A Nevada federal court found Aetna wrongfully terminated a customer service representative’s long-term disability benefits.
Before her disability, Ms. Williamson worked as a customer service representative for Bank of America. Ms. Williamson was forced to stop working in early 2012 due to chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain. Unable to work she filed a claim for disability benefits from Aetna.
Aetna paid Ms. Williamson’s long-term disability benefits for close to four years before terminating her benefits. Thus, she filed a lawsuit against Aetna. The court held Aetna abused its discretion in terminating Ms. Williamson’s benefits and ordered that her benefits be reinstated.
The Dabdoub Law Firm focuses on disability insurance law. We have assisted numerous people with claims against Aetna. This includes many people suffering from chronic pain. Our disability lawyers are prepared to help you fight for the benefits you deserve.
The Court’s Review of Ms. Williamson’s Case
This court found that Defendant’s termination of benefits was unsupported. The court ruled in favor of Ms. Williamson’s favor for the following reasons:
- Aetna’s reliance on social media postings was wrong
- Surveillance of Ms. Williamson confirmed her disability
- The medical records do not show an improvement in her medical condition
Aetna relied on social media postings to terminate benefits. Ms. Williamson had posted photographs of her travels and posing on a motorcycle and boat. However, Ms. Williamson proved that these photographs were old and irrelevant. The court found Aetna should not have weighed these postings more than the medical evidence. Ultimately, the court stated the social media postings are inaccurate and not informative.
The court also found Aetna’s reliance on surveillance in support of the termination of benefits was unwarranted. Aetna had Ms. Williamson surveilled for 72 hours. Her only activity during that time was her grocery shopping. The court noted that the surveillance was consistent with her disability she was only active for 11 minutes of activity compared to 4,309 minutes of inactivity.
The court also determined that the medical records did not show any improvement in her condition. This was important because Aetna had previously concluded she was disabled from any job. The court stated that Aetna must provide a reason, supported by medical evidence, for its decision that she was capable of working now. It did not do so.
Our Disability Attorneys Can Help You
Dabdoub Law Firm was built to be a disability insurance law firm. Because all our disability lawyers focus on disability insurance claims, the firm has significant experience with every major disability insurance company, including Aetna, and has won important disability lawsuits.
We understand what evidence is needed to give you the best chance against the insurance companies. This is particularly true for claims involving subjective complaints such as chronic pain, chronic fatigue, migraines, etc.
The firm can help at any stage of your long term disability claim, including:
- submitting a disability insurance claim;
- appealing a long-term disability denial; or
- filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
Hiring an experienced disability attorney is important. Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, our lawyers do not have to be located in your state.
Call for a free consultation with an experienced disability attorney.
