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

A Team Lead for a collections agency developed widespread degenerative disc disease. He underwent a laminectomy at L3-5 to correct the issues. Unfortunately, the surgery was unsuccessful, and he had to undergo a full revision surgery a year later. Being unable to work after the first surgery, he applied for benefits from his Long Term Disability insurance carrier. He was initially approved. However, just two months later, Prudential terminated his benefits claiming he didn’t have sufficient restrictions or limitations to prevent his return to work at his Regular Occupation.

He hired Fields Law to appeal his case. The Fields Law attorneys began requesting updated medical records from all of our client’s providers. Our team also had him undergo a full Functional Capacity Evaluation in order to show that he was functionally incapable of returning to his Regular Occupation. The Fields Law attorneys submitted the appeal and after several weeks of review Prudential overturned their prior determination. Back benefits were soon issued, and our client was awarded ongoing Long Term benefits.

A certified phlebotomist for a large health care provider was diagnosed with lumbar intervertebral disc disease with myelopathy, with associated radiating pain. She quit working because she was unable to keep up with her physically demanding and stressful job. New York Life agreed and paid the woman’s claim for several months. Out of nowhere and without explanation, the insurer requested the woman attend an independent medical examination. In turn, her benefits were denied based on the report, which far overestimated her physical abilities.

After hiring Fields Law Firm to assist with an appeal of the denial, our attorneys combed over the claim file and discovered that the independent doctor had failed to base his recommended work restrictions on examination findings. The Fields Law attorneys arranged for our client to attend a functional capacity evaluation to refute the findings of New York Life’s doctor and secured a substantial amount of medical records. Our attorneys submitted the medical records, functional capacity evaluation, and several legal arguments undermining the denial decision; which resulted in the decision being overturned our client’s benefits being reinstated.

A line haul trucker based out of Ohio developed some debilitating conditions that limited his ability to perform any sort of sustained activity. He applied for Long Term Disability benefits with his insurer and received an initial favorable decision. He was paid benefits for a year under the Own Occupation definition. However, he was denied benefits when Liberty Mutual determined he was able to perform some clerical work in the national economy.

He hired Fields Law Firm to appeal the wrongful determination. Our attorneys gathered substantial evidence that our client was unable to perform even sedentary work on a full-time basis. Additionally, our attorneys recognized that our client had a very limited vocational background and hired a vocational consultant to review whether our client would be a competitive applicant for employment. The vocational expert’s report was submitted together with the medical documentation resulting in a quick favorable decision for our client.