A woman in Houston was abruptly denied long-term disability (LTD) benefits originally granted by Hartford. The case is unusual in that she received benefits for seven years before the insurance company decided to revoke them due to the results of their own botched surveillance. Dabdoub Law Firm was able to show that the early termination was unjustified, and Hartford agreed to reinstate them.
Details of the 7-Year Early Termination Case
Our client had to quit her job in April 2012 due to the health complications and hardships caused by several comorbid conditions. To name only a few of the health problems experienced by our client, hypertension, seizures, arthritis, and anxiety caused complications every day. She attempted to continue work as normal, but her health problems reached the point that she could no longer even sit for extended periods of time without debilitating pain.
Hartford’s case evaluators recognized the significance of our client’s disabilities and granted her LTD benefits in October 2012. In July 2019, though, nearly 7 years after the benefits first began, they were abruptly canceled. Hartford had suddenly decided that our client could go to work, at least in a sedentary capacity.
What Hartford had seemingly forgotten all of the sudden was that our client did not make any noticeable medical improvements throughout those 7 years. As objective medical evidence found within her medical records would show, she actually only became more disabled as the years went on due to her conditions’ resistance to treatment.
Dabdoub Law Firm used those same medical records to challenge the early termination of the LTD benefits. There are plenty of notes, diagnoses, and opinions within her medical records that show she cannot continue to work yet. For example, one of her doctors noted that she cannot “safely or efficiently [perform] any type of work activities for an 8-hour day.” This statement alone should excuse someone from any sort of occupation, including office work that can be performed in a chair.
To make matters worse for our client, she had to wean herself off an oxycontin prescription for her chronic pain. As her dosages were reduced, her pain increased, and withdrawal symptoms began.
Botched Surveillance Effort
What our attorneys uncovered next in our case investigation was unusual, but not completely unique. It turns out that Hartford had tried to surveil our client, but they only watched her sister. After surveilling her sister for two days but not realizing she was the wrong person, Hartford determined she was healthy enough to return to work. A final day of surveillance did actually record our client, but she was doing nothing strenuous or unusual.
Clearly, this is surveillance mix-up is an embarrassing upset, but Hartford still tried to stand by it. At the threat of litigation led by our attorneys, though, the insurer turned their stance around and agreed to reinstitute our client's LTD benefits and provide payment for the amount unpaid during the gap.
Help from a Lawyer with Expertise in Disability Insurance
Dabdoub Law Firm was built to be a disability insurance law firm.
Our level of focus means:
- All of our lawyers specialize in disability insurance claims.
- We have experience with every major disability insurance company.
- We have won important long-term disability lawsuits.
Our disability lawyers can help you with:
- Submitting a disability insurance claim;
- Appealing a long-term disability denial;
- Negotiating a lump-sum settlement; or
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
Hiring an experienced disability attorney is important. Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, our lawyers do not have to be located in your state.
Call (800) 969-0488 for a free consultation with an experienced disability attorney. Pay no fees or costs unless you get paid.
