Chronic pain: Disability Application Cases Archive

Disability insurance companies constantly deny disability applications on the basis that a claimant does not have sufficient objective medical evidence to be disabled by chronic pain. The sad thing about this statement is that the cause of chronic pain is not always known and there are no objective tests that can 100% confirm a diagnosis of chronic pain to support the disability application.

Court Admonishes Aetna for Refusing to Consider Subjective Symptoms

In Cline v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., a North Carolina District court overturns a denial of own occupation benefits to Mr. Cline, who was employed as a commercial pilot for NetJets. Mr. Cline suffered from lumbar stenosis and other musculoskeletal impairments which caused him to file for disability in 2014. Unfortunately, Aetna denied the claim under the own occupation definition of disability finding that Mr. Cline’s impairments were not severe enough to preclude him from working as a pilot.
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Liberty Mutual Insurance Senior Sales Representative Sues Liberty Life For Denial Of Short-Term And Long-Term Disability Benefits

A Florida disability lawyer recently filed a federal lawsuit in the district court for the Middle District of Florida Orlando Division against Liberty Life Assurance Company Of Boston (Liberty). The Plaintiff, Carolyn S., was employed by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company as a Senior Sales Representative. Due to her employment, she was entitled to short-term and long-term disability benefits that were provided by Liberty.
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Technical Training Coordinator for US Airways Files A Lawsuit Against US Airways and Prudential For Short and Long Term Disability Benefits

In her lawsuit, filed against Prudential Insurance Company of America, US Airways, Inc. and US Airways Inc. Employee Disability Plan to recover disability benefits, Ashley LeClair alleges that as fiduciary of her insurance benefits plan, Prudential operates under a “conflict of interest in evaluating her claim due to the fact it operated in dual roles as the decision maker . . . as well as the payor of benefits.” In essence, Prudential’s conflict of interest exists because should the insurer decide that Ashley R. LeClair is disabled the insurance provider is also the party obligated to pay her benefits.
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Real Estate Agent Sues Standard Insurance Company and Woodside Group, Inc., for Denial of Disability Benefits

Rose Mary Lee filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court of Nevada against Standard insurance Company, Woodside Group, Inc., and Woodside Group, Inc. Employee Disability Plan on May 30, 2011. In her Complaint, Lee alleges that the Standard Insurance Company and her employer violated their fiduciary duties under her disability insurance policy because of a conflict of interest because Standard is both the decision maker as to benefit awards and the payor of monies that satisfy benefit awards.
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