayed because the insurance company insisted on a jury, which could not happen during the pandemic early on.

 

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The amount seems low by Americian standards .!

By the way, this is how for-profit healthcare works. Refuse 'claims'.

I can’t like this enough though I regret the worry and suffering she endured. Too common that disabled people need lawyers (which they can’t afford) to stop discrimination

Easier to sue companies than governments! Think about private health care! Your income will drop significantly so u can afford insurance!

She is entitled to disability benefits if she is not working.

Good for her. Insurance is the biggest scam on earth. It's law to have most policies in place, pay for them heavily, usually for no claims, and then when the chips are down they try to screw you any way possible. Utter bullshit.

I worked in a ctr for people with disabilities for many yrs and know that after a life-changing injury clients would maybe be simply outside cutting their lawn. If Workers Comp drove by to spy the payments to these warriors might be suspended or cancelled.

Why do we have private insurance anyway? We shouldn't be at the mercy of these horrible corporations, especially when we get sick and injured.

WCBs do this all the time. I was denied disability too...even though eventually after fighting with a WCB for 7 years they decided I was disabled from my job and sent me for retraining. However the also got away with not paying me longterm wage loss for all those years.

WCBs do this all the time. I was denied disability too...even though eventually after fighting with a WCB for 7 years they decided I was disabled from my job and sent me for retraining. However they also got away with not paying me longterm wage loss for all those years.

Nahanni_ Good. Trying to get short or long term disability from insurers is a nightmare. I bet there are thousands out there who have been denied, spied on, who never fought back. If it is Mental illness good luck!!

There’s nothing I love reading about more than someone taking down an insurance company for a shitload of money.

Take that bastards

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