Dabdoub Law Firm recently had the opportunity to represent a registered nurse (RN) who could no longer continue her employment due to a variety of disabilities, including diagnosed fibromyalgia. Despite her medical conditions and the confidence and familiarity of the medical team that evaluated her, CIGNA decided to deny her long term disability (LTD) benefits. Our team of long term disability insurance attorneys got right to work to analyze her medical records, to review the conditions of her disability insurance coverage, and to scrutinize CIGNA’s decision to deny the benefits. We are proud to say we were successful in our appeal, being able to secure the LTD benefits our client so deserves.
Details of the RN Disability Case
Our client worked as a registered nurse for years, with her most recent occupation being at Houston Methodist Hospital. As an RN, she was expected to regularly move patients, carry medical equipment, stay on her feet for long hours, and endure a highly stressful work environment. In February 2017, she found the continuance of her work impossible due to worsening health complications. She would be diagnosed by doctors in Houston Methodist with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. It is also believed by medical staff that she suffers some form of memory loss, which was noted by her colleagues in her increasing struggles to recall important details of her occupation.
In a medical note from her physician in June 2017, it was said that our client:
- Could not perform her job duties as an RN.
- Could not stand or sit for long periods of time.
- Displayed a noticeable decrease in focus and attention.
- Would likely experience these disabilities for the rest of her life.
Despite the confidence and extensive diagnoses of our client’s medical team, CIGNA chose to deny her long term disability benefits. Our client was only able to provide preliminary information about her disability before the insurance company chose to issue a denial. The company’s assigned nurse case manager requested more information from our client, but only gave her 24 hours to respond, which is clearly unreasonable. Only nine days after sending that unusually demanding request, our client received a letter that reaffirmed the denial. Given usual postage travel times, it is likely the denial letter was written and put into an envelope at the same time our client was given the prompt for the questionnaire.
Our long term disability attorneys intervened by providing our experienced representation and advocacy. We argued that CIGNA had breached its fiduciary duty by wrongfully expediting the denial and seemingly ignoring all medical evidence of her various disabilities. After our appeal and case was brought to their attention, CIGNA conceded and provided our client with long term disability benefits.
Our Disability Lawyers Can Help You
Dabdoub Law Firm was created with a single purpose in mind: to help people get disability benefits from insurance companies. With that kind of focus, millions of dollars in long-term disability benefits have been paid to our clients.
Every day, our disability lawyers work to get insurance companies to approve long-term disability claims or appeal disability benefits denials. Our firm has also won several major lawsuits for disability benefits in federal court.
With so much at stake, shouldn’t you have experienced disability lawyers on your side? We think so. Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, we do not have to be located in your state to help.
Call (800) 969-0488 to speak with a disability insurance lawyer.
