Short & Long Term Disability Cases We’ve Won for Our Clients in Washington
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 and lawsuit case wins in Washington.
Jeanette – Conductor – Pullman, Washington
Knee Pain, Back Pain
A Conductor from Washington was no longer able to work due to conditions relating to her knees and back. The employer provided a Long Term Disability policy and she applied for coverage and benefits. Her insurer initially approved the disability benefits, but later terminated Long Term Disability benefits, indicating no benefits were payable because she did not meet the Policy’s definition of Totally Disabled. She appealed this decision without the assistance of legal counsel, and Lincoln Financial upheld its prior decision to terminate and deny continued Long Term Disability benefits.
Frustrated by Lincoln Financial’s response, she turned to the Fields Law attorneys to file her second appeal. Our attorneys started by getting all the most favorable records and documents our client had and submitted a comprehensive appeal. After only a couple of weeks, Lincoln Financial reversed their decision to deny benefits, and retroactively paid our client back all the previously unpaid monthly benefits as a lump sum.
Donald – Senior Account Manager – Richland, Washington
Heart Conditions
A Senior Account Manager became disabled due to his heart conditions. His insurer denied his claim for Short Term and Long Term Disability benefits by sending him letters in the mail. Liberty Mutual claimed that he did not meet their definition of disability. Specifically, they claimed he could work as a Senior Account Manager because they believed there was a lack of objective evidence of impairments that would translate to restrictions or limitations for the insurer to consider him disabled.
He turned to Fields Law Firm to help him fight and appeal Liberty Mutuals’s decisions to deny Short Term and Long Term Disability benefits. The attorneys at Fields Law complied all of his medical records, received doctor reports, and submitted a comprehensive appeal. Liberty Mutual decided to overturn their previous decision and retroactively paid our client all the benefits he should have received for his Short Term and Long Term Disability benefits. He was glad to get almost a year of benefits back as a lump-sum.
Thad – Warehouse Manager – Edgewood, Washington
Femoral Nerve Injury
A Warehouse Manager was forced to leave work when he developed a left femoral nerve injury. His symptoms resulted in extreme pain with standing, walking, and even sitting. He applied for Long Term Disability benefits, which were paid for twenty-four months. When the Definition of Disabled in his policy changed, his benefits were denied. CIGNA stated he could perform work at the sedentary level utilizing his managerial experience.
After a bit of research, he quickly hired Fields Law to appeal the wrongful decision. Our attorneys reviewed all of the records accumulated during our client’s claim. We found that CIGNA’s review heavily relied on the opinion of an internal doctor that did not even examine our client. Our attorneys referred our client to a functional capacity evaluation to objectively measure his ability to work. The evaluation showed that our client simply could not perform any work on a full-time basis and CIGNA quickly reversed its decision and paid the disability benefits.
