Each disability comes with unique challenges. You may have a condition in your eye that prevents you from seeing or you may have chronic fatigue syndrome which leaves you tired most of the day. If you have been deemed disabled and unable to work by your doctors, you probably cannot carry out the duties of the work you have been doing. But that does not mean that you cannot function on a day-to-day basis. It is important to understand that the ability to carry out the activities of daily living is not part of the criteria for long-term disability insurance benefits.
When you are a full time employee you are expected to work consistently and productively for at least 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. It is unlikely you will find an employer who will allow you unlimited breaks and being absent whenever you need to. If you are covered by an employer’s benefits, in order to work full time and earn a living, it must be on the employer’s terms. When you suffer from a disability, meeting those requirements is nearly impossible. But it does not mean you cannot live a normal life, perhaps just with limitations.
Insurance companies have been known to take video surveillance of people claiming to be disabled, or receiving disability insurance benefits, to attempt to show they are not disabled. A video of a person driving, doing light yard work, running errands, or doing household chores does not prove that they are not disabled. All the video proves is that, for a brief time during the day, that person was able to do the normal activities of daily life. More importantly, nothing in that video proves that that person can perform the duties of any occupation on a full time basis, as most long term disability policies require.
It is unlawful for the insurance company to use your ability to perform activities of daily living as a reason to deny your long-term disability insurance. If you feel that you have been unfairly treated because of the daily activities that you perform while disabled, an experienced long-term disability insurance attorney can help. Contact the attorneys at Dabdoub Law Firm to hear more about how we can help you fight the insurance company for your benefits.