Before his diagnosis with Stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at age 44, our client was a successful salesman in Orlando, Florida, earning over $300,000 annually and caring for his wife and children. That all changed with his cancer diagnosis, which shifted his focus to survival. With 6 sessions of aggressive chemotherapy (the BEACOPP regimen), our client beat cancer. Unfortunately, he was left with serious symptoms and lost his ability to work. As Attorney Kevin Schaefer explains:
“[Our client] won his battle with cancer. But the fight has robbed him of the ability to continue working.”
These days, the focus of our client’s life is pain management. While the cancer is in remission, he is still fighting chronic pain, fatigue, memory loss, and depression. His medical conditions are well documented, and the Life Insurance Company of America (CIGNA LINA) had no reason to terminate his long-term disability benefits.
Unfortunately, the company used 2 paper-based reviews completed by hired consultants to throw yet another wrench into our client’s life. CIGNA LINA falsely reported that our client was not limited or impaired in any way.
Dabdoub Law Firm is proud to have helped our client set the story straight and right this egregious wrong.
Medical Records, the SSA, and 5 Documents Support the Salesman’s Disability
Our client was undoubtedly disabled at the time CIGNA LINA terminated his benefits, and he remains disabled to this day. We proved this to the insurance company with a functional capacity evaluation (FCE), an FCE review, an independent medical evaluation, a neuropsychological evaluation, and letters from our client’s treating physicians.
Additionally, we provided information about our client’s treatment with a pain management specialist and his approved claim for SSDI benefits with the Social Security Administration (SSA). With this overwhelming amount of evidence, we were frankly surprised CIGNA LINA chose to terminate our client’s benefits, in the first place.
As the overwhelming medical evidence reflects:
- Our client is unable to perform at a full-time level or for a duration of 8 hours a day.
- Our client can only sit for 3 to 5 hours each workday and cannot stand for more than one hour per day.
- Our client’s chronic fatigue would directly impact his daily work.
- Our client cannot be released for work at any level.
- Our client suffers from chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and cognitive dysfunction.
- Chemotherapy has caused a significant decline in our client’s cognitive abilities (known as chemo brain).
- Our client does not have the necessary cognitive, perceptual-motor, and motor functioning to be gainfully employed in any capacity.
- Our client suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, muscle pain, muscle weakness, chronic headaches, disturbed sleep, widespread body pain, and impaired attention, concentration, and memory.
- Secondary issues from our client’s fight with cancer include mental health conditions like PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
- Our client suffers from ongoing and unrelenting physical and emotional pain every single day.
- Our client’s symptoms are ongoing, serious, and prevent him from working in any occupation – sedentary or otherwise – on a full-time basis.
During these many evaluations, our client suffered physically. The medical professionals who evaluated him noticed that he became fatigued over time and reported body pain from chemotherapy. Some doctors even attested that our client’s disabilities could be lifelong. Attorney Schaefer himself witnessed our client’s disability firsthand over many telephone conversations in which our client lost his train of thought, forgot prior conversations, and struggled to find words. If CIGNA LINA so much as picked up the phone and conducted a conversation with our client, they would not doubt his disability for a second.
In fact, the Social Security Administration (SSA) had no doubt of our client’s disability. The SSA approved his claim for SSDI benefits without holding a hearing in front of an administrative law judge, deciding that our client’s physical impairments indefinitely prevented him from reliably working in any capacity.
What other evidence could our client possibly provide?
Dabdoub Law Firm Gives CIGNA LINA One Final Opportunity to Reinstate Benefits
CIGNA LINA abandoned its fiduciary duties toward our client in a clear violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The insurance company saw our client’s remission from cancer as “its golden ticket to avoid further liability,” and turned a blind eye to a mountain of medical evidence.
Every single person who has evaluated our client, spoken to him, or seen the medical evidence in this case has found him disabled. Why hasn’t CIGNA LINA?
In our appeal, Dabdoub Law Firm asked for a fast and fair answer to this question. Rather than go to trial, CIGNA LINA delivered, reinstating our client’s long-term disability benefits without any delay.
Help from a Lawyer with Expertise in Disability Insurance
Disability insurance law is complex. Hiring an experienced disability attorney is important. Because all our disability lawyers at Dabdoub Law Firm focus on disability insurance claims, we have expertise in disability insurance law.
That means we have:
- Experience with every major disability insurance company.
- A proven track record of success in major disability lawsuits.
- Recovered millions of dollars in disability benefits for our clients.
And we never charge legal fees – our clients face no costs unless they get paid.
Dabdoub Law Firm can help at any stage of your disability insurance claim, including:
- Submitting a disability insurance claim,
- Appealing a long-term disability denial,
- Negotiating a lump-sum settlement, or
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, our lawyers can represent clients across the country.
Get in touch to speak with an experienced disability attorney today – call us at (800) 969-0488 or contact us online. Consultations are free.
