What You Should Know Before You Read:
- Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that can cause severe, unpredictable, and disabling symptoms.
- Disability insurance companies often deny Crohn’s claims by focusing on intermittent improvement or periods of remission.
- Proving disability requires clear documentation of symptom severity, frequency, and functional impact on work.
- Dabdoub Law Firm focuses exclusively on disability insurance claims, represents clients nationwide, and has a proven record of success in complex disability cases.
How to Navigate Crohn’s Disease Disability Claims
Crohn’s disease is a lifelong autoimmune condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract. Common symptoms include: abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, fatigue, malnutrition, weight loss, anemia, and systemic inflammation. Many individuals also experience complications such as strictures, fistulas, frequent infections, or the need for repeated surgeries.
What makes Crohn’s disease particularly challenging in disability claims is its unpredictability. Symptoms may fluctuate, with periods of relative stability followed by sudden flare ups that are severe and debilitating. Insurance companies frequently misuse this variability to argue that a claimant can still work, even when the condition makes consistent attendance and reliable performance impossible.
A successful Crohn’s disability claim must focus on functional limitations, reliability, and the cumulative impact of symptoms rather than isolated moments of improvement.
1. Do Document Symptom Frequency, Severity, and Flare Ups
A diagnosis of Crohn’s disease does not automatically establish disability. Insurers want to see how severe symptoms are and how often they occur. It is important to regularly see your doctor and report ongoing symptoms and their impact on your day to day functionality.
Do:
- Ensure your gastroenterologist documents flare ups, including frequency, duration, and severity.
- Keep a symptom log noting abdominal pain, diarrhea frequency, urgency, fatigue, and recovery time.
- Document hospitalizations, emergency care, or complications related to Crohn’s disease.
Do Not:
- Assume the insurer understands the impact of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms without detailed records.
- Submit records that list Crohn’s disease without explaining daily functional effects.
2. Do Explain How Crohn’s Disease Affects Work Reliability
Crohn’s disease often interferes with consistent attendance, concentration, and stamina. Insurers frequently overlook these issues.
Do:
- Explain how urgent symptoms, frequent bathroom use, pain, and fatigue disrupt your ability to reliably and consistently work.
- Show how unpredictability prevents maintaining a regular schedule.
- Document how flare ups cause missed workdays or reduced productivity.
Do Not:
- Assume insurers will consider reliability without being shown.
- Allow the claim to focus solely on lab results or imaging.
3. Do Maintain Consistent Treatment With Your Specialists
Ongoing specialist treatment is critical in Crohn’s disability claims. Insurers often cite treatment gaps as evidence that the condition is controlled.
Do:
- Treat regularly with a gastroenterologist and follow prescribed treatment plans. Report to your doctor the ongoing symptoms you experience, including the frequency, intensity and unpredictability.
- Document medication trials, infusions, dietary restrictions, and side effects.
- Show ongoing monitoring of disease activity.
Do Not:
- Miss appointments or stop treatment without documentation.
- Rely solely on primary care for management of Crohn’s disease.
4. Do Address Periods of Remission Carefully
Crohn’s disease often includes periods of partial remission. Insurers frequently mischaracterize these periods as evidence of improvement thus minimizing the debilitating nature of the condition.
Do:
- Explain that remission does not mean symptoms are gone or predictable.
- Document lingering fatigue, pain, or gastrointestinal issues even during improved periods.
- Show how stress or activity can trigger flare ups.
Do Not:
- Report only good days during medical visits.
- Allow insurers to equate improvement with sustained ability to work.
5. Consult the Expertise of Long Term Disability Attorneys at Dabdoub Law Firm
Long term disability claims for Crohn’s disease are often denied due to misunderstanding, incomplete documentation, or insurer mischaracterization of fluctuating symptoms. The attorneys at Dabdou Law Firm can intervene early and build a file based on substantial medical evidence providing disability due Crohn’s.
Do:
- Call our disability insurance attorneys before filing or appealing a denied long term disability claim.
- Allow our team to guide medical documentation and occupational explanations.
- Contact us immediately if the insurer requests an IME, surveillance, or additional reviews.
Do Not:
- Attempt to navigate a complex autoimmune disability claim alone.
- Wait until appeal deadlines approach to seek assistance.
How Dabdoub Law Firm Helps With Crohn’s Disease Disability Claims
Crohn’s disease claims require careful presentation of medical evidence, functional limitations, and the reality of unpredictable symptoms. Long term disability insurance companies often minimize these claims by focusing on selective records or brief periods of improvement.
Dabdoub Law Firm helps clients by:
- Ensuring medical records clearly document symptom severity and flare ups
- Working with treating gastroenterologists and other specialists to strengthen medical evidence
- Addressing insurer bias against fluctuating autoimmune conditions
- Preparing comprehensive ERISA appeals
- Litigating wrongful long term disability denials in federal court
- Negotiating lump sum settlements when appropriate
We have taken on every major disability insurance company and represent clients nationwide. Our firm was built to win disability insurance cases, including those involving complex autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease.