PROVEN LAWSUIT RESULTS

Distribution Tester - Lusby, MD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Anxiety, Depression, Kidney Stones, Tight Toe Tumor Removal, Diabetes, Hypertension, Hypercholesterolemia, Obesity

“Prior to his disabilities, this 59-year-old Maryland resident worked as a Distribution Tester for several years until he went out of work following a severely traumatic event of being shot at while sitting in his work truck. As a result of this traumatic event our client suffered from bullet fragments in his neck, and glass fragments in his face. Subsequently, he developed severe anxiety and panic attacks.

However, Cigna denied our client’s long-term disability benefits claim, alleging that they did not received any measurable clinical findings to support his inability to work. Cigna went on to claim that our client’s medical conditions did not preclude him from performing the material duties of his regular occupation.

Shocked at this decision, this Maryland resident contacted the attorneys at Fields Disability with only 45 days to submit an appeal. The attorneys at Fields Disability were able to quickly and efficiently collect all the medical records and reports from this client’s doctors and submit an appeal to Cigna. After receiving the appeal, Cigna quickly realized they needed to overturn their prior decision to deny benefits, and determined our client was disabled based on the appeal submitted. Cigna issued a check for all the months our client was entitled to immediately, and our client was very happy with the work the Fields attorneys did on his long-term disability appeal.”

Marketing Manager - Perkiomenville, PA

Lyme Disease, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

“Our Client was a marketing manager based in Pennsylvania. She contracted Lyme disease and developed associated fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. She was unable to perform her skilled and stressful work which included travel, entertaining clients, and regularly working more than 40-hours per week. Her long-term disability insurer initially paid her claim but later denied her benefits stating that she was able to return to her work as a marketing manager.

Our client filed her own appeal which showed that the was unable to even perform a desk job on a sustained basis. The insurer denied her appeal. Fields Disability assisted our client with a federal lawsuit. During settlement negotiations, the insurer claimed our client’s benefits were limited to just 24 months total due to policy limitations. Our attorneys successfully negotiated a settlement well in excess of the 24 month limitation and assisted our client in closing her case on favorable terms.”

Plumber - Nashville, TN

Fibromyalgia

“A plumber ceased working due to the development of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. His symptoms resulted in an inability to keep up with the strenuous physical demands of the job. The insurance company gave him trouble right from the onset. After denying his application, they sent him to a functional capacity evaluation. Even though the functional capacity evaluation clearly showed the man was unable to perform heavy lifting, the insurer denied his benefits. They told him that his inability to do the required lifting was due to taking time off from work.

Our attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court on his behalf. After reviewing the insurance company’s records, Fields attorneys found several critical errors in the decision to deny benefits. We were able to leverage the errors into a favorable settlement, and our client was able to use the money to continue treating for his disability in hopes to improve his condition.”

Warehouse Worker - Watertown, WI

Chronic Pain, Avascular Necrosis, General Nerve Pain

“Our client applied for long-term disability benefits with an insurance company provided by an employer. Our client’s long-term disability benefits were originally approved by the insurance company. The insurance company notified our client by an impersonal letter that it was terminating long-term disability benefits because our client’s chronic pain and avascular necrosis conditions did not have clinical findings that would support restrictions and limitations and did not believe our client was disabled according to the long-term disability policy’s definition of disabled.

After receiving the termination letter, our client reached out to the attorney’s at Fields Disability for assistance in appealing the insurance company’s decision. Once retained, the attorneys at Fields Disability collected all of our client’s medical records, obtained functional capacity evaluations from our client’s treating doctors, and also got our client’s doctors to draft reports verifying our client’s disability claim. The insurance company, in response to the appeal, issued a decision to uphold their prior determination to deny our client’s long-term disability benefits.

Unsatisfied with this outcome, and with the insurance company’s rational in their decision, the attorneys at Fields Disability filed a lawsuit in federal court to fight for our client’s long-term disability benefits. Only a couple of weeks went by after the attorneys at Fields Disability filed the lawsuit when the attorney representing the insurance company asked about settling the case immediately. After some convincing negotiations on the part of the attorneys at Fields Disability, the case resolved, and our client received a nice settlement check.”

Power Line Maintenance Foreman - Murrells Inlet, SC

Foot, Neck, Head, and Shoulder Injuries

“A South Carolina man had a great paying job for a large construction company as a power line maintenance foreman. Unfortunately, he fell off of a catwalk suffering serious injuries to his foot, neck, head, and shoulders. He successfully filed a workers’ compensation claim and received benefits for two years.

At the time of his injury, he was incorrectly told by his employer’s human resources manager that he could not receive both workers’ compensation and long term disability benefits. Relying on the human resources manager’s statement, he did not seek Long Term Disability benefits until his Workers’ Compensation benefits ran out two years after his injury. When he did apply to the insurance company for disability benefits, he was denied. The insurer stated that his long term disability policy required him to apply for benefits within a year and a quarter of his date of injury. He told the insurer about his human resources manager’s statement, but they still claimed he did not have a reasonable excuse for his delayed filing.

He turned to Fields Disability and our attorneys appealed the insurance company’s decision, arguing that they breached their fiduciary duty and made an improper claim denial. However, the insurer again denied our client’s claim, relying solely on the word of his employer’s human resources manager. Knowing that the basis for the decision was bogus, the attorneys at Fields Disability moved to file a lawsuit. Faced with our mounting litigation, the insurer soon agreed to a settlement. Our client was relieved to receive his check, and was soon able to focus on his recovery.”