In July 2021, our Charlotte, SC client was injured in a motor vehicle accident while pregnant. The accident resulted in the development of severe in her foot, thigh, and sciatic pains. As an x-ray technician, she was planning to return to work after her maternity leave following her child’s birth in September 2021. However, her chronic pain worsened and prevented her from resuming her professional occupation.
CIGNA approved her short-term disability (STD) benefits request in July and provided regular payments for almost five months before abruptly terminating her benefits in December 2021. The insurance company made this decision in full disagreement with our client’s ongoing debilitating pain and her doctor’s recommendations.
The timing of CIGNA’s decision also helped them avoid disbursing long-term disability (LTD) benefits to our client, as her STD benefits were about to roll over into an LTD claim.
Frustrated with the insurance company’s wrongdoing, our client reached out to Dabdoub Law Firm.
Our Client Remains Disabled Due to Severe Chronic Pain
Our client saw several specialists and regularly attended extensive physical therapy sessions to improve her condition. Her pain nevertheless persisted and even worsened. A board-certified neurosurgeon confirmed in January 2022 that our client experienced coccydynia and severe pain. He recommended our client continued physical therapy and received steroid injections for pain relief.
Steroid injections were not an option for our client because she was still breastfeeding her child and the injections could have interfered with her ability to produce breastmilk. Her OBGYN issued a letter in February 2022 requesting the deferment of pain-relief injections until our client decided to stop breastfeeding her baby.
In addition to those reasonable grounds our client should have continued to receive disability benefits, her physical therapist continued to confirm her chronic pain, restricted range of motion, and tenderness.
Our client’s physical therapist completed a pain and physical capacity questionnaire to provide a detailed assessment of her medical condition. Our client’s ability to sit remained extremely limited with a maximum of two hours per day, which prevents her from having a full-time sedentary job.
The orthopedic specialist who has treated our client since her accident and whose evaluation led to CIGNA’s original approval of STD benefits confirmed her current situation too. He noted that her current pain levels impend her ability to “pull and lift heavy x-ray equipment” and other demands from her previous occupation.
CIGNA Reviewed Our Client’s Appeal and Agreed to Resume Her Disability Benefits
CIGNA had no acceptable reasons to terminate our client’s short-term disability benefits. The insurance company had recognized her chronic pain and disability and she had shown no signs of improvement, on the contrary.
Dabdoub Law Firm submitted all necessary medical records, physical therapy reports, and other supporting documents to appeal CIGNA’s wrongdoing. CIGNA conducted a fair and thorough review of the evidence we provided and agreed to reinstate our client’s STD benefits and grant her the LTD benefits she deserved.
Disability Insurance Companies Have Lawyers. Shouldn’t You?
We created Dabdoub Law Firm to focus on disability insurance and have developed an expertise in this complex area of the law.
Our expertise in long-term disability claims means our clients have the backing of attorneys who:
- Are experts in disability claims;
- Fought all major disability insurance companies and know their tactics;
- Have a track record of success;
- Won major disability lawsuits that created good law; and
- Recovered millions of dollars in disability benefits.
All our lawyers commit every day of their legal career to helping people get disability benefits from UNUM, MetLife, Prudential, Northwestern Mutual, Hartford, CIGNA, and other insurance providers.
Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, we do not have to be located in your state to help. We help clients nationwide.
Call us today at (800) 969-0488 to get experienced disability lawyers on your side 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.
Contact Dabdoub Law Firm today at (800) 969-0488 for a free consultation with a disability attorney.
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