Short & Long Term Disability Cases We’ve Won for Our Clients Against Various Insurers
Fields Law Firm successfully recovers millions of dollars each year for our disabled clients throughout the United States. Our Long Term Disability experience is matched by very few other law firms in the country and has earned us a national reputation.
Here are just a few examples of our Long Term Disability appeal case wins against various insurers.
Roland – Aircraft Mechanic – Afton, Wyoming
Back Pain, Depression
Working as an aircraft mechanic with a major aircraft company for over 31 years, a man from Wyoming began to develop low back pain that led to the development of major depressive disorder. He left work and applied for benefits from his Long Term Disability insurer, which was denied. The insurer stated that his medical treatment failed to demonstrate his conditions were severe enough to preclude working at his physically demanding and highly skilled job.
He hired Fields Law to file an appeal against his insurer. On appeal, our attorneys submitted medical records from all of the client’s treating providers, a narrative report from his orthopedic specialist, and a functional capacity evaluation that showed he was unable to perform his heavy-duty job on a physical basis. After review of the appeal, the insurance company agreed our client was disabled and reinstated his disability benefits.
Scott – Operations Supervisor – Tomah, Wisconsin
Multi-level Degenerative Disc Space Narrowing of Lumbar Spine, Lyme’s Disease, Type II Diabetes
An Operations Supervisor from Wisconsin was diagnosed with multi-level degenerative disc space narrowing of his lumbar spine, Lyme’s disease, and Type II diabetes. Due to his conditions, he was unable to continue performing his job and taken off of work by his doctors. He was initially awarded Short Term Disability benefits by his insurer. However, after paying Short Term benefits for only two months he received a letter in the mail claiming his medical conditions were not severe enough to prevent him from performing his work duties.
Out of work on doctors’ orders and now being told he would not receive any further disability payments, he immediately reached out to Fields Law to assist in challenging this decision. Our attorneys worked with his doctors to secure narrative reports and medical records supporting his inability to work. Our team also assisted him in navigating the procedural maze of applying for Social Security Disability benefits.
After reviewing all of his insurer’s documentation, our attorneys identified several times where critical medical and vocational evidence was ignored, misstated, or selectively cited. We drafted our appeal challenging the denial of Short Term Disability benefits and successfully convinced his insurance company to reverse its denial. Our client then received a favorable disability ruling from the Social Security Administration and our team is now pursuing his Long Term Disability benefits. Our client was extremely relieved receiving not only his significant back pay owed to him but also in knowing that he would now enjoy on-going monthly benefits.
Mary Beth – Nurse Practitioner – Man, West Virginia
Migraines, Degenerative Disc Disease, Carpel Tunnel, Memory Problems, Neuropathy, Bell’s Palsy
A Nurse Practitioner from West Virginia suffered from a whole host of condition, including a history of Lyme’s disease, which caused recurring migraines and memory problems. She also suffered from degenerative disc disease, numbness in her limbs, and Bell’s Palsy. She took 24 medications to attempt to fight her symptoms, but the side-effects and her symptoms made work impossible. She received Long Term Disability benefits for four years with no issues. Then CIGNA suddenly stopped paying because they said she could return to work.
The woman was shocked. Her medication list took up more than an entire page, and she was in no condition to return to work of any kind. She called Fields Law Firm for help. Our team obtained the full claim file from CIGNA and our attorneys scoured the record for places where CIGNA had made legal or factual errors. Our attorneys drafted a strong appeal based on updated medical records, expert testimony, and strong legal research. Somehow, the insurer denied the first appeal. Our attorneys obtained even more evidence for a second appeal. The insurance company finally relented and granted our client benefits. She received a lump-sum for back-pay and ongoing monthly benefits. She was overjoyed to have the strong advocacy of Fields Law on her side. She has since hired our firm to monitor her ongoing claim so we can be ready to go if CIGNA makes another error.
