Long-Term Disability Lawyer

There are certainly some advantages to hiring an experienced long-term disability lawyer near where you live, although it isn’t always easy to find one close by. BenGlassLaw is one of the few law firms that regularly handles ERISA long-term disability cases in Virginia; in fact, we file over 80% of all new long-term disability lawsuits filed in the state each year. 

However, the good news is that, due to ERISA regulations, you don’t actually have to live physically close to your attorney to hire them, or for them to represent you in court. It’s more important to find an experienced LTD attorney who is the best fit for you.  

BenGlassLaw has won benefits for people all across the United States. We offer a free review of your denial letter.  

Warning: There are law firms soliciting long-term disability insurance cases who will refuse to file a lawsuit for you if they are not successful on the internal appeal with the insurance company. These firms then dump clients, telling them, “Sorry, written appeals are all we do.” Do not hire a firm to do your disability appeal if it isn’t willing to file a lawsuit against the insurance company if necessary. Watch this video to find out how to find the best long-term disability attorney for you.

First, please go watch this video for a horror story of what happened when a claimant appealed her long term disability denial on her own.

If the insurance company has denied your long-term disability claim, you have a limited timeline to appeal the decision. So, when should you hire an attorney? Hire the attorney now. 

There is a big temptation to do the appeal yourself (or to have your doctor do it for you.) Please don’t. If your appeal is denied and you have to go to court you will not be able to add evidence or arguments beyond what you put in your appeal. An experienced attorney can get this right.

If you are going to hire an attorney, hire them soon. The more time an attorney has to work with your case, the better prepared your claim will be. You know your story, but the attorney does not. He or she must work through your background and get all the facts, then write a legal appeal. That takes time, and every day, minute, and second counts. 

Yes, they will and theu will pour over  your social media as well. That’s why it is important not to submit fraudulent disability claims. The insurance company WILL find out and you will be denied and possibly subject to criminal and civil penalties.

The most likely month that your benefits will be terminated is on the 21st month after payment started—or in other words, two years after you become disabled, considering most long-term disability plans have a 90-day waiting period before benefits begin. 

There’s a reason for this. 

Most long-term disability policies provide that you will be paid benefits for 24 months if you meet the definition of disability and you cannot perform your “own occupation.” After 24 months, the definition of disability changes to “any occupation,” meaning that you will only be paid if you cannot perform “any occupation” to which you are reasonably suited. This is a much harder standard to qualify for. 

Note, these definitions do vary based on your specific disability insurance policy. Email or call us and we will look at your policy for free and give you our analysis. Call us for email contact information. 

This is usually very bad for the claim. You might want to have a serious heart-to-heart discussion with your doctor about why he or she is refusing to cooperate with you. It may be that they think you aren’t really disabled. Or, it may be that they feel they aren’t being paid for their time filling out mounds of insurance company forms.   

You need to know where your doctor stands on the issue of disability before you apply for disability benefits.  It is the kiss of death for your claim to have your doctor telling the insurance company that you are not disabled. 

Most disability insurance contracts require you to file for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) if the insurance company asks you to. If you qualify for SSDI benefits, your disability benefit from your long-term disability insurance policy could be reduced. 

Quite possibly, the insurance company will recommend a specific Social Security Disability attorney. 

No matter which attorney you choose for the Social Security claim, you will be reimbursed by the disability company, so they are all “free” in that respect. 

But here’s the real problem. While the representative recommended by your disability insurance company should prioritize your best interests, they often (or more like always, in our experience) work aggressively to make sure the insurance company gets its repayment of benefits. They’ll have you sign a form, typically authorizing them to put their hands right into your checking account to grab money if you get your SSDI benefits. In my opinion, that’s a major conflict of interest.  

Here’s another thing we’ve seen. Knowing that the long-term disability insurance company will pay minimal benefits if your disability is related to mental illness, the “free” attorney recommended by the disability insurance company will work to make your SSDI claim a “mental” claim. That’s good for your disability company and bad for you. 

