I have spoken to many people who I simply could not help because all they did was what the disability insurance company told them to do all the way up to the time they received their final administrative denial letter.Basically, all they have to support their claim is the minimum information the insurance company wants.
A good long-term disability lawyer will help you “stuff the administrative record” with documents and evidence helpful to your claim.
Much of it the insurance company will hate but has no choice but to accept into the record.
They hate this evidence because it makes their job much more difficult.
Filing a successful long-term disability claim appeal includes more than just filling out forms.
You must know how to use the forms and how to supplement the administrative record beyond what the insurance company asks you to provide.
To launch the best possible claim or appeal, a good disability insurance attorney will position your case for success with additional medical, vocational, and financial evidence.
This evidence is key to proving that you are disabled!
And proving that the long-term disability insurance company made an arbitrary and capricious decision.
What does a Long-Term Disability Lawyer do?
A long-term disability attorney can help you find and acquire supporting medical and vocational records, job description evidence, written statements from family, co-workers, and friends, and much more to support your claim.
In addition, depending on the case, an experienced long-term disability attorney may do any of the following:
- Arrange for an IME (independent medical exam), FCE (functional capacity exam), or other medical testing (CTs, MRIs, blood work) that can help confirm you are disabled and fulfill demands for “objective medical finding” stated in the insurance policy.
- Help draft your application or appeal to argue against common misrepresentations
- Connect your limitations to an inability to perform your job’s actual duties
- Work closely with your physicians, and medical and vocational experts to help ease any difficulties in completing their statements in the best possible light, and protect them from harassment by the insurance company.
One reason so many long-term disability appeals are denied is the information requested by the insurance company is vague and (in my opinion) designed to help them deny your claim.
The forms and information presented to claimants by the insurance company generally make no mention of submitting specific additional evidence.
A good, experienced long-term disability attorney can help you fight back from the beginning and stuff the administrative record with good evidence necessary to win your claim.
