PROVEN LAWSUIT RESULTS

Environmental Services Worker - Richmond, KY

Arthritis, Atrial Fibrillation

“A man from Kentucky worked a physical job as an environmental services worker. Due to a combination of arthritis in his back and knees as well as a heart condition, he was no longer capable of performing the job. His long-term disability insurer, Liberty Mutual, approved his claim and paid benefits for two years. They later denied the claim stating that they had identified occupations which he could perform.

Frustrated and not ready to give up, he found the attorneys at Fields Disability. His attorney at Fields reviewed all of the records the insurance company had and began getting updated records to provide. He also obtained a report from the client’s orthopedist which highlighted that the client could not work. The Fields team also obtained supplemental support which refuted a report by Liberty Mutual’s own doctor which concluded that he could perform other work. On appeal, the insurance company reversed their decision and reinstated the payment of monthly benefits. The client felt an incredible sense of relief knowing that he had his income returned.”

Home Health Care Branch Manager - Moore, OK

Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Arthritis

“A health care manager from Oklahoma suffered from lupus and fibromyalgia. Her conditions caused swelling in her joints, regular back spasms, and severe chronic pain. She was forced to stop working, so she applied for long-term disability benefits through her employer-sponsored insurance plan. The insurer denied her application because her symptoms exceeded the severity of her condition.

Shocked by the insurer’s decision, she contacted Fields Disability for help. Our attorneys drafted a strong appeal to the insurance company that highlighted the severity of our new client’s condition and that the insurer’s denial of benefits was arbitrary and capricious. The insurer did not change its mind and out attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court to fight for our client’s benefits. During preparations for a hearing, Fields Attorneys negotiated a generous settlement for our client. Our client gladly accepted the settlement and was pleased with the hard work by the Fields Disability team.”

District Manager - Greensboro, NC

Chronic Neck Pain, Back Pain, Shoulder Pain, Depression, Anxiety

“Our client worked as a District Manager for several years before she became disabled due to widespread chronic pain and depression. She applied for and received long term disability benefits from Mutual of Omaha. Benefits were paid for three years. She was denied when the definition of disability changed from the Own Occupation standard to the Any Occupation standard.

She found Fields Disability online, and retained us to challenge the wrongful denial. Our attorneys ordered updated medical information from our client’s treating providers. After receiving medical information and analyzing the claim file received from the insurance company, we submitted an appeal strongly supporting our client’s entitlement to past and future benefits. After a short review, the insurer agreed to reinstated her benefits.”

Program Manager - Norman , OK

Degenerative Joint Disease, Chronic Pain, Depression, Anxiety

“Our client ceased working at a major University as an administrator due to diagnosed disabilities of degenerative joint disease, chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. Due to our client’s disabilities and an inability to work, our client applied for short-term disability benefits. The Insurer approved the short-term benefits and paid benefits until the short-term benefits were exhausted. Our client then transitioned to long-term disability benefits with the insurance company and actually received long-term benefits until the insurer terminated our client’s long-term benefits after two years or 24 months under the Own Occupation definition of disability. The insurance carrier relied on two document reviews and an occupational report to determine that our client no longer was qualified for disability benefits.

Our client was upset with the insurance carrier’s termination of long-term benefits and contacted the attorneys at Fields Disability. Once retained, the attorneys at Fields Disability acquired medical records, functional capacity evaluations, and reports from our client’s treating doctors and submitted an appeal. The insurer in response to the appeal issued a decision and determined to uphold their prior determination to terminate our client’s long-term disability benefits. Neither our client nor the attorneys at Fields Disability agreed with the insurer’s response and filed a second appeal. This appeal, unfortunately, was unsuccessful as well.

Not satisfied with the reasoning the insurance company used to terminate our client’s long-term benefits, the attorneys at Fields Disability filed a lawsuit in federal court to fight for our client’s long-term disability benefits. After only a couple of weeks of filing the lawsuit, the attorneys at Fields Disability were contacted by the attorney for the insurance company because it was clear the attorney felt this case needed to settle quickly. The parties agreed they wanted to have a mediation, and after some persuasive negotiations on the part of the attorneys at Fields Disability during the mediation, the case resolved, and our client received a sizable settlement check.”

Billing Customer Service Representative - Spokane, WA

Multiple Sclerosis, Spastic Paraparesis, Ataxic Gait, Lumbar Radiculopathy, Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease

“A billing customer service representative for a medical laboratory in the state of Washington thoroughly enjoyed her work, but was forced to resign due the progression of her Multiple Sclerosis, spastic paraparesis, ataxic gait, lumbar radiculopathy, and cervical degenerative disc disease. She was initially granted short-term disability benefits. She later applied for long-term disability benefits from MetLife, who approved her application and began sending her payments. However, just a short time later, she received a denial letter from the insurer claiming that she was capable of performing gainful occupations for which she was reasonably qualified.

The woman wanted to appeal MetLife’s decision, but didn’t want to do it alone. She made the right decision when she retained Fields Disability. Our team began putting together a water tight case for our client. We reached out to the medical providers and agencies she had been working with up to that point. We put together an administrative appeal arguing that MetLife had breached federal law by selectively and improperly neglecting certain facts and opinions in her medical record. Further, that a full and complete review of the medical evidence, in addition to the opinions of multiple medical providers, supported our client’s classification as disabled.

After considering our appeal, MetLife soon responded with a letter granting our client the long-term disability benefits she greatly needed. Our client started receiving benefits checks soon afterwards, including back pay for the period that MetLife had incorrectly denied her benefits.”