I live and work in California and have worked at the same company for 2.5 years.
I had a hemorrhagic stroke in July 2016 caused by high blood pressure. Fortunately I was working at home when it happened and was taken to the hospital within 20 minutes. I'm young (45), otherwise healthy, and the stroke was considered 'small', so I was released from the hospital after 5 days with a walker and a fist full of prescriptions. I spent the next 5 months on disability (SDI and short-term disability insurance) and the road to recovery. Sleeping upright, working on simply walking, being able to type, being able to drive, all progressively getting better. Fortunately I seem cognitively fine even from the day one, I'm "all there" and can still do complex math and regular conversations. In December of 2016, I return to work.
But its seems like things are not fine. Over the next 9 months I'm discovering that I have very strange cognitive issues. I'm missing meetings because I don't know what time it is, have a hard time keeping on task, am impulsive on some things but can't get started on others. Its like I've come down with the worst ADHD ever (just without the hyper part). I also develop "post stroke central pain syndrome" (that numbness on the left side slowly evolves into discomfort and pain) and a constant headache that doesn't get better from NSAIDs.
I probably did the wrong thing by ignoring these and hoping it would just get better with time... it hasn't. My work definitely notices the problem, but it materializes in warnings; "you need to be at all meetings regarding x", "you need to take lead on x", etc. I get written up for poor performance for the first time in my 25 year career. In September 2017, I'm on a business trip but can't remember what I'm supposed to do, or why I'm in a hotel room. At this point I fly home and go back on medical leave at the recommendation of my HR department. I'm going back onto SDI and disability insurance.
Finally my question (or the tl;dr version) -- if I develop undiagnosed or new symptoms 9 months after a major brain injury, is that considered a pre-existing condition for the purposes of short-term or long-term disability?
I had a hemorrhagic stroke in July 2016 caused by high blood pressure. Fortunately I was working at home when it happened and was taken to the hospital within 20 minutes. I'm young (45), otherwise healthy, and the stroke was considered 'small', so I was released from the hospital after 5 days with a walker and a fist full of prescriptions. I spent the next 5 months on disability (SDI and short-term disability insurance) and the road to recovery. Sleeping upright, working on simply walking, being able to type, being able to drive, all progressively getting better. Fortunately I seem cognitively fine even from the day one, I'm "all there" and can still do complex math and regular conversations. In December of 2016, I return to work.
But its seems like things are not fine. Over the next 9 months I'm discovering that I have very strange cognitive issues. I'm missing meetings because I don't know what time it is, have a hard time keeping on task, am impulsive on some things but can't get started on others. Its like I've come down with the worst ADHD ever (just without the hyper part). I also develop "post stroke central pain syndrome" (that numbness on the left side slowly evolves into discomfort and pain) and a constant headache that doesn't get better from NSAIDs.
I probably did the wrong thing by ignoring these and hoping it would just get better with time... it hasn't. My work definitely notices the problem, but it materializes in warnings; "you need to be at all meetings regarding x", "you need to take lead on x", etc. I get written up for poor performance for the first time in my 25 year career. In September 2017, I'm on a business trip but can't remember what I'm supposed to do, or why I'm in a hotel room. At this point I fly home and go back on medical leave at the recommendation of my HR department. I'm going back onto SDI and disability insurance.
Finally my question (or the tl;dr version) -- if I develop undiagnosed or new symptoms 9 months after a major brain injury, is that considered a pre-existing condition for the purposes of short-term or long-term disability?
Disability Insurance: Is an Undiagnosed Condition a Pre-Existing Condition for Disability Insurance
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