Legal and financial issues

Legal considerations

Once diagnosed, you must inform anyone who needs to know that you have Parkinson’s. This includes:

the authority that covers driving licences (if you are still driving)
your insurance company if you have health or other relevant insurance policies.

You should also check if any insurance policies you hold provide cover for long term disabilities and ask what documentation they require you to provide.

Did you know?

You are not obliged to inform your employer, unless of course your symptoms could pose any form of risk to yourself or others, for example operating machinery.

Financial considerations

Having Parkinson’s may affect your financial situation for a number of reasons, for example:

you may need to reduce the amount of work you do or stop working
you may be hospitalised
you may incur additional costs for check ups or non-state funded treatment such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy or speech and language therapy
you may also incur additional costs for nursing, home care or special equipment.

It is wise to start planning financially for the future as early as possible and investigate whether you are entitled to any ‘benefits’ (monies paid to you by the State) to compensate for any financial losses you incur.

Did you know?

There are almost six million adults claiming benefits in the UK, according to the Department of Work and Pensions.