Short & Long Term Disability Cases We’ve Won for Our Clients Against Various Insurers

A manager from South Carolina suffered from Multiple Sclerosis. His condition was debilitating and progressive. He had good days and bad days, but often would suffer from numbness in his extremities, memory deficits, and motor dysfunction. He received Social Security Disability benefits due to his condition. Despite his symptoms and Social Security status, his insurer denied his Long Term Disability benefits because there was insufficient objective evidence of his disability.

Worried about his worsening condition and lost income, he called Fields Law Firm for help. Our team gathered all our client’s medical records and set up neurological tests to bolster the objective evidence supporting the claim. We also gathered and sent our client’s entire Social Security file to show CIGNA that their decision conflicted with a federal agency. After a lengthy reconsideration, the insurance company reversed their decision and our client received a lump-sum payment for back pay and began receiving his monthly benefits again.

A railroad surveyor developed a heart condition which resulted in severe weakness and fatigue, and unfortunately, placed him at extreme risk of myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death. The job of a surveyor is highly risky because the job requires consistent standing and walking, and perhaps more significantly, lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling objects in excess of 60 lbs. He also has to constantly walk and stand, and frequently climb, which places extreme stress on his heart. Shockingly, despite his condition and his physically demanding job description, CIGNA refused to grant disability payments and told him he had no choice but to continue working, despite the extreme risk to his health.

Having never worked with attorneys before, he reluctantly hired Fields Law, who comforted him and guided him through the process of filing an appeal of his Long Term Disability denial. The Fields Law attorneys worked with medical providers, collected and assembled all medical records and supportive reports, and filed an appeal. CIGNA reversed their denial and awarded Long Term Disability payments. Our client is hoping to return to work but, in the meantime, has the necessary finances to meet his needs.

A housekeeper became entirely unable to work due to chronic back pain and degeneration of her lumbar discs. Aetna paid Long Term Disability benefits for 24 months because she could not perform her job as a housekeeper. After 24 months, the insurance provider ceased her benefits, stating that in order to continue to receive benefits, she needed to be disabled from any occupation. She came to Fields Law Firm distraught, knowing that she could not work at all anymore due to her pain, but her insurer was stopping her benefits.

Our attorneys could see that Aetna had failed to properly evaluate our client’s claim. The insurance provider relied excessively on certain evidence, while ignoring evidence that was supportive of her disability. We drafted an appeal that exposed these mistakes, and reached out to her doctors to obtain reports supporting her disability, which were vital to her case. These reports allowed us to prove that our client was unable to work in any occupation. In the end, we were successful in reversing the insurer’s denial of benefits and our client was awarded ongoing benefits.