An energy operations technician had his long-term disability benefits wrongfully terminated by Lincoln Financial Group after more than two and a half years of approved payments and despite a chronic and progressive spinal condition that had only worsened over time and left him unable to perform even sedentary work. He turned to Dabdoub Law Firm, where Attorney Geannina Burgos mounted a thorough appeal supported by an independent Functional Capacity Evaluation, an expert FCE validation, and consistent documentation from multiple treating providers. Without the need for litigation, Lincoln Financial reversed its termination decision and reinstated our client's benefits in full.
What to Know About This Case:
- An energy operations technician suffering from chronic spinal pain, nerve damage, gait instability, and progressive functional decline had his long-term disability benefits terminated by Lincoln Financial after more than two years of continuous payments, despite no meaningful improvement in his condition.
- Attorney Geannina Burgos built a compelling appeal demonstrating that our client could not perform gainful employment even at a sedentary level, backed by an independent Functional Capacity Evaluation, an expert validation report, and support from multiple treating providers.
- Dabdoub Law Firm secured full reinstatement of our client's long-term disability benefits without the need for litigation.
When Every Treatment Option Falls Short
Our client spent his career as an operations and maintenance technician at an energy company in a role that demanded physical and mental work, as well as occasional challenges that are standard in industrial environments. In November 2022, a fall set off a chain of medical events that would ultimately end his ability to work entirely. He developed persistent low back pain, lumbar radiculopathy, and left hip pain that resisted initial treatment efforts, eventually requiring lumbar decompression surgery in April 2023. When surgery failed to resolve his symptoms, a spinal cord stimulator was implanted in August 2024 as a next step in pain management, but it too provided no lasting benefit and was ultimately discontinued.
What followed was years of exhaustive treatment that produced partial relief at best and no functional recovery. Our client received ongoing care from multiple providers across pain management, neurology, orthopedics, and primary care. Conservative modalities, including physical therapy, epidural steroid injections, NSAIDs, topical agents, massage, heat and ice therapy, and numerous medication trials, were used, but each failed to meaningfully improve his condition. Long-term opioid and adjuvant medications became necessary to manage his pain, but they introduced their own serious complications, including dizziness, sedation, and cognitive impairment significant enough that his healthcare providers cautioned him against driving or operating machinery.
By early 2026, his condition had progressed further. Pain management records documented increasing activity intolerance, frequent periods spent in bed during symptom flares, and the need for adaptive strategies just to manage daily life, including the use of a hospital bed at home. Then, in March 2026, his left leg gave out while walking inside his own home, causing him to fall and fracture a bone in his right foot. The fracture further reduced his already limited mobility and standing tolerance. Multiple treating providers independently concluded that our client could not sustain the physical, cognitive, or attendance demands of any form of full-time competitive employment.
How Attorney Burgos Challenged Lincoln’s Grounds for Terminating Benefits
Lincoln Financial had approved and paid our client's long-term disability benefits for more than two and a half years before terminating them in January 2026. The termination was driven largely by the opinion of Lincoln's own physician consultant, a doctor who reviewed the claim file remotely and never once examined our client, observed his gait, assessed his pain behaviors in person, or evaluated his ability to sustain activity over the course of an actual workday. Even the physician's own report acknowledged our client's ongoing neurological pain, objective examination findings, and functional limitations, yet Lincoln used it as justification to cut off benefits. Lincoln also proposed that our client could return to work in roles such as Hydroelectric Station Operator and Substation Operator, without meaningfully accounting for his pain-related limitations, the cognitive effects of his required medications, or the reliability and endurance demands those positions actually carry.
When our client came to Dabdoub Law Firm, Attorney Geannina Burgos identified the weaknesses in Lincoln's position and built an appeal designed to address each one directly. At the center of that appeal was an independent Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) conducted by a licensed physical therapist, who put our client through a comprehensive in-person assessment. The results showed that our client could sit for only 20 minutes at a time and no more than two hours total in a day, and could stand or walk for only 10 minutes at a time and up to 30 minutes per day. The evaluation had to be stopped early when our client's pain became intolerable, and the evaluator observed repeated pain behaviors throughout, including the need to stand, reposition, and, at one point, lie across a desk for relief. An independent occupational therapist then reviewed and validated the FCE, confirming that the testing met best practices standards and that our client's efforts were consistent and credible, and concluding that he was unable to perform full-time competitive work at any demand level.
Attorney Burgos paired the FCE and validation report with a physician questionnaire from our client's treating doctor, updated records from his pain management team, and a detailed legal argument demonstrating that Lincoln's termination decision failed to meet the fiduciary standard ERISA requires of plan administrators. She also highlighted Lincoln's dismissal of the Social Security Administration's independent disability finding, which was a determination Lincoln acknowledged but set aside without any substantive explanation.
Taken together, the appeal presented Lincoln with an overwhelming, multi-source record of continued disability that its own file-review opinion could not withstand. Lincoln reversed its termination decision and reinstated our client's long-term disability benefits in full, without the matter ever reaching federal court.
Lawyers with Expertise in Disability Insurance Claims & Appeals
At Dabdoub Law Firm, disability insurance is all we do. We represent clients nationwide and have successfully handled disability insurance claims involving:
- Long term disability denials and appeals
- Individual disability insurance claims
- Depression and anxiety disorders
- Cognitive impairment and memory loss
- Neurological conditions
- Medication side effects
We have taken on every major insurance company and have built a proven track record of success, including victories in federal court.
Because we specialize in long-term disability, our clients get the benefit of:
- Having an attorney who is an expert in long-term disability claims;
- Having an attorney who has experience with every major disability insurance company; and
- Being backed by a law firm that has a proven track record of winning tough disability lawsuits.
Need Help with a Disability Insurance Claim?
If your disability claim has been denied or you are struggling to navigate the claims process, we can help.
We help with:
- Filing a disability insurance claim
- Appealing denied or terminated long-term disability benefits
- Negotiating a lump-sum settlement
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company
We represent clients nationwide and charge no fees unless we win your case.
Call (800) 969-0488 or contact us online to speak with an experienced disability attorney. Pay no fees or costs unless you get paid.