Prudential Terminates Benefits While Service Delivery Manager Recovers From Brain Tumor
Due to a brain tumor, a service delivery manager in Harrisburg, NC had to undergo 6 surgeries. The operations left him with debilitating headaches, which forced him to leave work and file for short-term disability (STD) benefits. With administrators AbsenceOne and Sedgwick, Prudential Insurance Company granted these benefits while the CompuCom employee sought treatment from various specialists.
Unfortunately, Prudential later reversed its stance and terminated these benefits, prompting our client to contact Dabdoub Law Firm.
Co-Morbid Physical and Mental Health Conditions
Our client began his career in 1996, worked hard, and received several promotions. He earned advanced technical certifications and was responsible for overseeing the accounts of numerous global banks and corporations. In 2016, our client was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had the tumor surgically removed and underwent several additional surgeries to remove subsequent blood clots. After the surgeries, our client wasn’t the same. He suffered from debilitating headaches, which forced him to stop working in October of 2019.
Along with headaches, our client experienced tinnitus (ringing in the ear), anxiety, and issues with his balance, vision, and hearing. While he was away from work, he was receiving treatment from a neurologist, sleep specialist, orthopedic specialist, and physical therapist.
In March of 2020, our client was also diagnosed with lumbar degenerative disc disease and an exophytic renal cyst. His providers were concerned about him returning to work due to his ongoing pain, ataxia, and vertigo and emphasized he needed time to seek treatment from specialists, adjust to his medications, and recover properly.
Following, his doctor’s orders, our client continued to seek treatment, undergoing physical therapy for balance issues and seeing a sleep specialist to treat possible sleep apnea and prevent migraine headaches. Our client needs to continue these treatments, many of which have been interrupted by the coronavirus. He is not ready to return to work.
Prudential’s Wrong and Unreasonable Termination of Benefits
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Sedgwick and Prudential had a duty to act in our client’s interest. Instead, the companies de-emphasized evidence that favored approval and emphasized evidence that justified their wrong and unreasonable termination of benefits. The companies denied the severity of our client’s headaches and claimed his other conditions were stable when evidence from his providers clearly suggests otherwise.
Although our client’s treatments are improving his condition, he is still not ready to return to work – Prudential and its subsidiaries knew this and chose to terminate our client’s benefits regardless.
Dabdoub Law Firm gave the companies one final chance to remedy their behavior before taking our client’s case to court.
Success for Our Client
By emphasizing the evidence and pointing out Prudential’s mistakes, Dabdoub Law Firm was able to have our client’s benefits reinstated. He was also awarded retroactive benefits in full. We are happy to have helped our client get the benefits he was entitled to and hope he continues to recover.
Help from a Lawyer with Expertise in Disability Insurance
Disability insurance law is complex. Hiring an experienced disability attorney is important. Because all disability lawyers at this law firm focus on disability insurance claims, we have expertise in disability insurance law.
That means we have:
- Experience with every major disability insurance company
- A proven track record of success in major disability lawsuits
- Recovered millions of dollars in disability benefits for clients
Additionally, we never charge fees or costs unless our clients get paid.
Dabdoub Law Firm can help at any stage of your disability insurance claim, including:
- 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.
Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, our lawyers are also able to represent clients across the country.
Call us at (800) 969-0488 to speak with an experienced disability attorney. Consultations are free, and we are also available online.
