The Standard Denies LTD Benefits Using Inaccurate Med-Evaluation

When a Miami woman with severe and chronic back and neck pain was denied her long-term disability insurance benefits by The Standard, she came to Dabdoub Law Firm for help. Using our insight and experience, we quickly uncovered that the insurance company had relied primarily on an inaccurate medical evaluation to deny her claim. When confronted by our lawyers, they corrected their ways and approved our client’s LTD benefits.

Details of the Chronic Neck & Back Pain Case

Various doctors have seen our client and diagnosed her with a variety of back and neck problems, all of which amount to chronic back and neck pain that severely limits her mobility, focus, workplace abilities, and more. Several treatment remedies have been tried, including injections and physical therapy, but nothing works well or for long. In August 2018, she did what was best for her health and what her doctors were advising—she stopped working and filed for LTD benefits.

Despite all of the medical evidence pointing directly at her disability, The Standard opted to deny her benefits. Surprised by the insurer’s seemingly illogical decision, she came to Dabdoub Law Firm for assistance with her appeal. While we are always upset to hear when someone has to fight their insurance provider for the benefits they are owed, we aren’t surprised.

In this case, we noticed a textbook mistake was conducted by The Standard. Rather than using trustworthy medical records completed by physicians who had actually met and treated our client, The Standard relied on a review written by a physician they contracted. The catch is that this physician only read about our client.

Bizarrely, the reviewing physician contracted by The Standard noted that our client did have limitations and restrictions but never tried to assess how long she could sit, stand, move, etc. It only noted that she was could probably work for some period of time. Did the physician mean one minute? One hour? It was not clarified adequately. Using this cloudy and arguably incomplete evaluation, The Standard declared it had enough evidence to deny her claim.

We countered, of course, with all of the clear, complete medical records provided by her own treating physicians. Within those documents, it was obvious that our client was not able to stay on her feet for very long at all. She actually filed for LTD benefits after falling on-the-job, an accident brought on by her chronic pain that she had been trying to work through. Furthermore, the records noted that she would need to lay down frequently to control her pain to any noticeable degree.

With our challenge letter before them, The Standard shied away and reversed its decision. We are happy to say our client now has the LTD benefits she needs without having to go to court.

Disability Insurance Companies Have Lawyers — Shouldn’t You?

If you are facing a long-term disability claim denial, you should consult an experienced disability lawyer. Our lawyers from Dabdoub Law Firm specialize in disability claims and contending with insurance companies.

Why should you choose us first?

  1. We have expertise in disability insurance claims.
  2. We built our firm to fight for people who were wrongly denied long-term disability benefits.
  3. We have fought every major disability insurance company and recovered millions of dollars in disability benefits for clients.
  4. We have a proven track record of success and have major disability lawsuits that helped make new law.

Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, we do not have to be located in your state to help. All our lawyers commit every day to helping people get disability benefits from insurance companies.

Contact us to get help 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.

Call (800) 969-0488 for a FREE consultation with a disability attorney.

Categories