It is, in my opinion, always better to hire a good, independent Social Security Disability attorney who is local to you and who will look out for your best interests only. 

In most cases, your long-term disability insurance company cannot force you to have extensive surgery. However, if a relatively simple and safe surgery has been recommended to you, and all your doctors agree it would allow you to resume working, the insurance company could deny your claim if you refuse the procedure. We have seen courts uphold denials under those circumstances. 

Not necessarily.  

Each case is different, and we have seen insurance companies terminate benefits when a particular form has not been filed on time. However, benefits can be reinstated once the form gets filed. Of course, this assumes that it has not been months and months since some form was due and you have totally neglected your duty to communicate with the insurance company.  

Again, each case is different. Ben Glass offers a free review of your termination letter in order to determine whether he can help or whether he can refer you to someone who can help. 

The health information you supply to your employer’s disability insurance company should not make its way back to your employer. This would be a violation of confidentiality laws. 

In our experience, most disability insurance companies are very good at making sure this private information does not go to the employer. 

Most disability insurance policies do require that you be under the ongoing care of a physician to maintain your benefits.  

However, the term “actively treated” has different meanings for different illnesses. At some point, the insurance company may require you to see an independent medical doctor who will determine whether the treatment you are receiving from your current doctor is appropriate.  

With some diseases/illnesses, periodic checkups at six-month intervals are appropriate, but each case is different. If you run into problems with your disability insurance company, you should seek the advice of an experienced disability insurance attorney. 

If your policy is a group policy, then it is probably regulated by ERISA. If so, you are entitled to a complete copy of the claim file by writing to the company and asking for all relevant documents that make up your file. They have 30 days to give it to you. When you get it, make sure that it contains at least the following: 

• your plan or policy 
• any summary plan description 
• any records you sent them 
• any records your doctor sent them 
• any records they received from authorizations you signed 
• any internal notes they made while processing your claim 
• reports from any doctors that they had look at your case. 

Remember, if you are going to appeal your case, you generally have 180 days from the date you received your denial letter to appeal. 

It may sound self-serving to say so, but the answer is “yes.” Just call us and let’s have a no pressure, free, chat, first. Our team can explore representation options with you.

You should also explore our YouTube Disability Channel.

Ben Glass is also the producer of the ERISA Disability Litigation podcast.

It’s best to involve a disability insurance lawyer as soon as you consider making a claim, even while you are still working.  

You take a big risk if you stop working only to find out you don’t have a provable disability. You could end up losing your job and benefits, such as life and health insurance. If you make mistakes filling out forms or giving recorded statements, it makes it that much more difficult for your attorney to help you obtain disability benefits. 

Except for rare exceptions, employer-sponsored long-term disability insurance is governed by a law known as ERISA. This law sets strict deadlines for appeals, requires administrative review of all appeals before you can sue, and if you do sue you won’t be able to add new evidence.  

There are many simple mistakes you can make along the way that could permanently impair your ability to receive benefits. An experienced lawyer will help you avoid them. 

Generally speaking, an insurance company has the right to get periodic updates from you regarding your condition. Our experience is that these updates tend to be more frequent in the beginning of your claim and then, if the insurance company is convinced that you have a serious injury or illness that will disable you for a long time, the reporting becomes less frequent. 

Every time they ask you to fill out a form, you should fill it out. If your forms are delayed going back to the insurance company, they may terminate, suspend, or delay your benefits. 

Generally, you are required to cooperate with your insurance company. You must do home interviews and fill out whatever forms they send you. You may be required to “take tests”; however, this generally falls under the “Independent Medical Examination” clause of the policy, and not all policies require them. 

That said, if the insurance company is not satisfied that you have provided sufficient evidence to have the claim paid, they simply will not pay the claim. 

If you have a question about whether a requested test is appropriate under your policy, you should speak to an experienced disability insurance attorney in your area. 

There usually is no need for you to immediately inform your long-term disability insurance company that you have changed physicians. Generally, you can wait until a new set of forms needs to be filled out, then have your new doctor complete and return the forms.