Short & Long Term Disability Cases We’ve Won for Our Clients in Michigan

Not long after getting his dream job as the director of information technology with a large international business, the IT Specialist was involved in a car-on-motorcycle collision, which resulted in him striking his helmeted head on the road pavement at freeway speed. Miraculously he spent only a brief period in the hospital and then was released. When he returned to work, however, he began experiencing excruciating headaches and cognitive issues.

He kept his difficulties to himself and continued to do his job. Eventually, however, other employees noticed that he was slurring his speech and could not track information and numbers. Shortly thereafter his employers told him he would need to take leave to care for his medical needs.

He applied for disability and, despite the medical support from his doctors, the disability carrier denied his benefits. Prudential reasoned that because he had worked for several months without making complaints to anyone, he wasn’t disabled.

He then hired the Fields Law and our attorneys reached out to medical providers and obtained records, which clearly documented cognitive difficulties and impairment, and filed an appeal. Prudential reviewed the appeal and determined that it would reverse its denial and began making disability payments. Our client earnestly wishes to go back to work but will need some time to work through his cognitive issues and is very appreciative that he now has the money to sustain himself through that period of therapy and healing.

Our team represented a worker who was unable to continue his job due to neurocardiogenic syncope. This syndrome an autonomic nervous system reflex disorder that causes the individual’s heart rate and blood pressure to drop, leading to fainting episodes. In discontinuing the worker’s benefits, the insurance company relied on the opinions of two doctors who had never even seen the man, but felt that he could perform sedentary work based on their review of his medical records. Additionally, the insurance company stated that restrictions, as provided by the treating doctor, were preventative in nature and not indicative of his ability/inability to perform gainful work.

The Fields Law team presented a strong appeal to the insurance company. We argued that our client’s restrictions were in place to prevent him from fainting and sustaining further injury and those restrictions did not preclude payment of benefits under his policy. The Fields Law team also gathered updated medical records for the client and illustrated that his condition had not improved since he was initially awarded benefits. Based on these efforts, the insurance company agreed to reinstate our client’s benefits.

A young man from Michigan suffered from severe osteoporosis which left him with chronic pain and frequent bone fractures. This condition did not allow him to continue to work in his job as a stocker. His Long Term Disability insurer denied his claim on the grounds that he did not provide them with all of the information that was necessary to make a decision.

Frustrated and in need of help, he found the attorneys at Fields Law. Our attorneys carefully analyzed Prudential’s denial and identified all of the necessary information they needed to provide in order to get the claim approved. Once that information was identified, we submitted our appeal to Prudential. On review, they reinstated our client’s claim for benefits.