After working her entire life – often through pain from previous injuries and surgeries – our client suffered a fall that ended her career. Instead of working as a sales associate at Victoria’s Secret in Orlando, Florida, and providing for her family, our client was forced to file for long-term disability (LTD) benefits due to severe pain in her ankle and foot.
Reliance Standard denied her claim. Unable to work or put food on the table, our client reached out to Dabdoub Law Firm for help.
We presented Reliance Standard with objective medical evidence of our client’s chronic pain and helped her recover the LTD benefits she deserved.
A Fateful Fall
Our client is no stranger to pain, but she has always been able to work through it. When she fell in August 2020, however, all that changed. In the fall, our client severely hurt her ankle and shoulder. Since then, the pain, numbness, and swelling have been unbearable.
She cannot stand for more than 2 hours in an 8-hour workday, and her occupation as a sales associate requires her to be on her feet all day long. To address her pain, our client has been treating with a foot and ankle specialist who has diagnosed her with right tarsal tunnel and neuroma in the 2nd and 3rd interspace.
Objective Medical Evidence
This diagnosis provides medical evidence of our client’s severe pain and numbness. Additionally, an electrodiagnostic study (EMG) objectively confirms her medical condition. The EMG shows abnormal compression of Baxter’s nerve, which causes pain that radiates from the heel.
Although our client can alleviate her pain by sitting and resting; standing and walking are excruciating and result in unbearable pain. If she tries to walk for more than 10 minutes, she becomes a fall risk. In her fragile state, any minor injury can result in major trauma for our client.
For example, our client stubbed her toe on the wall and fractured it. What would be a minor inconvenience for anyone else resulted in a broken bone for our client.
Another fall could be catastrophic to our client, destroying her ankle and foot and taking away her ability to walk, entirely.
Multiple doctors agree that our client is a fall risk and should not return to a full-time job that requires her to stand and walk so often.
Our client’s doctors also agree that:
- She is always in pain
- The pain is severe
- She can stand for less than 2 hours in an 8-hour workday
- She is likely to be off-task during work due to pain for 4 or more days per month
Our client cannot work reliably and consistently on a full-time basis when she is constantly in pain and a simple trip to the restroom or down the hall can put her at risk of a catastrophic fall.
Reliance Standard Failed to Act in Our Client’s Best Interest
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), disability insurance companies like Reliance Standard must act “solely in the best interest of [their] beneficiaries.” By denying our client’s claim for LTD benefits, Reliance Standard did not act in her best interests.
Now, the insurance company possesses ample evidence of our client’s disability. Dabdoub Law Firm encouraged them to take a second, good-faith look at our client’s claim.
Fortunately, Reliance Standard did so and issued a prompt and favorable decision on our client’s behalf.
Lawyers Specializing in Disability Insurance Claims
Because disability insurance law is complicated, you should seek legal help from a lawyer who focuses on disability law.
As a law firm built to focus on disability insurance, Dabdoub Law Firm specializes in disability insurance. Our lawyers spend every day working to get our clients’ long-term disability benefits approved.
Additionally, federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, which means we do not have to be located in your state to help you.
If your claim for long-term disability benefits was denied or is being delayed by an insurance company, call us to speak with a disability insurance attorney. We have experience with every major insurer and know their tactics.
We help clients across the U.S. with:
- Submitting a disability insurance claim,
- Appealing a long-term disability denial,
- Negotiating a lump-sum settlement, and
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
If you need help from a disability attorney with a proven track record of success, look no further than our team at Dabdoub Law Firm.
Call us at (800) 969-0488 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced disability lawyers.
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